Miele Man

Where I am that'd be considered a nice balmy day for riding. It's what you're used to that limits riding.

Cheers

cyccommute 

It depends on the direction. If I’m riding into the wind, 25mph winds suck. If I’m riding with the wind, 50 mph winds are wonderful! I have been blasted by an 80mph gust (headwind) and the gravel it picks up hurts like hell! On the other hand, my wife and I did the 50 miles from Fort William to Oban in Scotland in about an hour and a half.

Denver...particularly the western suburbs...regularly gets raked by winds with gusts as high as 120 mph. For the most part, we have undergone a Darwinian selection process on trees, houses, and even garbage cans so there’s not too much that gets blown around during those kinds of winds. One of the really cool things about riding in high winds is that the world goes silent when you hit the point of moving at the same speed as the wind. In really high winds, the power lines become a kind of aeolian harp and set up a kind of cool resonance.

GeneO 

Hell not even 20+ for me anymore, let alone 30+, which borders on insane IMO.

woodcraft

Forecast today was for 9mph winds,

but out at the coast there were crosswinds gusting over 30mph.

it was a bit nerve-wracking.

Stadjer

I just went out into the storm that's hitting North-West Europe right now. I could have walked or stayed home but I like it, contrary to just normal headwind. It's not in full force yet, only 7 Beaufort with a few stronger gusts, only twigs breaking off and flying around, not whole branches. That's for later. I don't know why, I'm not interested in climbing mountains or racing long distance, I guess I just want to feel the wind's power.

But the storm is a bit stronger than expected where he's already full on in the South-West. The national championship headwind cycling had to be started earlier and still had to be stopped early because the trucks transporting the singlespeeds wouldn't be able to cross the storm surge barrier in the sea where the event is held safely if they waited any longer. Appearently it was the toughest wind in the event's 7 year history so for those who were able to compete it must have been a success. It would take part for fun if I lived close, unfortunately it's at the other end of the country. Here's an impression of the team competition in an earlier edition with weaker winds.

Korina

So true. When I lived in L.A. 68F was jacket weather; here in far NorCal 68 is a heat wave. The husbeast and I did end up going out, just on foot; we visited all three bike shops (Moon Cycles, Revolution, and Adventure's Edge) just to say hey and sniff some bike fumes. We had a great time. I love small towns.

rydabent

In March out here on the plains, we can have winds of 45mph or more and gust to 55 or 60. If you want to ride you just have to do the best you can. I for instance try to pick rides that are 90 degrees from the wind direction. When winds are that high I always take the trike since it isnt blown around as much at the bike. It is especially true if the wind is blowing you toward traffic.

Rigsson

Here in Tucson during the summer rainy season we get the occasional microburst. Don't last long but the wind speed can top out around 100mph. Typically, see fences and trees down and roofs torn off.

Rajflyboy

Remember

Wind after heavy rains = high potential for fallen trees

gary10509

There's a limit, but somewhere around 15-17 mph I switch to my heavy 80's vintage Schwinn road bike. The extra weight feels much more stable.

Hypno Toad

I don't have a limit for wind speeds, but I will choose a route based on the wind conditions.

A memorable ride a few years back, I was riding a favorite route around Lake Minnetonka. I got to a point where the cross winds were coming off the lake and with occasional trees along the shore, I'd get bad gusts pushing me into the traffic lane (reported winds sustained over 30 mph and gusts over 40 mph). It was everything I could do to ride a mile to where I could get on a different route with less traffic and not getting blasted by the winds.

On a gravel race, we had a front come through with reported sustained cross winds near 50 mph and gusts around 60 mph - looking up the row of riders in front, you'd think they were leaning into a turn, but they were going down a straight road. These roads were rural and without traffic allowing us space to adjust as the wind pushed us around. Gratefully, those winds came through quickly and we finished the race in the last 70 miles of race with typical winds and rain.

rumrunn6

it's good when the trees come down when you're NOT there ... came across a fresh one the other day

rumrunn6

related news ...

AVirgin Atlantic jet set a new speed record on Monday, flying from LA to London in just over nine hours, after a powerful jet stream propelled it faster than the speed of sound.

The 787 Dreamliner was clocked at 801mph over Pennsylvania as it rode the fastest jet stream on record, blowing east at 231mph. The velocity only lasted briefly, but was far faster than the usual cruising speed of 561mph for the Boeing aircraft.

The winds high above the ground helped Flight VS8, half-way into its journey from Los Angeles to London, arrive at Heathrow nearly an hour ahead of schedule.

Ogsarg

I did a 58 mile ride yesterday in some pretty nasty wind, but nothing like what some people are talking about here. I would guess a steady 20 with gusts up to 30. Most of the ride was some form of cross winds but did have a few miles going dead into it. As others have mentioned, if you're in an area with trees, you get a lot of debris on the road. I did about a 2 mile descent through a redwood forest and had to keep my speed down due to all the crap blowing around. At one point, I stopped to move a branch in the bike lane that was about 4" in diameter. The last 10 miles were the worst as they were along wide open fields where the wind was really whipping. I was riding at a steady 5° or so lean. As a former motorcyclist, I'm pretty good at managing cross winds by counter-steering, but it does get old after so many miles.

Notso_fastLane

Trikes might not be as bad, but my velomobile gets very twitchy in a crosswind. Headwinds are no problem though. Shortly after I got it, and was still getting used to it, I remember overtaking an upright bike (I hadn't put a speedometer in it yet) like he was standing still. I was thinking I must have been going really fast, but a couple miles later, I noticed the flag alongside the road, and I was heading pretty much straight into the wind. I wasn't really faster that I would be without wind, but I wasn't really slower either.

jadocs

That's a No from me too. Not a good feeling when a gust almost takes the bike out from under you. Riding outside under these conditions are totally not work screwing up your bike from hitting the pavement. That's what a good indoor trainer is for. If you don't like the artificiality of being locked in, there are better options like smart rollers.

Hypno Toad

This was a windy ride ... my only DNF was fighting these winds for 40 miles in 90F temps with high humidity.