Will we remember 2011 as the year of the wind ?
Ezy Rider
Posts: 415
I remember February 2011 and thinking roll on spring as i cant wait to get out riding, then early march was bloody freezing ,yet still i was excited about springtime. I was well miffed that the severity of the winter played major havoc with the mileage i clocked up over the winter and i was delighted to hit the roads full on at the end of March 
1st ride out into the spring season ............bit windy today ,but ill plough on. :roll: several more rides, is this friggin wind ever gonna let up !! :x get into the summer months and the summer to rival 1978 that was forecast never materialises , its chucking it down and still windy. i head off to lanzarote where its 30 C hot dry and calm down in puerto del carmen, ahhhhhhhh this is bliss. get back home and the wind is howling :evil: enter autumn and no improvement at all, my mileage is way down on last year and every time i go out it is into swirly and gusty weather, is this bloody wind ever going to take a hike !!
enter winter, night dropping like a stone, storms, gales and thumping rain.
in cycling terms for me, 2011 has been an absolute stinker. that damned wind at the start of the year simply never let up. was anybody elses cycling year ruined or severely compromised simply by the amount of wind present in 2011 ?
On another moan, dont think much of how the forum looks now, wish they had left it just the way it was..........if it aint broke............
1st ride out into the spring season ............bit windy today ,but ill plough on. :roll: several more rides, is this friggin wind ever gonna let up !! :x get into the summer months and the summer to rival 1978 that was forecast never materialises , its chucking it down and still windy. i head off to lanzarote where its 30 C hot dry and calm down in puerto del carmen, ahhhhhhhh this is bliss. get back home and the wind is howling :evil: enter autumn and no improvement at all, my mileage is way down on last year and every time i go out it is into swirly and gusty weather, is this bloody wind ever going to take a hike !!
enter winter, night dropping like a stone, storms, gales and thumping rain.
in cycling terms for me, 2011 has been an absolute stinker. that damned wind at the start of the year simply never let up. was anybody elses cycling year ruined or severely compromised simply by the amount of wind present in 2011 ?
On another moan, dont think much of how the forum looks now, wish they had left it just the way it was..........if it aint broke............
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2012 Colnago CX-1
2015 Colnago AC-R
Exeter Wheelers
Hoping next year is better!!
This is the year of the incredibly mild start to winter - its 14 degrees outside today.
Anyone who put their bike away 2 months ago missed some really nice weather.
WTF :shock:
Bloody fair weather cyclist :roll:
I've suffered with flatulence all my life, even got expelled from a French lesson at school for farting into the microphone on the communication system and disrupting the class :!:
So any wind ain't a problem for me
Lancashire Cycle Link Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/126682247491640/
Strava http://app.strava.com/athletes/198938
That's bloody annoying, I was hoping I could break in my new winter boots on tonight's ride following how cold it was yesterday.
Have yet have to wear anything more than a SS jersey over a compression base layer yet - even on the Sat morning club run onto the foggy North Downs. The full gloves and roubaix tights have been out the last couple of weekends though.
Looks like Saturday could be a bit chillier mind - hope my Windstopper overshoes arrive from Wiggle in time!
Wimp I know, but that bloody wind , the chill and my knocking knees
2012 Colnago CX-1
2015 Colnago AC-R
Exeter Wheelers
Were you heading West? I was heading East in South Manchester, no wind, and I was AWESOME 8)
Consider it some extra training!
As for putting your bike away for winter, get real, we haven't even had a frost yet, bit of a wimp aren't you!
I only revert to indoors when it is freezing, snowing or raining, otherwise ride through the year.
and then you headed home which equals west and you got stopped dead in your tracks by a gale ?
free pain is listening to my wife nagging and i gget more than enough of that. i dont shelve the bike for winter at all, i just wish the bloody wind would tone down a bit as its been ever present the entire 2011
I'd done the westward journey in the morning before the breeze got up too much, just the odd nasty gust at that time. The journey I'm talking about WAS the "heading home" journey.
http://www.northcheshireclarion.co.uk/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-15948258
Strava http://app.strava.com/athletes/198938
If you look at the http://www.wunderground.com data, it seems to back that up (this is from Gatwick, I think, and first 11 months of each year for a fair comparison):
Also, looking at wind speed and directions, I think the wind in my area has been more consistent in it's direction with a higher proportion of 'high wind' days (avg. wind speed > 30km/h).
I'm only jesting Ezy.
Seriously though, I know we all moan about wind, but after a few years it does get easier, it is still there but it is almost as though you can cut through it better as you build more power.
Yep probably this year has been windy, but if you don't ride in it then you don't get stronger, don't forget everyone else's times tumble in a head wind as well, just some become more fatigue than others!
Just keep riding and soon you'll just shrug your shoulders and move on!
Yesterday, when I was out it was particularly windy as it has been a few times in the last couple of months but over the whole year I've not noticed it worse than other year, and I've clocked up my highest mileage this year.