Battling the wind......

[Owlie]

Thanks everyone for the feedback! @ pre-ride meal... I started with a decent bowl of SC oatmeal with fruit and almonds, couple of scrambled eggs, piece of MG toast . Gel x1 15 minutes before ride, 2 water bottles on bike (Powerade in one and regular H2O with a couple of Hammer Endurolyte Fizz tabs in the other). Now, that breakfast alone was much for me. There were stocked stops every 12.5 miles but I wasn't hungry. And that's usually my problem, I have to make myself take a snack in every 30 minutes or so. Since we were riding in 95 degree heat with 80% humidity, the heat index put us at about 104 degrees! I didn't want to take in to much and then find myself throwing my toe nails up!!! It was intense!
I drank plenty of fluid, both on the bike and at the stops.

I am usually my toughest competition, so I elected those 50 miles as a way to push myself. It was a self inflicted wound!

I have another ride on the 22nd. Given my work schedule, I've got 8 days open to try and get extra miles in. I may not shoot for 50 this time. But my inner voice is gonna say " you can't do any less than 40"!! Looks like I've gotta put her on mute and listen to my body....

O_O In that weather? No wonder! I've got 3 years of riding under my belt, and I still have trouble in heat. (I did a 50-mile ride on July 4 in similar conditions, and I am truly surprised I made it back to the car.) Be careful, and listen to your body. I either don't ride or go for 20 miles or less in that kind of weather.

I'm impressed, though.

[CyclingRN]

O_O In that weather? No wonder! I've got 3 years of riding under my belt, and I still have trouble in heat. (I did a 50-mile ride on July 4 in similar conditions, and I am truly surprised I made it back to the car.) Be careful, and listen to your body. I either don't ride or go for 20 miles or less in that kind of weather.

I'm impressed, though.

Owlie, I left a slime trail.

[Bethany1]

Nebraska has wind and plenty of it since it's all prairie. You just learn to live with it and not let it drag you down. I lower my gears since it's like climbing a hill and keep going. It's been hot/humid here and I just keep my rides short..12-15 miles. Bring plenty of water/food and learn to listen to your body. It also helps to have wicking jerseys/shirts to help cool you off. Wind means to just slow down and enjoy the ride. Since it never goes away, it just becomes a part of you.

[tzvia]

When I am out in the heat (lots of that out here in So. Cal.) with that Santa Anna wind, and lately humidity to boot, I up the water and electrolytes and ease off the ride, listening to my body and not my mind. If I feel thirsty, I blew it; I'm dehydrated already. So I drink like a drunken sailor. I find I can't take anything like bloks or a Cliff bar if I am feeling thirsty and there goes the ride. Two bottles, one with just water and the other with Cytomax or Gu to start, with electrolyte bloks when I run out of the electrolyte drink and have only water. Call me a 'packer' but I pack a banana, two Cliff bars, two pkgs of bloks, and an extra emergency pkg of bloks in the saddle bag.

Dress for the occasion. Good quality jersey with UPF rating, water/sweat rated sunblock and those sun sleeves (yes they really work) can all help your body cool. I also wear a white Head-Sweats under my helmet. I find my head really gets warm with the Sun beating down through the helmet holes, the Head-Sweats really helps reflect it and pouring a little water in the helmet and on to it helps cool me.

As for wind, there's no getting around it. We get Santa Anna winds out here that can gust from the NE/NW and feel like someone just grabbed your rear wheel and stuck your head in front of an open broiling oven. Bring your elbows in close to your body, pivot down as much as you comfortably can at the waist, move down to the drops, don't sit up like a sail. I spend quite a bit of time stretching and trying to stay flexible when off the bike for this reason. I need to be able to stay in the drops for long periods, for as long as I am riding into the wind. Anything you can do to lower your frontal mass and streamline will lower the energy you need to produce to move. This will also help in keeping you cool as you are not revving your engine as hard to produce forward motion into the wind. This may sound silly, but don't forget to breathe. I find if I am really grinding it out, I hold my breath when I get tense. More wasted energy. So I have to remind myself to lessen my death-grip on the bars, smooth out my peddling and drop into a lower gear, stop bouncing/weaving on the bike, lower my head, stop clenching my teeth, soften my facial muscles, breathe smoothly.

For sure, don't up the ride miles way beyond what you are used to on a hot humid windy day. Take it in increments and listen to your body.

[Jiffer]

I haven't read the rest of the replies, so I may repeat some of what has been said.

I live in a windy area and have dealt with this often.

Getting down in the drops can help a lot. Anything you can do to be more aerodynamic. Keep your elbows in. Wear tight fitting clothing. Drafting is HUGE! Any time you can do that is wonderful in wind. You said you did that and were still struggling. I think in that instance, the fact that it was your first 50 miler, having only done 24. That's a big leap all by itself, and the wind only compounded it . . . by a ton.

If ever you can draft behind two or more people, and if those people are side by side, that creates a bigger draft. Make sure you are close enough to the wheel in front of you to get the best benefit of the draft. Also, try to find that sweet spot. If the wind is coming at an angle slightly from the left, then being slightly to the right of rider in front of you will be the better draft.

However, sometimes you have to ride in the wind alone and sometimes no matter what you do, even with a group, it just plain sucks!!! That's when you remember that while your speed is slower than you'd like and it hurts and is frustrating . . . it's making you stronger. Some day when you are doing a ride with zero wind resistance and you are flying even faster than you used to, you can thank some of those nasty windy rides for your especially great ride.