Windy. All the time. Is it the same for you ?

bristolpete

So, after moving three years ago this year, I ride in Devon, despite my name and I have on the whole found and find it incredibly windy. I live on an Estuary, which I suspect contributes with offshore and onshore winds creating a vortex (big word) but is it windy on the whole everywhere else or just down here in the South West of the South West ?

Bloody hard work today, but at points got a tailwind, though on the whole battered from all sides....

What say you ?

Is El Nino to blame ? :evil:

cougie

You're a cyclist. It's always windy and if you ever get a tailwind you'll be telling friends and family about it for years.

If it doesn't kill you it just makes you stronger.

bristolpete

cougie wrote:

You're a cyclist. It's always windy and if you ever get a tailwind you'll be telling friends and family about it for years.

If it doesn't kill you it just makes you stronger.

Disagree. Winds me up.

cougie

Then cycling is not the sport for you. Plus don't forget you're creating a lot of this wind resistance anyway.

chrisaonabike

Obviously, unless you're going quite slowly, you'll have a headwind all the time.

Therefore, if you occasionally have a tail wind, you're either not working hard enough, or you're just quite slow.

Sorry, don't blame me for the laws of physics.

bristolpete

OK, so a simple discussion on excessive wind has turned into me being s**t on a bike. Nice.

imposter2.0

bristolpete wrote:

but is it windy on the whole everywhere else or just down here in the South West of the South West ?

It's only windy where you are. Everywhere else in the world is fine.

DavidJB

Stupid questions get stupid answers?

Alex99

bristolpete wrote:

So, after moving three years ago this year, I ride in Devon, despite my name and I have on the whole found and find it incredibly windy. I live on an Estuary, which I suspect contributes with offshore and onshore winds creating a vortex (big word) but is it windy on the whole everywhere else or just down here in the South West of the South West ?

Bloody hard work today, but at points got a tailwind, though on the whole battered from all sides....

What say you ?

Is El Nino to blame ? :evil:

It's sure to be windy on the coast. Maybe swap out the front disc wheel for something more sensible and start riding with some really big & strong dudes to put a hole in the wind.

gratziani

Living on the coast in Essex it is always windy as well , the missus has started cycling this year and she realises this every time she goes out and moans about it.

When I done the Prudential 100 last year and we were biking up the embankment a lot of people were moaning about the headwind , me and my two mates did laugh to ourselves as it was hardly registering for us

We think of ourselves and adopted Belgian hardmen 8)

Bobbinogs

The best thing about riding into a headwind with my missus behind is that the wind stops me hearing all the moaning :-)

gratziani

Bobbinogs wrote:

The best thing about riding into a headwind with my missus behind is that the wind stops me hearing all the moaning :-)

every cloud has a silver lining

oldbazza

Well I'm out in the fens so it doesn't really matter which way the direction is it always feels like it's in your face;just have to learn to live with it,makes those rare days without any wind a bonus.

JesseD

Permenant headwind, but when you're as fast as I am it becomes expected. :-)

Alex99

oldbazza wrote:

Well I'm out in the fens so it doesn't really matter which way the direction is it always feels like it's in your face;just have to learn to live with it,makes those rare days without any wind a bonus.

Aah, the fens. Very occasionally, I do a linear ride from Sandy to Wisbech. The headwind was so bad the one time, I nearly cried.

fenix

We have it easy according to Mark Beaumont -

MB: We grumble about headwinds in the UK but you need to go to the southern hemisphere to understand them. In Australia or Patagonia, that wind just circles off the South Pacific and Antarctica. It doesn’t gust, it stays unrelentingly fierce all day, and when you’re on your bike for 12 hours a day it just feels like riding uphill for 12 hours. Heading to the far north and south, like Alaska and Patagonia, can be a bit nippy too.

Alex99

Fenix wrote:

We have it easy according to Mark Beaumont -

MB: We grumble about headwinds in the UK but you need to go to the southern hemisphere to understand them. In Australia or Patagonia, that wind just circles off the South Pacific and Antarctica. It doesn’t gust, it stays unrelentingly fierce all day, and when you’re on your bike for 12 hours a day it just feels like riding uphill for 12 hours. Heading to the far north and south, like Alaska and Patagonia, can be a bit nippy too.

You've got to be tough to deal with that for days on end.

ben@31

The worst kind is when you do a circular loop and have a headwind all the way around. This weather phenomenon only happens when on a bike

slowmart

As a cyclist in the UK you have to learn to love two aspects you have no control over. The wind and the rain.

When it's blowing a hoolie here I just go and search some challenging climbs or when it's not so strong plan my ride according to the direction so I have the homeward leg downwind .

bristolpete

Well, as far as I can recall it was less windy before 09 when the gulf stream sat higher. I recall a documentary about it and the El Nino thing stating it was here for 10 years til the next shift. But, to me, 2106 has been the windiest year yet, with or without an estuary.

vinnymarsden

I live in Sheffield area, 2nd most landlocked location in the UK after Birmingham I once read!! I think if you are central the wind NEVER has a distinct direction, it just seems to swirl around constantly, and the battle into the headwind and the hope of a tailwind seem to never actually quite gel together! I think riding in wind is okay, but past 20mph for me it gets dangerous , everything much more "twitchy" if you get my drift.
I would hate for a driver to run me down with no real fault on their part because I was blown into them, we expect careful consideration, and realistically we should be prepared to return the favor, hence its the man cave when it's too windy for me.

ravey1981

ChrisAOnABike wrote:

Obviously, unless you're going quite slowly, you'll have a headwind all the time.

Therefore, if you occasionally have a tail wind, you're either not working hard enough, or you're just quite slow.

Sorry, don't blame me for the laws of physics.

You obviously don't understand them either.... There is a difference between a headwind and air resistance.

bristolpete

VinnyMarsden wrote:

I live in Sheffield area, 2nd most landlocked location in the UK after Birmingham I once read!! I think if you are central the wind NEVER has a distinct direction, it just seems to swirl around constantly, and the battle into the headwind and the hope of a tailwind seem to never actually quite gel together! I think riding in wind is okay, but past 20mph for me it gets dangerous , everything much more "twitchy" if you get my drift.
I would hate for a driver to run me down with no real fault on their part because I was blown into them, we expect careful consideration, and realistically we should be prepared to return the favor, hence its the man cave when it's too windy for me.

A considered sensible reply. I hear you mate.

Odd thing here, but where I live there is a golf course at the estuary. There are two flags flying perhaps 500 yards apart. One day they were blowing in opposite directions, which sums up what this year has been like. Overly windy and swirling. Not head nor tail wind, just wind.

DavidJB

bristolpete wrote:

Well, as far as I can recall it was less windy before 09 when the gulf stream sat higher. I recall a documentary about it and the El Nino thing stating it was here for 10 years til the next shift. But, to me, 2106 has been the windiest year yet, with or without an estuary.

Not sure I'll still be riding in 2106 but thank's for the heads up time traveler man.

slowmart

Re the changing flags on a golf course.

Its nothing to do with the jet stream. Its either down to localised topography or alternatively its what most people call sea breeze which occurs when the wind blows from a resulting higher air pressure over water to a lower pressure over the land which then causes the sea breeze. The sea breeze strength will vary depending on the temperature difference between the land and the ocean. At night, the roles reverse. The air over the ocean is now warmer than the air over the land.

bristolpete

DavidJB wrote:

bristolpete wrote:

Well, as far as I can recall it was less windy before 09 when the gulf stream sat higher. I recall a documentary about it and the El Nino thing stating it was here for 10 years til the next shift. But, to me, 2106 has been the windiest year yet, with or without an estuary.

Not sure I'll still be riding in 2106 but thank's for the heads up time traveler man.

Two L's in time traveller. Just a heads up. :?

bristolpete

Slowmart wrote:

Re the changing flags on a golf course.

Its nothing to do with the jet stream. Its either down to localised topography or alternatively its what most people call sea breeze which occurs when the wind blows from a resulting higher air pressure over water to a lower pressure over the land which then causes the sea breeze. The sea breeze strength will vary depending on the temperature difference between the land and the ocean. At night, the roles reverse. The air over the ocean is now warmer than the air over the land.

Superb. Thanks.

SME

I must admit, I don't like too much wind. It's not the wind, it's the sudden gusts that can suddenly sideshift you - some roads around here are quite narrow. Apart from that I just get on with it.

I cycle around 18- 28 miles a day depending on my commute route (when using the train too). I live at the seafront and have had sudden gusts that feels like I've hit a wall - on such days I'm lucky if I can punch through it and do 10-12mph (picks up when the gust goes!), but just get on with it.

I did cycle to work one Monday morning and made such good time I took a slight sightseeing tour around London (about 55 miles that day). On the following Tuesday I decided to cycle into work again, and the wind was in my face for the whole 41 miles... I was 10 mins late!

If you're doing a one way trip then yes, it can be fustrating. But if your planning a circular ride out (ie back to the start point) then, as has been said, try and make the homeward bound leg with the wind - you'll still get a good workout at the beginning.

Steve

mikpem

I feel like I always have a headwind over here on the East coast (Suffolk) too.

Last week I set off for a short ride and felt it battering me for 3/4 and was thinking my average would be pretty slow for the ride, then looped round to head towards home and it felt a bit better but still with a headwind. Well it turns out I was so used to pushing hard into the wind that the last leg my average was over 5mph faster so I was creating my own headwind.... So I would say it does make you stronger!

On that rare day that it's not so windy you will feel like you're flying

StillGoing

bristolpete wrote:

So, after moving three years ago this year, I ride in Devon, despite my name and I have on the whole found and find it incredibly windy. I live on an Estuary, which I suspect contributes with offshore and onshore winds creating a vortex (big word) but is it windy on the whole everywhere else or just down here in the South West of the South West ?

Bloody hard work today, but at points got a tailwind, though on the whole battered from all sides....

What say you ?

Is El Nino to blame ? :evil:

Definitely more windy over the last few years. Even when we have a bright sunny day there's a good wind to go with it. I'm in the heart of the East Mids and the wind never seems to make up its mind which way its going. You pick a route thinking you're heading into it going out only to find it change direction and be in your face still on the way back in.

Cycling is an all level participation and the MNFU brigade telling you you're just slow are merely after a bit of ego massage.

Frank Wilson

Apparently there is no headwind on a turbo trainer if placed indoors.