Originally Posted by tigat

Drove from Colorado to Montana last week to visit my younger son. On Saturday, he went rock climbing with some friends at Natural Bridge, about 90 minutes southeast of Bozeman. This would be a much better thread with pictures--that place is surreal in its beauty.

I wasn't terribly comfortable nursing my still broken hip up and down the cliffs, with only one hand at my disposal, and decided a ride was a better idea. In the canyon by the falls, somewhat sheltered, the wind felt like it was only about 10 mph or so, manageable.

Heading east on 298, the only road out, I hit 38 mph pretty quickly. I wasn't pedaling hard. I wasn't descending. Oops. Maybe a bit more wind than I thought. The first time I caught a cross wind confirmed it. It picked me up and pushed me a few feet across the road. After that, it was white knuclkes all the way out, my one hand holding on in a death grip. Even at a speed reduced for safety's sake, 15 miles out on paved rollers took me only 33 minutes.

Strategically, I turned to head back after coasting (no need to pedal) up a rise, thinking I'd at least start out with a down hill. No such luck. I had to hammer to get up to 15 mph, and the wind was howling in my ears like I was going 50. The hour and change it took me to ride back was one of the toughest, and scariest slogs I can remember. At times, I was slowed almost to a stop by a gust of wind. Cross wind sections were even worse. I'm not sure that a riding partner or two would have helped, as I was all over the place.

Realistically, the wind was probably only 25 steady, with gusts to 35 or so, but well beyond my comfort zone. It is unlikely that I will knowingly set out to duplicate the feat. Hence my question: how much wind is too much for the riders on the 50+?