DangerousDanR

Living in Fargo, wind is a fact of life. The Weather service forecast for today is:

"North northwest wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph."

That is a low wind day. I often ride with 20 sustained and gusts to 35.

The only time I have had wind curtail a ride was on the Isle of Lewis. Sustained 40 MPH wind out of the southwest. We are riding southwest from The Butt of Lewis to Carloway on the tandem, fully loaded on tour. Made 8 miles in 2 hours. Stopped at a bus stop and caught the next bus. Rode about 10 miles on the bus (many rural Scottish buses can swallow a tandem) until we were out of the wind. Rode on to our destination, but if we hadn't taken the bus we would probably have been out there for another couple of hours and dead tired when we got out of the wind.

phrantic09

15, with gusts no higher than 25. Usually plan out into the wind and home with it at my back.

bargo68 

Part of my 4 day a week commute is going over a 4.5 mile bridge that spans the north section of the San Francisco bay. At its peak it is 213 feet above sea level.
When the winds are below 5 mph in any direction, it is a nice ride. Sadly, that is almost never the case. The winds around the bridge can be capricious, to put it nicely. Many times I am facing a headwind (or disadvantageous crosswind) in both directions! Mostly in the area of 8-15 mph with 20-25 mph gusts, depending on the season and general weather.
This is my long way of saying I've kinda gotten used to wind and it would only dissuade me from riding if it were blowing a steady 15-20 mph all day.

WhyFi

Wow, I guess you really don't like wind.

7-8 mph wouldn't impact a ride for me at all, let alone make me scrap it altogether. 10+ mph is getting to the point where I'll let the wind broadly dictate my ride, I'd rather deal with the headwind early in ride and have a tailwind on the way home, but to scrap a ride I'd have to be seeing strong gusts, probably 25+ mph, not something that happens too frequently in my area.

mgopack42 

I don't know how windy this day was, but I jut went back and pulled a Strava file. this was a memorable day to be sure. June 28. I remember for the last 2 or 3 miles into the wind, I could tell a fire was burning in the hills in the distance. it turns out that this was the very beginning of a 400000 acre fire that screwed with the air quality for months. By the end it was the second largest fire in CA history, but now it is third!
Anyways, 220 watts to go 10.3 MPH into the wind, and 104 watts to go 24.8 MPH with the wind. I remember the first left turn I took into the wind, I had a hard time getting my bike to go in that direction! If I had to guess (and I am sure i am exaggerating), I would say steady state winds of over 25, with gusts at least 10 MPH faster. It sucked when I got chased by a BIG vicious dog on the into the wind leg, and I couldn't go any faster. It pissed me off because the dog was waiting for me, and the owner was standing on the front stoop of her trailer and laughing at me. on the return leg, I was basically past before the dog noticed me, and almost got hit by a car going the opposite direction!

Sy Reene

Another unsung virtue of steel that's oft overlooked.

GlennR

Because its heavier?

genejockey 

HA! No. Smaller profile. The weight difference between the least and most affected by crosswinds is only 2# - about 10%.

GlennR

Well not all carbon bike have the same profile.

small tube


Aero tube

Coolton

Nothing makes me more upset on my bike than a strong, unexpected headwind

We only really get wind occasionally so it's not much of an issue for me. I really should check it before my rides though.

Beach Bob

For me, its not how much wind but how much of a gust. A steady wind is OK even at 30 or 40 kph (20-25 mph), you just put your nose into it, or lean into it on a cross wind. Its the gusts on a cross wind that will push you into the ditch; much more than 10 kph gust over the wind is a good day for a rest day

genejockey 

Right. Still, even "small tube" has a larger profile than this:

That's my LEAST cross-wind-affected bike. Here's my MOST cross-wind-affected bike:

canklecat

Yup. I wish Strava would include wind data in calculations for leader boards. A couple of years ago there was a browser extension that did factor in wind conditions, derived from NOAA archives I think, so it was as accurate as possible. I think the extension was a one-person project by a college student.

Anyway, when I checked the conditions for every KOM and top ten, most were heavily assisted by tailwinds. But I also noticed some interesting exceptions. With wind conditions factored in, a local woman pro who holds many QOMs would also have the KOMs on some segments, if Strava included wind-handicapping. Some of her top tens were actually into headwinds. So in terms of relative effort she blew away the rest of us.

After seeing that wind data I decided to quit avoiding windy days and started choosing routes into headwinds for as long as possible, especially if it included climbing. It ain't fun but it's the closest we can get to climbing here. We have no mountains, just rollers and hillettes.

A friend who holds many local KOMs and top tens is in his 50s and incredibly strong. Even though many of his are also tailwind assisted, the wind-factor extension showed he received less tailwind boost than most of the other riders in the top ten. My top tens were all heavily tailwind-assisted. And it was obvious from comparing my overall average speed on the same 20-40 mile routes (usually around 16 mph) vs his (20 mph) that I'm nowhere near his league.

Even on 1 mile to 6 mile mini time trial segments he was putting in 30 seconds to 2 minutes over my best times. So even when I briefly held a 2nd place on a couple of segments I was so far behind his best time I knew my 2nd place wouldn't hold for long. Sure enough within a couple of years, as more riders used those segments, I was nudged completely out of the top ten.

And as more genuinely strong riders participate on those segments, the gaps close between 2nd-10th positions. So my 30 second gap was always gonna be a placeholder for some younger, stronger riders to fill in.

As it should be. If a 62 y/o dude with a gimpy back and neck has any legit KOMs in an area with younger experienced riders, you can be sure he's doping. I'm not surprised to see some seriously strong 50somethings who can still time-trial as fast as younger guys over reasonable distance. But the body fades quickly after 60. I'm struggling to beat my best times of three years ago when I mostly rode a 25 lb steel bike with crappy Vittoria Zaffiro tires, platform pedals and tennis shoes. I have a couple of lighter carbon bikes now and use clipless, better tires, lighter wheels, etc. But there's no substitute for youth.

roth rothar

The highest peak in Florida is Britton Hill at 345ft.

genejockey 

I told my sister who lives in Sarasota that if I did the climb I did last weekend in Florida instead of California, I'd have ended up 1000 feet up in the air.

GlennR

Better bring supplemental oxygen.

The tallest hill on Long Island is 401ft, but with careful planning I can get over 2000ft. of climbing on a 40 mile ride.

Clyde1820

I suppose that a steady 15mph wind makes me question if my riding is the best thing to be doing.

Years ago, I used to have a lot of power I could put down to the pedals. And so, while I might not necessarily like it, I could generally tolerate up to 25mph or so.

These days, on clearly blustery days, I generally pick a different form of exercise.

Bassmanbob

Come do the Horrible Hundred in Clermont, FL in November 2021 (they're not having it this year). There's about 4,800' elevation in a century ride. It's not as much as others, but the hills are steep grades. We've had some out-of-staters surprised.

Bassmanbob

Two weather conditions prevent me from going out. Wind above 25mph and lightening.

TricycleTom

Yesterday, we had 20 gusting to 30 and that was still OK. I ride for exercise and live in a crossroad hamlet, so I ride into the wind and back. If I have to use the granny gears going out, I'll really be flying on the way home. My gear range is 27-100" and I have used both ends just once this year on the flat, hitting 30 MPH.
I'd be more cautious about gusty crosswinds, narrow shoulders, and fast traffic.

Billhpeloton

[It’s a good idea to be careful with the “Death Grip” on the bars in a crosswind, especially if you’re descending. It can be a recipe for high speed shimmy.

Steeler_fanatic

My limit is 10 mph as the wind always seems in opposition on the routes I prefer. Since I have an indoor trainer option, I just stay in on those days.

GlennR

I rather ride in a tornado than on a trainer.

Steeler_fanatic

I'd like to see that

GlennR