GlennR

It's been rather windy here for the past week or two. Wind speeds in the 8-15mph with gusts up to 20mph. So today the wind was 21mph with gusts to 31mph and I decided to go out anyway. Heading into it was a slog... like dragging a truck tire behind me. With a tailwind I was riding 50% faster. And then the crosswind was an experience. I was on a nice 3% downhill doing 32mph when I passed the golf course and even with the "grip of death" on the bars I got blown 3' to the left and just glad there ware no cars passing me.

So.. when is too much wind?

LesterOfPuppets

For me it used to be 10mph was plenty. Then after a year in Wyoming I got used to the wind and will happily go out on windier days.

79pmooney

I rode on a stormy day a few years back. It was lull to gust and back in consistent cycles. Stuff racing sailors know well. The lulls were close to 20. The gusts were up to the high 30s. Two stretches of that ride were crosswinds and open. I got caught on the first in full gust. I needed my entire half of the road to ride it and didn't dare slow and try to stop. Missed my first driveway. The next I pulled into so I could make a downwind stop, then crouched, leaning into the wind the rest of the gust cycle. The second crosswind road I simply stopped as the gust started and waited it out.

I've passed on opportunities to do that again.

79pmooney

To answer the question of how much is too much, I look at the roads I'll be riding and the bike as well. My very low BB, long and stable Raleigh Competition with its wide, soft tires is very different from my high BB fix gear that is basically a 1980s race bike (and the bike I was riding in the post above). Roads that are protected by trees and buildings can be far easier to ride than open roads. (But with the awareness of flying branches and gusts around buildings.)

I can ride into Portland and back home in far more wind than I would ever ride out in the county. In my commute days, wild almost never factored into the ride or no decision.

GlennR

^^^^^^^
I ride a 14# bike with 25mm tires on Zipp 303s.

Dean V

It helps if you ride shallow aluminium rims.
High winds are good for Strava KOM's

wthensler 

I’d say 15 is about the max that I’ll go out. It’s the blustery winds and especially the crosswinds that really make it unpleasant. I’m a bigger guy (192 lbs) and I get blown to bits to the point of danger in windy conditions. And yes, shallow rims make a big difference.

rubiksoval

The only thing that pops into my mind at the mention of wind.

Figure out which direction it's blowing and snipe accordingly.

Velo Vol 

What's there to be happy about?

jon c. 

I only worry about wind when it's cold. We rarely get winds more than the 15 - 20 mph range, but I did catch a day with 30+ mph winds and thought it was fun. I wouldn't want to do it every day, but it was interesting for the experience. It was coming straight out of the south so I took a route that allowed me to handle one of my tougher hills with ease. Of course it was very warm and I was on empty country roads. Under other conditions it could have been much less pleasant.

GlennR

Come on the only places above sea level in Florida are the highway overpasses

Pizzaiolo Americano 

The Tallahassee area is actually pretty hilly...

popeye

The problem with wind from my point of view is at some point there are too many small particles in the air and you are working hard and drawing them deep into the lungs.

genejockey 

Gee, never thought of it in terms of mph, because the winds here are often quite gusty. I can usually adjust my ride to avoid the worst of it, because the closer you are to various gaps in the hills, the worse it is, AND it generally gets progressively stronger till dark. So, I might start 4 miles farther south which puts me 4 miles farther from the gap, then start my ride upwind to that other point, so the part riding into the worst of the wind is 1) when the winds aren't so strong, and 2) not the last 4 miles of the ride.

I also tend to ride my steel bikes on windy days, too, because they're less affected by crosswinds than the CF bikes.

LesterOfPuppets

On this commute I had to duck under the roof over the entrance to a chiropractor's office for 20 minutes 'til this blew past.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bl5Jnn9B...on_share_sheet

Seattle Forrest

Maybe around 20 mph? Sometimes you can find a route that cheats the wind.

SurferCyclist

Wind sucks but where I live you either put up with it or don't ride outside a lot of the time. The absolute key thing is ensure you go out into headwind so get tailwind home (if at all possible). Getting it wrong and having a 20 mile headwind slog home is gruesome.

To answer the original question, if wind was consistently 30mph + then I'll reconsider going out, anything less I'll ride (and curse).

canklecat

I like really windy days for PR and KOM hunting. Almost every local KOM and top ten is either wind assisted or paceline assisted, so wind doping is like EPO in the 1990s -- everyone does it.

I reclaimed a top ten last month on a 1.4 mile gradual roller climb with help from a 16 mph tailwind. I had 6th for a while, then got nudged out, but got 6th again ... although it's already dropped to 7th. Everyone snipes the same segments in fall and spring when our usual south wind shifts to north and, on some days, east or west. I snipe on weekdays since I'm retired and can pick pretty much any day when the wind is right.

But it's kind of a joke. I sandbag to conserve energy, loafing into headwinds, so my average overall speed isn't impressive on really windy days. There are a couple dozen local riders who could easily beat my best times if they happened to ride the same segment on the same days in the same wind conditions. It's more impressive when a genuinely strong rider snags a KOM on a loop segment, which means he/she had to battle the headwind to do it.

One of my favorite loops is pretty well sheltered against crosswinds, partly by trees but mostly by the peculiar rolling prairie that diverts the worse of the crosswinds. It's surprisingly neutral when heading east and west, even when there's a fierce southerly or northerly wind. And it's a two lane access road with relatively little traffic, so there's little risk of danger even if we do get blown around a little. There are some segments I won't ride in crosswinds because drivers pass too closely and we need more than 3 feet for a buffer against crosswinds. So on really windy days I'll stick to a couple of familiar loops on access roads and do a few repeats trying to snag a PR.

I can avoid most traffic so I'm not too worried about vehicles on windy days. Main thing I worry about above 20 mph is debris blowing around. I caught a plastic bag in my rear derailleur a few years ago. That was exciting for a moment. If the wind is steady I'm not too worried but when it's gusting above 20 mph I start keeping an eye on those temporary road signs and barriers set up with sandbags, and overhanging tree limbs. Disease killing local live oaks makes them treacherous, especially after a rain.

I don't have any high profile rims but with the one set of 30mm or so rims I do have I can feel the difference in crosswinds. I usually prefer the low profile rims anyway.

Reflector Guy

I'll go for a ride after work and more times than not, the wind dies down to nearly nothing as we get close to sunset. So I head out into the wind, looking forward to a fast ride home with a stiff tailwind.... Only to find the tailwind has vanished! Oh well, at least I'm not headed home into the wind.

Reflector Guy

Those are the windy-day's version of the small bugs and gnats we get on the days with no wind.

A couple days ago, I rode after work and it was like being pelted with bugs! There was no wind - not even the tiniest breeze - so the bugs had apparently all decided it was time to party.

55murray

That is my limit as well.

topflightpro

I used to live in the midwest, where it was flat, wide open, and very windy. Our normal rides took us past several wind farms and a 15 mph wind was pretty much normal. The few trees that there were all grew slanted to the east as they couldn't grow straight with the constant wind from the west.

But we would also get windstorms, that would run winds up to 30-40 mph with 70mph gusts. The wind was strong enough that I could feel my 3-story apartment building moving with the wind.

Anyway, on a couple occasions, I found myself in the middle of a wind/dust storm while out riding. One time, the storm came in as I turned east (all roads ran nearly perfectly N/S-E/W), and I was cruising along at about 45mph with the wind at my back. I didn't even get my HR up. But then I turned back north and had to deal with a horrible side wind. Older Mavic Ksyriums were like sails in a side wind. I was always leaning into the wind. There would sometimes be breaks in the wind, and due to my lean, I would swerve left, nearly falling over. I would speed up or slow down to try to avoid the tumbleweeds. If they hit, they would often get stuck in the rear wheel/triangle.

I then turned back west. I was grinding in my 39-27 and traveling maybe 6-8 mph. After about an hour of that, I'd had enough. I stopped to pull out my phone and call my wife to come get me. It was then that I saw that I had 4 voicemails from her cause she didn't want me riding out in that storm.

SurferCyclist

As for getting PBs' or KOMs well it's blindingly obvious it's what 99.9% of people do, wait for a howling tailwind and then go for it. We all know that the top guys can beat our times whatever so it's all a joke. Those who like to boast about their KOMs, well kinda tragic but each to their own I guess. I know the few KOMs I've had are only borrowed and there are probably millions of quicker riders in the world so pretty meaningless in grand scheme of things. Nice to get one for sure but don't kid yourself you're the quickest.

Synmag

My usual route is on a paved rolling path through the woods next to a small river. I like to ride late afternoon/early evening after the strong sun but before the temps drop. I noticed that all these little buggers like to hang out over the path just before sunset as if they were sunbathing. I have learned to avoid them by tilting my head down and sucking air through my teeth but occasionally I suck down a large bug just as I inhale. I'm no doctor but there's gotta be some safety mechanism built in because each time it seems like they end up in my stomach.

I agree with the above comment that sailors are familiar with gusts and the same applies to biking. When I used to commute, on windy days it always seemed to me that no matter which way I was riding, it was always into a headwind. This was in a downtown setting with tall buildings with a wind tunnel effect.

When I'm fitness riding my general rule is that I don't want to ride into a headwind where I can't make progress once I get into an aero position. Typically with gusts it becomes my HIIT training.

TBH I don't know how you road riders do it any day never mind in crosswind. I'd fear for my life. It is nice on a country road with no traffic though. These new bike radars definitely help.

rower2cyclist

Anytime I see 7-8mph in the forecast I start checking my indoor setup to make sure everything is in place. I always hated the wind on or off the bike.