It is a PITA
04-09-17, 04:12 PM
#1
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Thread Starter
It is a PITA
Ok now it is April and not so cold but here in Illinois but the wind is nuts. It looks like all week next week 15-25 mph winds and today they are gusting to 30. I tell you I would much rather put on my gloves, gortex, and running pants and ride with much less wind and it be 35 degrees. I will take cold over wind any day.
Ok I have my complaint for today. I think I will stick to the running shoes until this passes. I may even opt for the treadmill to avoid the wind running. It slowed me today running into it............no bike.
Ok I have my complaint for today. I think I will stick to the running shoes until this passes. I may even opt for the treadmill to avoid the wind running. It slowed me today running into it............no bike.
04-09-17, 04:30 PM
#3
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Windy up here on the 45th of northern Michigan....but it's a knockout 78deg right now. 
04-09-17, 04:31 PM
#4
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any trails thru the woods? someone recommend that to me last fall & trees help a great deal
04-09-17, 04:32 PM
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Pack up a change of clothes and your credit card and just ride down wind until it changes. It might bring you full circle and back home in a week or so, or if you run out of continent, you can fly home.
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An ounce of diagnosis is worth a pound of cure.
Just because I'm tired of arguing, doesn't mean you're right.
“One accurate measurement is worth a thousand expert opinions” - Adm Grace Murray Hopper - USN
WARNING, I'm from New York. Thin skinned people should maintain safe distance.
04-09-17, 09:27 PM
#6
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I'm here in Dallas, TX where we get our share of wind. The way I look at it, wind will make you stronger. So on a windy day where you would otherwise stay indoors and be a girlyman, go out and ride straight into the wind, with the idea in mind that you are going to fight until you can't fight anymore. Dont' worry if you only go 5, 10, 15... miles, let the wind be your enemy. Then turn around, hoist the spinnaker and haul a$$ back to the house. The ride into the wind will probably take double the effort and it will make you stronger in less time than on a calm day.
04-09-17, 09:46 PM
#7
Senior Member
Here's an alternative for those windy days... get a friend or your significant other to drive you and your bike "X" number of miles into the wind and drop you off. Ride back one way with the tail wind of your life.
I did that last year. My wife drove me about 30 miles down the road. I rode back, and at the end of the ride, my average was a little over 21 mph on my heavy bike. It was a blast.
And, for an editorial comment, I wish the weather dudes who call those days "breezy" would have to ride a bicycle INTO 20 or 30 miles of "breezy". I think they'd use a new adjective to describe those conditions.
I did that last year. My wife drove me about 30 miles down the road. I rode back, and at the end of the ride, my average was a little over 21 mph on my heavy bike. It was a blast.
And, for an editorial comment, I wish the weather dudes who call those days "breezy" would have to ride a bicycle INTO 20 or 30 miles of "breezy". I think they'd use a new adjective to describe those conditions.
04-09-17, 09:46 PM
#8
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Plenty of wind up here in Minnesota. The first 15 miles of Saturday's ride was straight into a steady 20 MPH wind (plus gusts). And it was on gravel. Later there was a solid 10 miles of even greater cross winds. There were times on dicy gravel descents when those cross winds challenged my (limited) technical skills.
Just remember, the wind is ALWAYS your friend. It's just a friend that doles out more than its share of tough love.
Just remember, the wind is ALWAYS your friend. It's just a friend that doles out more than its share of tough love.
04-09-17, 09:55 PM
#10
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Here's an alternative for those windy days... get a friend or your significant other to drive you and your bike "X" number of miles into the wind and drop you off. Ride back one way with the tail wind of your life.
I did that last year. My wife drove me about 30 miles down the road. I rode back, and at the end of the ride, my average was a little over 21 mph on my heavy bike. It was a blast.
I did that last year. My wife drove me about 30 miles down the road. I rode back, and at the end of the ride, my average was a little over 21 mph on my heavy bike. It was a blast.
There are hammer heads around here (and surely everywhere else) who take advantage of very high wind days . Sample post from a couple of months ago on a local club page, "Anyone want to go segment hunting tomorrow? Up to 50 mile-an-hour gusts out of the west..." That's how those seemingly super-human Strava KOMs are done.
04-10-17, 04:55 AM
#11
Here's an alternative for those windy days... get a friend or your significant other to drive you and your bike "X" number of miles into the wind and drop you off. Ride back one way with the tail wind of your life.
I did that last year. My wife drove me about 30 miles down the road. I rode back, and at the end of the ride, my average was a little over 21 mph on my heavy bike. It was a blast.
And, for an editorial comment, I wish the weather dudes who call those days "breezy" would have to ride a bicycle INTO 20 or 30 miles of "breezy". I think they'd use a new adjective to describe those conditions.
I did that last year. My wife drove me about 30 miles down the road. I rode back, and at the end of the ride, my average was a little over 21 mph on my heavy bike. It was a blast.
And, for an editorial comment, I wish the weather dudes who call those days "breezy" would have to ride a bicycle INTO 20 or 30 miles of "breezy". I think they'd use a new adjective to describe those conditions.
04-10-17, 05:52 AM
#13
Full Member
It has been pretty wind here in North Florida recently also. I have found that if I get out early , it is usually at lesser speeds. Of course, there have been days that the wind is over 15 mph and it seems like it is going against me no matter what way I ride. It just likes to make the ride more challenging.
At least I can still get out and ride. That is the most important part.
At least I can still get out and ride. That is the most important part.
04-10-17, 08:07 AM
#14
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It has been pretty wind here in North Florida recently also. I have found that if I get out early , it is usually at lesser speeds. Of course, there have been days that the wind is over 15 mph and it seems like it is going against me no matter what way I ride. It just likes to make the ride more challenging.
At least I can still get out and ride. That is the most important part.
At least I can still get out and ride. That is the most important part.
04-10-17, 09:57 AM
#15
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Ok now it is April and not so cold but here in Illinois but the wind is nuts. It looks like all week next week 15-25 mph winds and today they are gusting to 30. I tell you I would much rather put on my gloves, gortex, and running pants and ride with much less wind and it be 35 degrees. I will take cold over wind any day.
Ok I have my complaint for today. I think I will stick to the running shoes until this passes. I may even opt for the treadmill to avoid the wind running. It slowed me today running into it............no bike.
Ok I have my complaint for today. I think I will stick to the running shoes until this passes. I may even opt for the treadmill to avoid the wind running. It slowed me today running into it............no bike.
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When I ride my bike I feel free and happy and strong. I'm liberated from the usual nonsense of day to day life. Solid, dependable, silent, my bike is my horse, my fighter jet, my island, my friend. Together we will conquer that hill and thereafter the world.
When I ride my bike I feel free and happy and strong. I'm liberated from the usual nonsense of day to day life. Solid, dependable, silent, my bike is my horse, my fighter jet, my island, my friend. Together we will conquer that hill and thereafter the world.
Last edited by Barrettscv; 04-10-17 at 10:49 AM.
04-10-17, 11:21 AM
#16
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All last week we here in the Lou had to put up with some pretty stiff winds and of course they were rarely tailwinds... how the hell does that work out? Even just standing at a stoplight was a challenge to keep from falling over. There were stretches where riding into the wind and maintaining 6mph felt like it took as much effort as maintaining 25mph on a normal day, it sucked royally but was a good workout.
04-10-17, 11:56 AM
#18
afraid of whales
Ok now it is April and not so cold but here in Illinois but the wind is nuts. It looks like all week next week 15-25 mph winds and today they are gusting to 30. I tell you I would much rather put on my gloves, gortex, and running pants and ride with much less wind and it be 35 degrees. I will take cold over wind any day.
Ok I have my complaint for today. I think I will stick to the running shoes until this passes. I may even opt for the treadmill to avoid the wind running. It slowed me today running into it............no bike.
Ok I have my complaint for today. I think I will stick to the running shoes until this passes. I may even opt for the treadmill to avoid the wind running. It slowed me today running into it............no bike.
Went for a 25miler today, sunny and 50* on the Front Range, (and my property taxes are $900/yr
)
04-10-17, 11:00 PM
#19
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In the Spring, one of my alternative exercises for cycling is yardwork. Lot's of that to be done with the forest close by.
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04-11-17, 05:11 AM
#20
Senior Member
I thought about commuting yesterday - but the forecast winds of '20-25, gusting to 35' promptly removed that thought from my mind. I'm old and out-of-shape as it is, so battling those kinds of winds on my first day of commuting for the year (12.5mi each way) was out of the question. BTW, it would have been almost a direct headwind on the commute home - in heavy rush hour traffic.
04-14-17, 11:33 AM
#21
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Pita
Ever been to one of those "mystery places" where balls appear to roll uphill. Illinois is like that (in oh so many ways) - no matter which direction you ride, you have a headwind.
04-14-17, 12:42 PM
#22
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Another north central Floridian here. If you look in the "did you ride" section you will see virtually all of my posts referencing the very persistent windy conditions here since early Feb. It's my fourth year here, and I don't recall it ever this crazy windy.
I'm not a wind wimp, per se, and I do get out regardless, but it is psychologically wearing on me. 15+ mph most days, and mostly into the winds on the return. Worse yet, much of my riding is in open fields, so nowhere to take shelter. At least we can ride all winter long. Bring on the heat and humidity, already!
I'm not a wind wimp, per se, and I do get out regardless, but it is psychologically wearing on me. 15+ mph most days, and mostly into the winds on the return. Worse yet, much of my riding is in open fields, so nowhere to take shelter. At least we can ride all winter long. Bring on the heat and humidity, already!
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Ride hard and ride on......
Ride hard and ride on......
Last edited by wthensler; 04-14-17 at 12:54 PM.
04-14-17, 12:55 PM
#23
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04-14-17, 01:51 PM
#24
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Ok now it is April and not so cold but here in Illinois but the wind is nuts. It looks like all week next week 15-25 mph winds and today they are gusting to 30. I tell you I would much rather put on my gloves, gortex, and running pants and ride with much less wind and it be 35 degrees. I will take cold over wind any day.
Ok I have my complaint for today. I think I will stick to the running shoes until this passes. I may even opt for the treadmill to avoid the wind running. It slowed me today running into it............no bike.
Ok I have my complaint for today. I think I will stick to the running shoes until this passes. I may even opt for the treadmill to avoid the wind running. It slowed me today running into it............no bike.
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HCFR Cycling Team
Ride Safe ... Ride Hard ... Ride Daily
2017 Colnago C-RS
2012 Colnago Ace
2010 Giant Cypress
04-14-17, 01:59 PM
#25
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I have been having the same gripe for the last few weeks . . . then I tried Zwift yesterday - OMG I'm never gonna dread riding inside again, it's freaking awesome!
