This week's Wedge Issue: Wind Chill Factor is Pointless
Wind chill factor is great for The Weather Channel to hype cold temps and create drama, but it has very little effect when your riding a bike ... unless you're a nudist.
Here's the challenge for those that want to argue for wind chill:
With the air temp is 35F/1.5C and the wind is 20 mph/32kph making the wind chill 24F/-5C, you put a glass of tap water on the patio table ... will the water in that glass freeze?
SPOILER ALERT! No, the water will not freeze until the
air temp is below 32F/0C.
For rides when it's cold and windy, simply include a wind blocking layer and dress the same as you would for the air temp. Wind chill is about the lose of heat from exposed skin, and I don't know anybody going out with exposed skin when temps are cold enough to consider wind chill.
For reference, yesterday I rode for 90+ minutes with air temp at 0F/ and 6 mph winds, making the wind chill factor -12F/-25C. I dressed for the conditions, and a wind block layer is part of my winter kit any time the temps are below 45F/8C, regardless of the wind speeds (or wind chill factor) because riding a bike is creating a constant 10-20 mph (16-32 kpm) wind.
