Machka 

Yes ... around here, if a person is planning to cycle up Mt Wellington, a challenge in itself, a person has to pick the day with care. It can get scary windy up there! Also quite chilly because of the elevation.

big chainring 

I remember getting caught in a snow squall once. Riding in the flatlands of Illinois in February. It was right around freezing. Heading into a good headwind and I look up ahead in the distance and see this curtain of gray/white. And its moving right toward me. Pretty much a white out as it engulfed me. Just getting pummeled with wind and snow. Lasted about 5 minutes and it was over. Then I realized the front of me was plastered with snow. I was like...crap this is all going to melt on me and I'll be soaking wet and freezing. I brushed off what I could and the snow did indeed melt. But this was in the days of wool tights and wool jerseys. The water just wicked and evaporated away. Wind alone isnt bad but combined with cold temps it can really bite you. Literally feels like your face is being stung. I've had good rides in heavy wind and bad rides too. Its all part of the game.

SHBR

Never say never.

I don't have any guilt postponing a ride.

Often times I have ridden when I could have waited an hour or perhaps a day later, after conditions improve.

I've also been lucky a few times and beat the storm.

Organized events in foul weather seem to be a cruel and unusual form of punishment to me.

I've done it, prefer not to anymore, I've got nothing to prove.

531Aussie

Wind has never stopped me riding. I already miss enough rides due to rain and cold, so if I also skipped windy days, I'd probably miss another 20 or 30 rides a year. By the way, I don't ride indoors.

I generally prefer some wind, because I know where I stand. When conditions are dead still (even worse when it's still and foggy), it feels like you've got a slight headwind the whole way, but with a wind I obviously know when I'm grinding into it, or 'across' it, and then I fly home at 50km/h when it's behind me

e17blade

When I had a pair of 50mm Mavic Cosmic Carbones I avoided windy days almost completely - it was like riding a bucking bronco - especially if the wind was gusting. I just hated it.

These days - with different wheels - I don’t mind the wind at all.

San Pedro

The other day I had some real gusty cross winds with some light snow. Even with my low profile Ultegra wheels I was feeling less than steady at times. I don't think I'll ever buy any deep wheelset because of the frequency of windy days where I ride now.

Hypno Toad

For training rides, I'll adjust start time to avoid the dangerous conditions (lightening, tornadoes, ... ), but wind typically only effect the route (avoid busy or narrow roads).

At competitive events, my training in terrible conditions has allowed me to be a strong finisher. Mind you, my races are typically free events with no serious prizes for a strong finish...

ksryder

I used to take great pride in riding outdoors all winter NO MATTER WHAT.

I no longer do that. (A) that's a good way to wear out parts in a hurry; (B) absolutely no one cares; and (C) I've proven that I can do, now I just don't want to.

But this only applies to cold and wet (which is exacerbated by wind). I don't cancel for *just* wind.

I used to be in the army - that means I'm capable of suffering, I just avoid it if possible.

ussprinceton

I ride and test if it blows me into the car lanes. If so, I don't do it

bikecrate

20 - 25 mph is about my limit. Gusty crosswinds are the main problem. I unclipped my right leg once at a light and got hit by a big gust of wind. It stood me right up and almost dumped me to the left on top of a car.

Jim from Boston

Quote:

Originally Posted by RFEngineer

At what point will you cancel your ride because of the wind? 15 mph sustained winds? 20? 30? I've had a couple beautiful days here lately, but the wind has been ridiculous. There's no way I can have an enjoyable time in 20 mph winds.
Alan

I thought this post on the Road Cycling thread, Tales of Not Riding was an appropriate answer.

San Pedro

Well, according to the Windows 10 weather app,I did a ride to week with a 45mph crosswind, and the next day a 30mph headwind. The headwind was more tiring, the crosswind was more challenging to control the bike.

fietsbob

100 knot gale, when my house is up wind.. as it was in 07.. I walked the bike then..

kcblair

12(ish) mph is my limit. KB.

PM City

It depends on the ride I have planned. It sounds a bit counter intuitive, but if I'm rolling out for an easy day, wind bothers me a lot more. If I'm headed out to hammer it a bit, I don't care as much...probably because I'm more focused on the pain

rivers

It depends. At this time of year, I get excited if the winds dip into the single digits. If it's only occasionally gusty, I'll not go out if it's gusting above 30mph. If it's really gusty, I tend to call it around 23-25mph. If it's raining, windy, and cold, I might not ride. I don't mind the cold. It was -7*C (about 20* F) the other day, and I had a lovely ride, although it was quite windy.

Litespud

At, say, 15-20 mph, the wind would definitely be a factor in the ride, but not necessarily a deal-breaker. My group (~16 riders) headed out this morning into ~18 mph wind. The outbound leg was into the wind, so we took short pulls and took it easy. We flew on the homebound leg.

kbarch

Sounds like fun - hope to get in a ride like that tomorrow....

ksryder

Yep. Where I live, if you don't ride when it's windy (esp. in spring) you'll never ride.

Went out on a tandem yesterday with 15-20 sustained and 25+ gusts. Took a KOM and a couple PRs on the way back 😆

Machka 

We did something like that recently. We rode a particular stretch of road we had not been on before during a century ride ... and I took a 7th place trophy. A couple weeks later, we were riding near that stretch of road, when I realised that if we rode it again, we'd have a roaring tailwind. And ... maybe I could boost my place and capture a 5th place trophy.

We got out there and I did 40+ km/h all the way down ... it's a slight downhill and we had a brilliant tailwind.

I checked at the end of the ride ... QOM!!

By one second.

So I'll probably end up losing it ... but then I'll just have to wait till the wind is right and try to take it again.

car knocker

I'm currently out riding in 40 mph gusts and loving it,but,I'm using my ebike so its no problem. Still getting the HR up pedaling into the wind and up hills.Lots of fun.

kbarch

How thrilling! Kudos

With decent winds still in the forecast, I was hoping to get some good times today, too, but as it turned out, the wind wasn't so strong on the roads we took, and I haven't been training well - the few achievements I did end up with were rather random. However, on the one segment I most wanted to take advantage of the wind, I did get the second best time of the year so far (of 599 athletes), so I was very happy about that, especially since the guy with the best time of the year also got his today. But it was way off my best times - it's a 350-yard 6% grade segment which I managed to do at 16.9 mph today. Best time was over 19.3 mph - a warm day with MUCH more favorable wind, and much better training.

Abe_Froman

I've never had deep section wheels...is it really that big of an issue? Is this something only wee little people worry about...or is 190 lbs going to get tossed around on the wrong wheels?

firebird854

Once my power meter arrives I won't have the slightest care about wind, in the past I would avoid 15+mph average (unless it's in the direction of a strava segment hehe) because it would skew ride metrics, but now, I can quantify effort any any weather!

jitteringjr

I am riding 62mm deep mavic cometes and cross winds suck although the more I ride with them the less severe the ‘tossing’ feels. I am only 170# these days.