Average Old Guy

Took off on a 5-mile out-and-back ride today with a 10mph tailwind. Going out with the tailwind was fun.

Then I made the turn to come back.

SwtBadger

First thing I check when heading out is wind location. Then head out into it, if route is not fixed for that day.

Also my saying, "if you're going to bike in spring, you're going to bike in wind."

genejockey 

Story of my life.

indyfabz

Try being on tour for days with a headwind.

delbiker1 

!0mph, that is a medium breeze.

ofajen

Riding a lot of single speed, I have developed an attitude about hills and wind. One of us is gonna lose, and it isn’t going to be me.

Otto

rsbob 

If you have a spouse or friend that is willing to pick you up on a one way ride, just point your bike down wind and enjoy an amazing speed and distance - and then get picked up and driven home. A couple of Seattle to Portland rides were like that for me.

On the other hand, rode into a 20-30 MPH headwind which had me crawling at 10-12 MPH but the return trip had me sailing at 26-28 which was a blast.

CliffordK

That is life...

I went to a bike show/swap in Albany a few years ago. 50 miles north battling a headwind. Went to the show, then enjoyed my fastest half century ride coming back south.

While at the show, I met a few people who had commuted in the opposite direction from Salem, I think. Anyway, I wished them a miserable ride in to the wind for the return trip!!! Of course knowing it was all the same. The wind I battled northwards had been at their tail earlier in the day. Although, perhaps the segment I went through was more open through the fields than their route.

Tony Marley

In 2001, a friend and I with our young daughters on our two tandems did an eight day "Tailwind Tour:" starting in Garden City, Kansas. Each morning, would turn on the Weather Channel and then ride that day whichever way the wind was blowing. After eight days and differing directions, we ended up in southern Nebraska. It was fun having a tailwind every day and no real destination.

LarrySellerz

Hate the wind.. somehow it bothers me much more than hills. Like god is laughing at me or using underhanded/dishonest methods to beat me down.

its like if a hill suddenly changed and got steeper as you’re riding up it lol. Like come on.

Maelochs

Nice bit of writing, Mr. LarrySellerz.

terrymorse 

Headwinds used to bother me, because they reduce my speed, and I interpreted the slowness to me just being lazy.

But having a power meter has cured me of that feeling. As long as I'm putting out a healthy amount of power (for me), being slowed by the wind doesn't bother me.

ofajen

I rarely seem to want to arbitrarily push super hard doing intervals of my own choosing.

OTOH, if I’m riding single speed or just decide not to downshift, a strong headwind creates the same sort of existential crisis that a hill does: I simply have to put out some higher level of effort to maintain a viable cadence in that gear.

Do that often enough and the wind starts be be more of a feature than a bug. It’s sort of a way to force myself to do the interval work I lack the willpower to do on my own, just not in a properly structured way.

Otto

CrimsonEclipse

10 days, through the mountains.

Topped out at 12mph down a significant hill, there was a lot of anger issues that day.

At the end of the ride, I was far too tired to act on that anger.

(what was I going to do to the wind? harsh language?)

squirtdad

you know the headwind is bad when you can't coast on a decently steep downwhill

indyfabz

Try it next time. I find it can help.

I did a supported tour in ND once. One 18 mile stretch over gently rolling terrain took two hours. While at the rest stop at the end of that segment the SAG bus pulled in. It was packed to the gills.

Eds0123

You guys doing it wrong, 😃 You need to find a route going downhill in a head wind, then use that head wind to push you up that hill. 😄😄😄

BlazingPedals

Winds are like hills, except that they last longer. If you want relief, just turn. Ten mph is pretty minor. I don't like winds any more than anyone else. HOWEVER, a headwind has the effect of making me look like Superman(tm), especially if I'm on my lowracer. So I try not to complain. (The guys will ignore me anyway.)

RCMoeur 

That describes the 1982 Arizona Challenge. We all had to work to pedal down the long descent into the Verde Valley because of the brutal west wind. My recollection was Lon Haldeman called it the hardest one-day ride he'd done to that point.

El Tour de Tucson 2010 had a 20+ mph direct headwind for the final 30 miles. I was riding Bike Patrol, looked down at my speedometer, and saw I was just over 8 mph. I look behind me and see a rather long narrow paceline on my wheel, with the first rider behind me (a friend) saying "You're doing great - no need to stop pulling - thanks for your service..." Heh. Can laugh about it now, but that day for many riders was "wait hours for a sag, or just keep hurting?"

Yesterday's ride was a headwind in both directions, but I wasn't in a hurry so it wasn't too bad. Kept me from sweating before my presentation.

I remember being out on I-40 near Winslow where the crosswind from the south was so brutal an eastbound rider on the shoulder edge could get gusted close to the right lane, and vice versa westbound.

But at least here we don't have trees that are permanently misshapen from a constant #%*&@^ wind.

I clearly remember the wind that came closest to killing me was a tailwind, on a sunny afternoon on Yarnell Hill in June...

Koyote

10 mph is a light breeze out here on the Great Plains.

Today I rode ten miles into a steady 20-25 mph wind, gusting to 40 mph. Then turned around and rode home. That's windy.

jaxgtr

Welcome to my world... only with my luck, the wind shifts and you have a 70 mile headwind day.

DangerousDanR

Wind in North Dakota? I don't believe you... We have no mountains so we have to have winds like that.

rosefarts

Im from Wyoming. I spent a long time in Southern Colorado and now I’m in Central Oregon. I know a little bit about riding in the wind.

You can’t plan for a tailwind home. Best case scenario, it dies. Most likely it’ll shift and kick your butt both ways.

Crosswind can induce death wobble.

When you do get that magical gale force tailwind, enjoy it. Seeing an average over 30mph on a longish ride is a beautiful thing.

Screaming at the wind, no matter how loud, doesn’t help. I’m still trying though.

Watch the crosswinds. A tumbleweed will straight up kill you.

indyfabz

When I rode across the country with a group of 13 in ‘99 we did a 63 mile day from Red Willow Lake to Page, west of Fargo. Heading east there was a great tailwind, but occasionally we had to turn right and pick up an incredible crosswind, I remember stopping in Cooperstown with another guy on the trip. We got a couple of Cokes because we needed quick sugar.

Page was really windy, but we camped at the town ball field. Since we were the first to arrive we had plenty of space to pitch behind some wooden wall that provided shelter from the wind.

livedarklions

I did a century last year where the first 50 miles were into a headwind from the east. I was turning around at 50 miles, so I was looking forward to the tailwind home. Guess which way the
wind shifted as I got to the turnaround.