Tractortom

Wind here has been moving around with a coming front. Yesterday morning, out of the NE at 5, on the way home, out of the SSE at 10, this morning out of the NW at 5-6. I go north in the mornings and south in the evenings. Any time I commute, it seems that I'm fighting a head wind!!!!! I could use a break, especially on the last day of my very first commuting week.

Tractor Tom in Okeechobee FL

BHOFM

Murphys weather!

SlimRider

Could it be due to Karma?

Just think of all those ruined virgins.....

Mark Stone

It's your name "Tractor Tom". We who are Tractors get special treatment from the wind -

Closed Office

I did have a commute like that. It seemed the prevailing conditions in the morning were just opposite to those in the afternoon. But it was only 6 miles and I thought I could use the extra exercise. It might even have been a benefit, so I didn't mind at all.

Tractortom

Man! That one had me laughing out loud!!!! THANK YOU!!!!

FKMTB07

Around here, the winds are usually out of the north in the morning and out of the south in the afternoon. I commute North in the morning and south in the evening. I usually have a headwind in both directions. It's maddening.

chefisaac

I have the same issue. A friend of mine told me to make yourself small and areo dynamic.

UUUMMMM..... have you SEEN me? I am a fat. There is no "amking this body areo dynamic". I worked long and hard on this body!

tsl

Tom, in your case it could be land breeze/sea breeze.

Here on the North Coast of America (the south shore of Lake Ontario) we get breezes from the land to the lake in the morning, and from the lake to the land in the afternoon. This is due to the temperature differences between the water and the land. All coastal areas experience something similar.

I used to commute inland, into the land breeze, in the morning, and to the lake, into the sea breeze, in the afternoon. Now my commute is east/west.

The other thing I read somewhere, is that cyclists experience winds from only 45° on either side of the rear wheel as tailwinds. The other 270° we experience as headwinds.

chefisaac

God... I hope I have a tail wind on the way home. 40 mph wind for today.

tarwheel 

This is true. A crosswind often feels like a headwind, so unless you have a true tailwind or close too it, you will be fighting the wind. Also true about sea breezes if you live near the coast or a large body of water.

On the other hand, it is very common around here for winds to shift nearly 180 degrees during long rides. I can't tell you how many times I have set out on an out-and-back metric century riding into the wind thinking I would have a tailwind on the return leg, only to have the wind shift into my face on the way back. Winds are also very variable around here due to forests and topography. The wind doesn't consistently blow out of one direction like I assume it does in areas with flat terrain and few trees. Instead, it tends to follow contours in the landscape, goes around forests, etc. I figured this out while kayaking on local lakes where you can actually observe the wind "flowing" around the landscape by watching the waves; the wind is almost like water in a way.

newkie

Heh, you wuss! I live by a bay and it's always windy. 20 - 30 mph is nothing special.

(But yes, it does suck.. especially those days it seems to work against you both ways).

pityr

Its just one of those Laws of Cycling. No matter which way you are riding, the wind will always be in your face.

modernjess

It's true. It's one of those bike commuting secrets that doesn't get put into the colorful brochure.

I'm not a religious man but the serenity prayer does come in handy when you are struggling to go 4 mph into a 40 mph headwind. That and yelling obscenities to yourself.

Bikehead

Just HTFU,and ride. At lease your not riding in temps. in the 20's and teens'
with wind chills below zero. Be thankful of the place you live.

jeffpoulin

Also, the fact that you're moving forward and constantly changing direction means almost any wind will feel like a headwind.

buzzman

It's also the law of physics.

As soon as you start pedaling you are now creating a headwind. If the air is still and you are riding 15 mph you have wind resistance that you did not have while not in motion. So, naturally, most of the time it will feel like you have a headwind because it is rare that the tailwind will be strong enough and directly behind you enough to give you an advantage over the wind resistance you have created by being in motion.

Think of it like a clock. You are riding in the direction of 12 o'clock. The wind would have to be somewhere between 4 o'clock and 8 o'clock to provide any perceivable advantage and of sufficient strength for you to feel it. The smaller percentage of times when the wind is truly advantageous is a reality.

Remember, just because you're paranoid doesn't mean the wind isn't out to get you.

pityr

And here I thought the gods were just ****ing with me Guess I don't need to do my wind dance anymore.

Kojak

Sell your house and move to a place on the other side of work, same distance door to door. Problem solved.

alan s 

You experience apparent wind, which is a combination of the true wind and the wind generated by your movement. It is affected by the speed of each component wind and direction of the true wind relative to the direction of wind you generate (which is coming from straight ahead while riding).

https://www.sailingusa.info/true_wind_calculator.htm

Hydrate

I say on the way home ride past your house about 10 miles then turn around and enjoy the ride home with the wind at your back

quazimodo

Too funny, it seems to be a Florida thing (on shore and off shore flow). I get the same thing everyday in Fort Lauderdale. I repeat to myself, that which doesn't kill me, only makes me stronger (Nietzsche)

sauerwald

It's only fair that Floridians get headwinds, since they never see hills.....

paperbackbiker

Quick and easy solution: move to where you work and work where you live! Then, as the Irish love to say, "may the road rise to meet you and the wind be at you back."

Tractortom

There ARE hills in Florida, just not in the part of Florida where I live. Go up around Orlando and parts north and there is lots of rolling hills....
Where I live, the closest we come to a hill is climbing the bridge over the river in Moore Haven...

Tractor Tom in Okeechobee