Terrible wind problem

mcj78

Anyone else suffer from this?

The last 2 weeks my commute has been plagued by headwinds no-matter which direction i'm heading, my commute involves a 6-7 mile strectch of a long, straight main road which seems to have a strange omnidirectional wind problem. In the morning I get it from the east when i'm heading east & by the time i'm heading home at night in a westerly direction it comes at you from the west - usually stronger as well, at some points i've been reduced to walking pace by it, it's driving me mental! :x Someone must have a similar experience, or is it just me?

J

asprilla

mcj78 wrote:

Anyone else suffer from this?

The last 2 weeks my commute has been plagued by headwinds no-matter which direction i'm heading, my commute involves a 6-7 mile strectch of a long, straight main road which seems to have a strange omnidirectional wind problem. In the morning I get it from the east when i'm heading east & by the time i'm heading home at night in a westerly direction it comes at you from the west - usually stronger as well, at some points i've been reduced to walking pace by it, it's driving me mental! :x Someone must have a similar experience, or is it just me?

J

You are not alone. For the most part everyone who lives south west of London and commute in shares your pain.

holybinch

+1

gtvlusso

Yup - heading North in the morning is a killer - offshore north easterleys.....then get stung with onshore south westerleys on the way home....

Occasionally get a break, but not often!

always_tyred

Britain is the windiest country in Europe.

Scotland is the windiest part of Britain.

At least I don't live in the Western Isles.

iPete

Asprilla wrote:

mcj78 wrote:

Anyone else suffer from this?

The last 2 weeks my commute has been plagued by headwinds no-matter which direction i'm heading, my commute involves a 6-7 mile strectch of a long, straight main road which seems to have a strange omnidirectional wind problem. In the morning I get it from the east when i'm heading east & by the time i'm heading home at night in a westerly direction it comes at you from the west - usually stronger as well, at some points i've been reduced to walking pace by it, it's driving me mental! :x Someone must have a similar experience, or is it just me?

J

You are not alone. For the most part everyone who lives south west of London and commute in shares your pain.

This!

Although its been quite good recently. Thank the lord for drop bars..

mattrsa

I almost gave up today the head wind was so strong on the way to work

Normally takes me about an hour and 5 min to get to work

today it took .......... 1hour 23minutes !

Was not a happy bunny when I eventually got to work

Gussio

Wind = resistance training = good for you = pray for more wind

PBo

I thought was going to be a medical thread about the effects of post bike ride curries.




.....IGMC

Aidy

You should probably see a doctor about it, rather than asking us lot

mcj78

Heh, glad it's not just me then - the commute in question follows a long straight, open main rd on the south side of Glasgow, not too far from the river - could this be a contributing factor? I'm not sure if there's any tidal influence on the river per-say, but do tides have any bearing on wind direction at all?

Was talking to an African guy on an old mtb at a set of lights last week & the look of total despair on his face was priceless, think he may have thrown his bike over a hedge & walked it after another mile or so - that day I was struggling to maintain walking pace whilst tucked up into a ball on the drops & wobbling all over the place due to frequent random side-gusts that almost send you under a bus, great fun!

Looking forward to my way home tonight safe in the knowledge there's someone, somewhere, facing an eye watering headwind that almost forces you to an complete halt!

J

asprilla

Gussio wrote:

Wind = resistance training = good for you = pray for more wind

Wind can be good, but does it have to be all the time?

The last mile or so of my commute passes between high sided reservoirs and the massize earth walls (see how I resisted saying 'big dykes') act like a wind funnel.

mcj78

Ha - the gut wrenching, eye watering, plant-wilting farts i've learned to deal with - side effect of a high protein diet I suppose... :oops:

ketsbaia

Same issue here (with both types of wind ).

The Old Kent Road seems to have one setting in both directions - in your face. Mercifully, it's only a couple of miles long.

merkin

Sounds to me that you have all upset the Gods somehow :twisted:
Naughty people. :P

unixnerd

I plan my ride around the wind. I generally do a loop starting from my house. I take the outbound leg on the more exposed road with the wind behind me and then try to come back on roads which go through forrestry or have long downhill sections into the wind. Seems to help :-)

cjcp

Asprilla wrote:

Gussio wrote:

Wind = resistance training = good for you = pray for more wind

Wind can be good, but does it have to be all the time?

The last mile or so of my commute passes between high sided reservoirs and the massize earth walls (see how I resisted saying 'big dykes') act like a wind funnel.

I prefer a tailwind on the way home. My legs aren't good in the morning, so a tailwind's wasted on me.

gabriel959

I am surprised people are typing and kind of coherent answers to this post...

My recommendation is to MTFU :twisted:

Kieran_Burns

Anyone going home tonight into that wind... Good Luck.

I've had to come home early and cycled over 10 miles into that utter, utter b*tch of a headwind.

Took me over 50 minutes to cover the 10.5 miles. There were points I was practically at a standstill and I was having to push downhill to maintain double figures at one point.

I really am not exaggerating.. normal sections where I would be cruising in 6/7 gear at somewhere between 21-25 mph I was struggling to hold 11mph in 3rd

Oh, God. That was evil.

Specialized Needs

ketsbaia wrote:

Same issue here (with both types of wind ).

The Old Kent Road seems to have one setting in both directions - in your face. Mercifully, it's only a couple of miles long.

That has been my experience for the last 3 weeks in particular. Each day, after struggling in, I have been anticipating the tailwind back through SE London in the evening. But it never appears :evil: . It has got to the point where I point out the direction of the flags to my colleagues in the morning then just before I leave, accompanied by a minor rant about headwinds. They think I am nuts, wihch is probably not an unfair assumption from their perspective.

Currently the flag over parliament is indicating a (decently strong) tailwind going SE on the OKR. Let's hope it holds for once :roll:

cjcp

gabriel959 wrote:

I am surprised people are typing and kind of coherent answers to this post...

My recommendation is to MTFU :twisted:

Says the man who lives in a place where a sleeping policeman shows up on an OS map it's so flat round there :twisted:

mtb-idle

I found that the last few weeks were quite predictable; headwind in the morning and tailwind in the evening.

But this morning was one of those days when you scowl at the riders going the opposite direction to you thinking 'well at least you have got a tailwind' but the thing is they are giving you exactly the same scowl back!

gabriel959

cjcp wrote:

gabriel959 wrote:

I am surprised people are typing and kind of coherent answers to this post...

My recommendation is to MTFU :twisted:

Says the man who lives in a place where a sleeping policeman shows up on an OS map it's so flat round there :twisted:

true

but its blooming windy around the Fens, its wind we are talking here not hills ... 8)

Porgy

It's not just Southwest London - I've been getting this in the Southeast especially any bit alongside the thames. Yesterday's struggle on the thames path from Greenwich to Erith was outrageous. My legs have gone to jelly already and it's only Tuesday!! :evil:

Wallace1492

mcj78 wrote:

Heh, glad it's not just me then - the commute in question follows a long straight, open main rd on the south side of Glasgow, not too far from the river - could this be a contributing factor? I'm not sure if there's any tidal influence on the river per-say, but do tides have any bearing on wind direction at all?
J

Going East or West? I go from North West to city centre, and Maryhill Road was a tad windy today. Hopefully be behind me on way home, but that is never the case.....

Ah well, its all good fun. :P

MadammeMarie

mcj78 wrote:

Anyone else suffer from this?

The last 2 weeks my commute has been plagued by headwinds no-matter which direction i'm heading, my commute involves a 6-7 mile strectch of a long, straight main road which seems to have a strange omnidirectional wind problem. In the morning I get it from the east when i'm heading east & by the time i'm heading home at night in a westerly direction it comes at you from the west - usually stronger as well, at some points i've been reduced to walking pace by it, it's driving me mental! :x Someone must have a similar experience, or is it just me?

J

No mate, it's not just you. I feel your pain, hate headwinds. In fact, if I see a forecast of more than 20mph eastern winds, I take the train. At least I get to listen to my iPod....

(no, I don't cycle "plugged in").

mcj78

Wallace1492 wrote:

mcj78 wrote:

Heh, glad it's not just me then - the commute in question follows a long straight, open main rd on the south side of Glasgow, not too far from the river - could this be a contributing factor? I'm not sure if there's any tidal influence on the river per-say, but do tides have any bearing on wind direction at all?
J

Going East or West? I go from North West to city centre, and Maryhill Road was a tad windy today. Hopefully be behind me on way home, but that is never the case.....

Ah well, its all good fun. :P

I go from Paisley to the West End of Glasgow so i'd be heading east in the morning, then west on the way back - the wind's usually always worse on the way back, don't think i've ever had a noticeable tailwind

I'll take gabriel959's advice & MTFU anyway - last night a guy on a nice carbon scott sailed past without a care in the world & bid me good evening - he was a mere spot on the horizon after a minute or two - he did have shaved legs though, even in 3/4 length tights the exposed fur on me must increase drag quite a bit... aye, that's it - i'll shave myself completely bald & persevere!

Splottboy

I went to the Doctors and said, "I've got terrible wind, Doctor. What can you give me for it."

He gave me a kite...

ketsbaia

Specialized Needs wrote:

ketsbaia wrote:

Same issue here (with both types of wind ).

The Old Kent Road seems to have one setting in both directions - in your face. Mercifully, it's only a couple of miles long.

That has been my experience for the last 3 weeks in particular. Each day, after struggling in, I have been anticipating the tailwind back through SE London in the evening. But it never appears :evil: . It has got to the point where I point out the direction of the flags to my colleagues in the morning then just before I leave, accompanied by a minor rant about headwinds. They think I am nuts, wihch is probably not an unfair assumption from their perspective.

Currently the flag over parliament is indicating a (decently strong) tailwind going SE on the OKR. Let's hope it holds for once :roll:

That.

And you know it won't hold this evening. You just know it.

Porgy

MadammeMarie wrote:

(no, I don't cycle "plugged in").

just as well, the music you listen to