I hate the wind
10-13-20, 07:13 PM
#26
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I know I saw a forecast for last Thursday of gusts to 34 or so. Thus I went mt. biking. Wind doesn’t bother me in the woods.
10-14-20, 02:38 PM
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We had steady 20mph winds with 37mph gusts here in N Lower Michigan. I stay out of the woods with that kind of wind. Trees and branches have a way of letting loose so I chose a road route that favored a favorite stretch where it was a tailwind. Fun ride but the rogue side gusts were wicked.
10-14-20, 03:08 PM
#28
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Since Long Island is relatively flat, the wind makes for virtual hills.
It's been windy the past few weeks and my average times have not diminished.
It's been windy the past few weeks and my average times have not diminished.
10-14-20, 05:48 PM
#29
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10-14-20, 06:33 PM
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10-14-20, 09:46 PM
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I'll still say though that you never hear anybody with a bike say, "Oh good, we have winds to fight today." But I myself woke up before dawn one day on Maui and was dropped off in Paia to climb 10000' of mountain, after talking about doing it non-stop for months before.
10-15-20, 06:45 AM
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But people will say 18mph headwind and gusts to 30mph... i'll pass today.
10-15-20, 07:52 AM
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10-15-20, 02:43 PM
#34
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20mph out of the S with gusts to 36mph. I almost got knocked off twice.
21 miles was enough.
21 miles was enough.
10-15-20, 03:29 PM
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Not always. I agree that many of us like hills and hate wind, but particularly when riding in unfamiliar territory, there are times when I have no idea when a hill is going to end.
About a year and a half ago, I was riding in Spain near Ronda, and had already climbed about 7000 feet and knew of another couple of thousand that were coming. But I chose a road to get me back to familiar territory and the route back to town, thinking wrongly it was a 300' climb. Turned out it was about a 1500' climb. It was up along narrow winding road through a gorgeous picturesque cork tree forest, but every time I went around a corner and *didn't* see the end, my heart sank lower.
About a year and a half ago, I was riding in Spain near Ronda, and had already climbed about 7000 feet and knew of another couple of thousand that were coming. But I chose a road to get me back to familiar territory and the route back to town, thinking wrongly it was a 300' climb. Turned out it was about a 1500' climb. It was up along narrow winding road through a gorgeous picturesque cork tree forest, but every time I went around a corner and *didn't* see the end, my heart sank lower.
Last edited by MinnMan; 10-15-20 at 03:35 PM.
10-15-20, 05:13 PM
#36
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Not always. I agree that many of us like hills and hate wind, but particularly when riding in unfamiliar territory, there are times when I have no idea when a hill is going to end.
About a year and a half ago, I was riding in Spain near Ronda, and had already climbed about 7000 feet and knew of another couple of thousand that were coming. But I chose a road to get me back to familiar territory and the route back to town, thinking wrongly it was a 300' climb. Turned out it was about a 1500' climb. It was up along narrow winding road through a gorgeous picturesque cork tree forest, but every time I went around a corner and *didn't* see the end, my heart sank lower.
About a year and a half ago, I was riding in Spain near Ronda, and had already climbed about 7000 feet and knew of another couple of thousand that were coming. But I chose a road to get me back to familiar territory and the route back to town, thinking wrongly it was a 300' climb. Turned out it was about a 1500' climb. It was up along narrow winding road through a gorgeous picturesque cork tree forest, but every time I went around a corner and *didn't* see the end, my heart sank lower.
On another note, I started a ride today and the weather channel said 7mph winds. I figured that was pretty light so I took off on a 50 mile ride with one of my daughters again. On the west side greenway in Manhattan I knew I was cruising and when we passed the heliport I saw why, a direct tailwind. As the day progressed the wind got stronger. At Yankee Stadium you could feel the wind whipping around on Babe Ruth Plaza. On Randall's Island I could feel it pushing back at me as I rode under the Amtrak trestle. On the Triborough Bridge it was pushing against me. At Citifield it was all I could do to move along Tom Seaver Way. (Like how I got two baseball greats into one ride? And two stadiums too!) But the worst was when we were riding up the Kosciusko Bridge back into Brooklyn. It was uphill with 20-30 mph winds in our face and we could barely more. But you know what? We were STILL going faster than the bumper-to-bumper traffic alongside of us. It was actually funny. The rest of the ride had winds but not as impactful and once on the streets in Brooklyn we ignored them. As we were hungry I suggested that we stop at one our family faves, Chavela's, and have guac and chips and margaritas! After two margs, I was feeling no pain for the last 5 miles or so.
A few additional points of interest on this ride:
The Joker's stair in The Bronx where he did his dance
Steinway Pianos in Astoria. My daughter was a piano major
LaGuardia Airport. Pretty quiet there. I wanted a plane to land over our heads but didn't see any.
Highbridge. This is a stone bridge built to carry water back in the 1800s into Manhattan from upstate. It allowed NYC to keep expanding with this source of water. It was all gravity fed.
Last edited by zacster; 10-15-20 at 05:19 PM.
10-15-20, 06:24 PM
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10-19-20, 09:51 AM
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You read my mind... Sometimes I'll head into a wind thinking it'll be with me on the way home, but it often changes by then. Here folks say, if you don't like the weather, just wait five minutes.
10-19-20, 11:02 AM
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10-19-20, 11:21 AM
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I rode 25 miles to a turn around directly upwind yesterday on the fix gear and spun home. Didn't see the forecast but coming home it was the sweet sight of the whites of the leaves. (Grew up outside Boston. Known the words "don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes" since childhood. That evolved to "don't pedal until you see the whites of the leaves" in my Boston racing days.
And yes, yesterday's ride was hard!
And yes, yesterday's ride was hard!
Last edited by 79pmooney; 10-19-20 at 12:53 PM.
10-19-20, 07:46 PM
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A group of us rode Sunday here in VA, and the winds turned pretty violent for part of the ride. I don’t mind a headwind as much as a dangerous crosswind. I literally moved one hand from the hood to the drops, and almost got blown over. I’m 195 lbs......
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Ride hard and ride on......
Ride hard and ride on......
10-23-20, 09:45 AM
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This time of year we usually get offshore winds called Santa Ana Winds and they can come out of nowhere and gust to 40mph+ . More than once I have headed out to the coast on a beautiful sunny fall morning and had to fight my way home!
10-23-20, 11:03 AM
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This thread reminded me to check the forecast for tomorrow morning. Steady 10 mph winds from the north, gusting to 25. Of course, my planned route will take me directly into that...
I guess I'll dress warm.
I guess I'll dress warm.
10-23-20, 01:07 PM
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10-23-20, 01:52 PM
#46
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Fingers crossed! Tropical storm remnants are making their way through the area today, and tomorrow will be the more usual high pressure cold air from Canada filling in. I should have fairly consistent winds for the 3-4 hours I'm planning on riding tomorrow. Since I'll have cargo for the return trip, the wind at my back might be welcome.
10-23-20, 09:53 PM
#47
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I have moved to a flat coastal location plentiful in variable winds. I have argued (discussed) the difference between the coastal road riding and the mountain gravel forest service road riding, with my partner. I thought the headwinds were the equivalent of hills, but I was wrong. Two recent trips to the hill country have proven our personal assessment of our own fitness severely overestimated. A mere 17-20 miles of gravel hills were equally as exhausting as a 55 miles of coastal pavement. We were riding up to 200 miles/week, but climbing 10-15% or more grades took us to a new level. We had a chance to climb up the 1.5-2 miles from one point on our ride, to the Blue Ridge Parkway, just to say we had done it. We rode 150 yards uphill very steeply before realizing that we weren't in good enough shape for this. Four years ago, I had done that climb, transitioning from rolling hills to the mountains. Yes, I'm older, but damn.
