It also helps to find some routes that offer protection from the wind. In general, open spaces are bad on windy days and tree-lined roads are better. Sometimes you can modify your route to avoid the worst of the wind. Rail trails are often not good on windy days because you end up going in one direction for a long time, and if that direction is into the wind it will wear you down fast. Trails and roads near water (like the Mount Vernon trail on the Potomac) also tend to be windier, and colder too.