Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > General Cycling Discussion
Reload this Page >

The Helpful Headwind

Notices
General Cycling Discussion Have a cycling related question or comment that doesn't fit in one of the other specialty forums? Drop on in and post in here! When possible, please select the forum above that most fits your post!

The Helpful Headwind

Old 06-27-22, 05:20 PM
  #1  
livedarklions
Tragically Ignorant
Thread Starter
 
livedarklions's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: New England
Posts: 15,613

Bikes: Serotta Atlanta; 1994 Specialized Allez Pro; Giant OCR A1; SOMA Double Cross Disc; 2022 Allez Elite mit der SRAM

Mentioned: 62 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 8186 Post(s)
Liked 9,094 Times in 5,053 Posts
The Helpful Headwind

I rode 138 somewhat hilly miles in high 80s/low 90s weather with dead calm in one direction, then about a 4 mph headwind on the return trip. I realized that at that temperature range, going uphill into the headwind was actually a little easier as the airflow was actually cooling me off a little. Anyone else think this?

Do you have any other seemingly paradoxical effects like this?
livedarklions is offline  
Old 06-27-22, 05:27 PM
  #2  
Troul 
Senior Member
 
Troul's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Mich
Posts: 7,291

Bikes: RSO E-tire dropper fixie brifter

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 6 Post(s)
Liked 2,910 Times in 1,884 Posts
I cannot recall ever having a headwind being beneficial. Good that it was for you though.
__________________
-Oh Hey!
Troul is offline  
Old 06-27-22, 05:38 PM
  #3  
PacificSpray
Newbie
 
Join Date: Feb 2020
Location: New Zealand
Posts: 25
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 5 Post(s)
Liked 7 Times in 6 Posts
If the headwind was the prevailing wind then I don’t know. But if it was katabatic (descendant air from higher ground) the air would be locally colder. More comfortable?
PacificSpray is offline  
Old 06-27-22, 06:32 PM
  #4  
koala logs
Banned.
 
Join Date: May 2022
Posts: 674
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 347 Post(s)
Liked 170 Times in 140 Posts
Originally Posted by Troul
I cannot recall ever having a headwind being beneficial. Good that it was for you though.
If going slow enough like in a climb, the headwinds doesn't feel as bad and they do help to cool off. Ofc, a strong tail wind would be a lot better to cool you off and also give a bit of push in a climb!

I guess another paradoxical effect in hot weather is riding up the mountains with at least 2000 ft altitude. The air is a bit thinner up there but the lower temperatures will help make the climb a lot more comfortable.
koala logs is offline  
Likes For koala logs:
Old 06-27-22, 06:34 PM
  #5  
gringomojado
Full Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 475
Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 200 Post(s)
Liked 136 Times in 86 Posts
When going too fast, a decent headwind can be beneficial to me!

gm
gringomojado is offline  
Old 06-27-22, 06:40 PM
  #6  
livedarklions
Tragically Ignorant
Thread Starter
 
livedarklions's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: New England
Posts: 15,613

Bikes: Serotta Atlanta; 1994 Specialized Allez Pro; Giant OCR A1; SOMA Double Cross Disc; 2022 Allez Elite mit der SRAM

Mentioned: 62 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 8186 Post(s)
Liked 9,094 Times in 5,053 Posts
Originally Posted by PacificSpray
If the headwind was the prevailing wind then I don’t know. But if it was katabatic (descendant air from higher ground) the air would be locally colder. More comfortable?

It was definitely a matter of comfort. For me it was a sweet spot where the breeze was just strong enough to help evaporate sweat but not strong enough to make the climb seem harder. The thing I find worst about long hills on a hot day is the unevaporated sweat rolling down my face.
livedarklions is offline  
Old 06-27-22, 06:45 PM
  #7  
rsbob 
Grupetto Bob
 
rsbob's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2020
Location: Seattle-ish
Posts: 6,066

Bikes: Bikey McBike Face

Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2512 Post(s)
Liked 5,427 Times in 2,826 Posts
Two days ago, the temps were in the high 80s to low 90s (today it is 88) and I did get a tiny bit of relief when I was at the half-way point, I turned and got a headwind. It no doubt made me work a bit harder, but it did feel a bit better.
__________________
Road 🚴🏾‍♂️ & Mountain 🚵🏾‍♂️







rsbob is offline  
Likes For rsbob:
Old 06-27-22, 06:48 PM
  #8  
livedarklions
Tragically Ignorant
Thread Starter
 
livedarklions's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: New England
Posts: 15,613

Bikes: Serotta Atlanta; 1994 Specialized Allez Pro; Giant OCR A1; SOMA Double Cross Disc; 2022 Allez Elite mit der SRAM

Mentioned: 62 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 8186 Post(s)
Liked 9,094 Times in 5,053 Posts
Originally Posted by koala logs
If going slow enough like in a climb, the headwinds doesn't feel as bad and they do help to cool off. Ofc, a strong tail wind would be a lot better to cool you off and also give a bit of push in a climb!

I guess another paradoxical effect in hot weather is riding up the mountains with at least 2000 ft altitude. The air is a bit thinner up there but the lower temperatures will help make the climb a lot more comfortable.

This was a weird natural experiment because there really wasn't any wind in the heading out direction, then I had the light wind in my face on the hilly part of the return. There was a series of relatively big rolling hills in the 10 miles or so leading to the turnaround, and I rode the same road in both directions.
livedarklions is offline  
Old 06-27-22, 06:50 PM
  #9  
livedarklions
Tragically Ignorant
Thread Starter
 
livedarklions's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: New England
Posts: 15,613

Bikes: Serotta Atlanta; 1994 Specialized Allez Pro; Giant OCR A1; SOMA Double Cross Disc; 2022 Allez Elite mit der SRAM

Mentioned: 62 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 8186 Post(s)
Liked 9,094 Times in 5,053 Posts
Originally Posted by rsbob
Two days ago, the temps were in the high 80s to low 90s (today it is 88) and I did get a tiny bit of relief when I was at the half-way point, I turned and got a headwind. It no doubt made me work a bit harder, but it did feel a bit better.

I think that's exactly the temperature range I was dealing with.
livedarklions is offline  
Old 06-27-22, 07:06 PM
  #10  
spelger
Senior Member
 
spelger's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: reno, nv
Posts: 2,275

Bikes: yes, i have one

Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1124 Post(s)
Liked 1,171 Times in 682 Posts
it is so darn windy here that i can struggle descending. today was my second new route home from work, temps in the upper 90's, about 2000 ft of climbing, only 32+ miles, but nearly a 15mph head wind the whole way with 30+ gusts. wind has an intelligence here in reno, it knows where i am going and alters its course to "help" me.
spelger is offline  
Old 06-27-22, 07:22 PM
  #11  
ofajen
Cheerfully low end
 
ofajen's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2020
Posts: 1,965
Mentioned: 5 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 642 Post(s)
Liked 1,040 Times in 663 Posts
Definitely. At 95F, I want a strong headwind both ways. A tailwind is the worst. OTOH, I probably wouldn’t want to ride 138 miles each way into a strong headwind at any temperature.

Otto

Last edited by ofajen; 06-27-22 at 07:26 PM.
ofajen is offline  
Old 06-27-22, 07:26 PM
  #12  
indyfabz
Senior Member
 
indyfabz's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 39,058
Mentioned: 210 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 18320 Post(s)
Liked 15,295 Times in 7,229 Posts
Oh yeah. Experienced the cooling effect of a headwind during my recent tour of Vermont. Several time I went off pavement in areas that were sheltered from the wind. I get very hot, and my last helmet purchase was a mistake.
indyfabz is online now  
Old 06-27-22, 08:37 PM
  #13  
koala logs
Banned.
 
Join Date: May 2022
Posts: 674
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 347 Post(s)
Liked 170 Times in 140 Posts
Originally Posted by livedarklions
This was a weird natural experiment because there really wasn't any wind in the heading out direction, then I had the light wind in my face on the hilly part of the return. There was a series of relatively big rolling hills in the 10 miles or so leading to the turnaround, and I rode the same road in both directions.
Feeling no wind in a climb at 90F, hurts a lot. It's a lot more bearable at higher altitudes where it's colder. If only I could, I'd love to move to the mountains and live there for the rest of my life so I never have to deal with hot summers.
koala logs is offline  
Old 06-28-22, 09:23 AM
  #14  
pdlamb
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: northern Deep South
Posts: 8,847

Bikes: Fuji Touring, Novara Randonee

Mentioned: 36 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2577 Post(s)
Liked 1,900 Times in 1,192 Posts
Definitely. In the winter and cooler part of shoulder seasons I'll ride out into the wind so it'll blow me home. On warm summer days it's the reverse -- ride out in the morning with the wind and hope you've got a headwind to cool you going home. Of course that assumes moderate winds; if it's calm in the morning and predictions are for 30 mph winds after 10:00, I'll still get cooling if I arrange my ride so it's a tailwind coming home in the afternoon.
pdlamb is offline  
Likes For pdlamb:
Old 06-28-22, 09:30 AM
  #15  
genejockey 
Klaatu..Verata..Necktie?
 
genejockey's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: SF Bay Area
Posts: 17,656

Bikes: Litespeed Ultimate, Ultegra; Canyon Endurace, 105; Battaglin MAX, Chorus; Bianchi 928 Veloce; Ritchey Road Logic, Dura Ace; Cannondale R500 RX100; Schwinn Circuit, Sante; Lotus Supreme, Dura Ace

Mentioned: 41 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 10244 Post(s)
Liked 11,598 Times in 5,944 Posts
The worst situation for me is a 5-10 mph tailwind when climbing at 5-10 mph. You think you get hot when there's NO breeze, try it when the wind actually cancels out any air movement!
__________________
"Don't take life so serious-it ain't nohow permanent."

"Everybody's gotta be somewhere." - Eccles
genejockey is online now  
Likes For genejockey:
Old 06-28-22, 11:44 AM
  #16  
Iride01 
I'm good to go!
 
Iride01's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2017
Location: Mississippi
Posts: 14,810

Bikes: Tarmac Disc Comp Di2 - 2020

Mentioned: 50 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 6100 Post(s)
Liked 4,732 Times in 3,262 Posts
If the wind speed over the ground is about the same as my speed over the ground. And my only choices are headwind or tailwind. I'll choose a headwind in any situation climbing or just cruising on level ground. I want air flowing around me.

Though destination and route will force me to deal with what ever I get.
Iride01 is online now  
Old 06-28-22, 12:54 PM
  #17  
BlazingPedals
Senior Member
 
BlazingPedals's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Middle of da Mitten
Posts: 12,474

Bikes: Trek 7500, RANS V-Rex, Optima Baron, Velokraft NoCom, M-5 Carbon Highracer, Catrike Speed

Mentioned: 14 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1511 Post(s)
Liked 733 Times in 454 Posts
With my bike, I don't need to draft, unless the headwind is pretty strong. In fact, I'd usually rather get the airflow. I am often found at the back of the group, to the upwind side, deliberately catching air. So yeah, I can believe it. That also goes for riding in dead air along with a tailwind, on a hot day. Dead air is bad -- like riding indoors!
BlazingPedals is offline  
Old 06-28-22, 01:18 PM
  #18  
spelger
Senior Member
 
spelger's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: reno, nv
Posts: 2,275

Bikes: yes, i have one

Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1124 Post(s)
Liked 1,171 Times in 682 Posts
i would rather never have a head wind, always no wind or a tail wind. i have never encountered a case where i was glad there was a head wind. in my experience rarely is the head wind direct toward me, it is always moving toward with a left right bias. same with the tail wind. so even if i am going as fast as a tail wind only occasionally is there a net zero effect. more often than not there is some lateral component to the wind either due to the wind or the road i am on.
spelger is offline  
Old 06-28-22, 01:49 PM
  #19  
Litespud
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: Chapel Hill NC
Posts: 1,683

Bikes: 2000 Litespeed Vortex Chorus 10, 1995 DeBernardi Cromor S/S

Mentioned: 4 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 645 Post(s)
Liked 797 Times in 446 Posts
Originally Posted by livedarklions
I rode 138 somewhat hilly miles in high 80s/low 90s weather with dead calm in one direction, then about a 4 mph headwind on the return trip. I realized that at that temperature range, going uphill into the headwind was actually a little easier as the airflow was actually cooling me off a little. Anyone else think this?

Do you have any other seemingly paradoxical effects like this?
absolutely - I don’t do well in the heat. Any breeze - even a headwind, within reason - is a benefit if I’m suffering
Litespud is offline  
Likes For Litespud:
Old 06-28-22, 04:24 PM
  #20  
RChung
Perceptual Dullard
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 2,395
Mentioned: 36 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 900 Post(s)
Liked 1,122 Times in 482 Posts
If the temp is too high (a few degrees below normal body temperature) then wind works like a convection oven and cooks you faster. It's the opposite of wind-chill.
RChung is offline  
Likes For RChung:
Old 06-28-22, 06:41 PM
  #21  
livedarklions
Tragically Ignorant
Thread Starter
 
livedarklions's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: New England
Posts: 15,613

Bikes: Serotta Atlanta; 1994 Specialized Allez Pro; Giant OCR A1; SOMA Double Cross Disc; 2022 Allez Elite mit der SRAM

Mentioned: 62 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 8186 Post(s)
Liked 9,094 Times in 5,053 Posts
Originally Posted by spelger
i would rather never have a head wind, always no wind or a tail wind. i have never encountered a case where i was glad there was a head wind. in my experience rarely is the head wind direct toward me, it is always moving toward with a left right bias. same with the tail wind. so even if i am going as fast as a tail wind only occasionally is there a net zero effect. more often than not there is some lateral component to the wind either due to the wind or the road i am on.

TBH, until last Saturday, this would have been my position. It was just the right speed to not have a significant effect on my climbing speed, and I think it was just about 91 degrees. I've been riding for 50+ years and never felt that relief from a headwind before, which makes me think there's a really specific range of conditions where this might occur.

Also, people vary so much in how they sweat and in their body mass that these conditions might be different from person to person.
livedarklions is offline  
Old 06-28-22, 06:43 PM
  #22  
livedarklions
Tragically Ignorant
Thread Starter
 
livedarklions's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: New England
Posts: 15,613

Bikes: Serotta Atlanta; 1994 Specialized Allez Pro; Giant OCR A1; SOMA Double Cross Disc; 2022 Allez Elite mit der SRAM

Mentioned: 62 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 8186 Post(s)
Liked 9,094 Times in 5,053 Posts
Originally Posted by RChung
If the temp is too high (a few degrees below normal body temperature) then wind works like a convection oven and cooks you faster. It's the opposite of wind-chill.

Upper 90s, definitely have felt that. Especially when it's humid.
livedarklions is offline  
Old 06-28-22, 10:51 PM
  #23  
Reynolds 
Passista
 
Reynolds's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 7,584

Bikes: 1998 Pinarello Asolo, 1992 KHS Montaña pro, 1980 Raleigh DL-1, IGH Hybrid, IGH Utility

Mentioned: 5 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 866 Post(s)
Liked 711 Times in 392 Posts
A friend of mine says "Wind is your friend!"
(You better try to be its friend, as it will always be stronger than you)
Reynolds is offline  

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.