forresterace

I'm not inquiring about commuting or such, where you have no choice to get where you have to go. I'm referring to recreational riding (or training) where you know the wind conditions before you go out.
Obviously this varies depending upon your geographic location - some places seem to be very windy all the time.
Would you choose to go out if the winds were were gusting from 32 - 40 mph? Needless to say, 40 mph crosswinds can be very exciting in traffic. I'm just wondering what people's parameters of choice are.

gregf83 

If they stop the ferries from sailing I don't ride.

88Tempo

No way I would ride in 30+ mph wind if I had a choice.

Steve B.

Rick

Personally I pedal east with the wind at my back and call the old ball and chain to pick me up so I can drive back,

bobwysiwyg

I hope "The Ball and Chain" isn't a forum member. You might be walking next time.

CodyDog

This time of year we have strong winds in Texas hill country. On a windy day I'll ride our country roads (no worry of traffic) but will limit my ride. Head winds can become pretty challenging.

devianb

30mph winds I only do KOM attempts within a 5 mile radius of my home. I will ride up to 25mph gusts, but only perpendicular to wind and I still won't stray too far out from city. The rural areas are flat with nothing to block the wind.

JanMM

Fun to get out there and feel like a kite on a string. Up to a point.

Troul 

Windy & cold isn't something I'd opt to enjoy.
windy & warm, I'm having a blast on the bike!
25 mph with 30+ gusts is windy.

robnol

get a highracer recumbent and u will cut through the wind ....the front profile is half of a df bike

downhillmaster

FiftySix

Last night after 8pm, I was doing my usual neighborhood ride. Per the weather news, wind was 17 mph from the northwest with gusts of 25 to 30.

Each time I turned into the wind I had to go into low gears I never use here on my flat rides. Where the wind was not impeded, the gusts felt like I was going to get knocked off the bike a few times.

forresterace

downhillmaster, you never disappoint!

DrIsotope

I live at the bottom of a confluence of mountain passes. It can get extremely windy-- the kind of wind that tips tractor trailers over and pulls the roofs off of carports (gusts in the Cajon Pass will seasonally hit 70mph.) We routinely get winds of 25-30mph (a 6 on the Beaufort Scale) which blow all of the trash cans to the end of the block.

40mph winds are gale force. People in the real world don't ride generally bicycles in gale force winds. People on the internet will look at the peak measured wind speed for the day, and claim that was the wind strength for their ride. "Bro, I rode in 35mph winds for 50 miles today!" When the avg. wind speed for the day was 8mph, with a single gust to 35mph. It's very common.

Half of my ride today was a fairly steady wind from the WSW, around 9mph. It was annoying. A few days ago, I got home just as the wind was starting to kick up, but got to "enjoy" about 25 minutes of 16mph wind right in the face. It was awful. Wind @ 16mph from the side will push a bike around. A crosswind @ 40mph would likely push you into the bushes or into traffic.

caloso

Steady is one thing. Gusty is another.

taz777

My regular ride is a short rectangular circuit around my home town. It’s often windy irrespective of my direction of travel, and it feels like I’m always riding into a strong headwind. As a purely leisure rider, windy conditions spoil my ride.

My heavier bikes cope better. My gravel bike, which is a fairly lightweight bike, becomes very twitchy in windy conditions.

canklecat

I look for 15-20 mph steady wind for headwind training efforts -- we don't have any long continuous climbs, so the closest I can get is some 5 mile or so rollers into headwinds. The tailwind boost back is a bonus -- all my top tens are tailwind assisted. Lotsa fun.

When it gets close to 30 mph, or with too much gusting, I worry more about being hit by debris. Especially with so much road and building construction -- crews don't consistently secure signs, temporary fences, garbage cans, etc. So I generally avoid those conditions.

UniChris

Something I'd neglected to consider before a windy (but not that windy) spring ride this weekend was that my hands would get cold in fingerless cycling gloves. I had a long sleeve I could have pulled on, but my body was warm enough from the exercise, it was just hands that weren't really doing anything active.

May get a full finger pair for the early late seasons, if the wind hadn't dropped after a turn I'd been thinking about trying the nitrile gloves in the first aid kit...

Doctor Morbius

So far this Spring I've been out twice with winds around 20 MPH. Both times I've gotten dust in my eyes. The last time I couldn't see out of my left eye 7 miles into the ride and finished out a 20 miler with just one eye open. Next time I'll stay in and use the trainer.

Witterings

I ride just for pleasure and find battling headlong into 20mph winds no fun at all so just leave it until another day.

FlMTNdude

Gerry221

Wind above 16 or 17mph, I tend to just jump on MTB. Use the tress as shelter.

I'm a big guy, so I act like a sail in the wind!!!

Brocephus

15+ MPH, especially if it's a cold north wind, is usually enough to get me to alter my route, if not skip the ride entirely, and do something else (hike or gym).
I seriously hate a strong headwind, takes ALL the fun our of being on a bike, IMO>

Machka 

Better wind than hills!