Headwinds, do they stop you cycling?

flyer

I only do about 100 miles per week, however I hate head wind. I am 49 and 12st 10Ib

Today on the way out I had the wind behind me and ave mph was 25mph, however when I turned around and headed south it fell to just 14mph.

When I went on the met office website it said the winds were 18mph.

I tend not to cycle if its over 25mph wind.

Does wind stop you cycling, head wind in mean of course!!!!!


Flyer

teagar

Not really, and I weigh 8 stone.

Just strap on a pair .

peanut1978

was out in 60mph+ winds a few weeks ago

no fun

but character building.

also out in snow and ice at christmas

blu3cat

nope not at all, unless it is likely to actually blow me over sideways.

I think there was a windy period last year when there was a general warning not to travel at all. I think I didn't cycle for a day then.

Headwinds are your friend, they make you a stronger rider.

bobtbuilder

No - I can only ride once per weekend + light evenings. There is no way I'm missing a chance to ride because of wind!

deal

in such conditions i always choose a route so i ride into the wind at the start, that way i get to look forward to the return leg when i can overtake cars etc. it not so much fun when the wind switches direction so you are riding into a headwind all day

nasahapley

If there's really strong winds and I've no particular reason to go for a ride (e.g. not training for an event) then I might go for a run instead, but generally no, it wouldn't stop me riding. I'll often check the forecast beforehand and devise a route that'll have a tailwind on the way back, though.

Rev\'d Gatlin

.. even if it's a bit windy.

bompington

I live by the sea in Dundee and work in Perth, 20 miles inland. In the summer you can get quite noticeable land/sea breeze shifts, so that I'm frequently facing a land breeze in the morning which has swung round to a sea breeze by the afternoon!
I've been out when local weather stations have clocked steady winds of over 40mph on quite a few occasions, headwind and sidewind but sadly never a tailwind at this sort of speed; despite cycling over some quite exposed hills I've rarely found gusts to be dangerous, perhaps my build (dense) helps here.
As for the headwinds, well I just put my head down and whinge like everyone else.

Here's the graph of average speed against effective wind (i.e. component of the wind that is acting in line with my average direction) for some of my regular commutes.
Bear in mind that this is (deliberately) a very hilly route, so wind will have less overall effect than a flatter route (but it's a killer going up some of the hills when it's into the wind!)
You can see that the overall effect is roughly linear, i.e. I lose on average roughly 1kmh for every 8kmh of windspeed against me.

Rev\'d Gatlin

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A*. Nice work. Do the colours have any significance?

bompington

Rev\'d Gatlin wrote:

A*. Nice work. Do the colours have any significance?

Different date ranges. Brown is this year, not good so far although it does include a lot of vile winter conditions. I'm clinging to the hope offered by the one you see at about 32.5kmh, a welcome boost to morale with the Etape C coming up.

Pokerface

I farking hate winds. But unless they are severe cross winds, then I'll still go ride. But I'll usually do a much shorter route on those days. Or at least try and get the headwind for the first half of the ride so I can sail home with a tailwind.

CHRISNOIR

Pokerface wrote:

...unless they are severe cross winds, then I'll still go ride...

This. Descending a hill while the wind tries to shove you over the other side of the road and rip the handlebars out of your hands is bloody terrifying - I've virtually crawled down Blackstone Edge before now!

Pokerface

CHRISNOIR wrote:

Pokerface wrote:

...unless they are severe cross winds, then I'll still go ride...

This. Descending a hill while the wind tries to shove you over the other side of the road and rip the handlebars out of your hands is bloody terrifying - I've virtually crawled down Blackstone Edge before now!

That's exactly what I'm talking about!

Especially with deep section wheels. I've had a few hairy days when the winds have nearly put me over the side of a cliff!

oldwelshman

Best time to attack in a race, into a head wind or cross wind Bucnh may chase, but adter a short while no one likes to go ont he front so you might stay away or hope someone joins you
I am same as you, just 48. You should be quite good in the wind and the speed you mention is quite good average.
I went out recently and was doing 18mph into wind and a 5 mile stretch did 33mph av with wind on slight decline/rolling road.
To be honest, ignore the speeds as they will vary depending on wind, just treat the headwind as opportunity for extra training like an interval
As some one suggested above, ensure yu go out into the headwind so you do.t get burnt out on return.
Having said that, one day last week poxy wind changed direction on one of my regular routes !!!

chuckcork

Wind or no wind just ride. You'll be longer out than back or vice versa.

Whatever the case if you have a cycle computer on your bike you'll know how fast you're going as opposed to how slow the wind makes you feel, keep it up and you'll build character!

ademort

I live in the Netherlands and where i live in the province of Zeeland we have wind 360+days of the year.It,s something you just have to accept. iv,e cycled home from work in winds of force 10 and my record slow speed is 9Km/h.Normally my commute is 16Kms and i take 30 minutes. The longest i have ever taken to get home is 52 minutes due to wind and rain
Ademort
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By ademort, shot with N95 at 2009-04-12

on the road

The wind doesn't put me off cycling; I've even rode in gale force winds. It's great, just ride against the wind for the first half of your ride, then you'll have the wind behind you on the way back.

On a windy day, you should always plan your ride so that you'll be riding against the wind for the first half of the ride, because the wind zaps your strength so it's good to have the wind behind you when you're knackered.