Wind weenie

[Catrin]

Have fun tomorrow if you do go!

My ride today was rather....exciting I apologise in advance for the book, but it was quite an experience!

Even though I said that I would wait until 6 this evening to ride, at 3:00 I couldn't resist the sunshine and 57 temps any longer. Changed, grabbed Camelbak, bike, and headed for the country! This was my first country ride for the season.

It lasted an entire 30 minutes Tail wind was awesome, cross-wind was so wicked that at one point I was literally praying to not get blown over - and on one downhill I was pushed into the other lane Going up hill I needed the granny gears like I never have in my entire 2,000 miles of cycling! I know that isn't much, just work with me

My heart rate in those 27.35 minutes averaged 147 and maxed at 175 and rode an entire 4.5 miles! I actually was a little nauseous by the time I made it back to my car... I've no idea what the wind gusts were, but I suspect they were a lot higher than 22 mph!

That wasn't the end of things though, 27 minutes just wasn't enough. So...I drove to the large park across from my apartment and put in close to 10 more miles. This is a nature preserve type of park with lots of hills, so the trees and topography both serve as great windbreaks. I still felt the wind a little, but not like out in the country. In the end I rode an entire 14.5 miles and am quite happy with that! Not the long ride I had wanted to do today - but I will take what I can get

[Jiffer]

I rode today. Weather report says 21 mph winds. I didn't quite realize how windy it was until I got out there and then I decided to change my route. I was going to do a route that forced me into the headwind for a long period, then turn around and come back. Instead, I did a loop near my house twice. So I only had the headwind off and on for relatively short periods. Plus I think there are more trees, etc. to block the wind on the loop. Wasn't too bad and I wasn't out there to kill it anyway or ride a lot of miles. I haven't ridden since Monday, haven't been feeling well and just needed to get out there and move. So mission accomplished.

[Kerry1976]

My main sport is running and I'm knee deep in half marathon training. But Sunday is a great xtrain day where a morning ride would be perfect. I was all gung-ho about going tomorrow....but just saw we are supposed to have sustained winds of 24 mph with gusts of 40+....along with rain and some thunderstorms.

well, might be walking and or hooping instead.

[emily_in_nc]

Amazingly, we rode! The weather station I checked when we got home said sustained winds in the 20-25 mph range with gusts to 35, and I believe it. It wasn't so bad when we left at 9:30 am, but built during our ride. The tailwind on the way back was AWESOME!

I wouldn't have done it if we lived in the plains or were riding in rural areas with open fields, but this was an urban, campus, and surburban ride with plenty of trees and hills and buildings to help break up the wind gusts.

The only scary moment was when we were making a left turn across busy lanes of traffic at a light, racing to get through before the light changed, and the visor on my helmet was caught by the wind and pulled the helmet as far back on my head as the straps would let it go (which wasn't very far). It was just a strange feeling as it felt like a sail catching the wind. I've never had that happen before, and I kept my head down for the rest of the ride when we were heading into the wind!

We ended up with 21.4 miles at a utilitarian pace, with stops at the farmer's market, food co-op, and Trader Joe's, and full panniers coming home. That's when tailwinds are much appreciated!

Tomorrow is supposed to have much lighter winds (5-10 mph), so I'm looking forward to a longer and less 'exciting' ride!