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

amrushton

Without my time machine I can't comment about 2106 but cyclists in Holland have coped with it. Perhaps HTFU is required or turn a smaller gear slower and accept you will go slower into a wind

andcp

amrushton wrote:

....but cyclists in Holland have coped with it.

Most cyclists in Holland, but the chap at 1 minute in might be the exception
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c75b_98q-0c

itboffin

9 years now in Wiltshire and I can count on one hand the number of times it's not been gale force windy, oddly enough when I lived in London and didn't cycle can't say I ever noticed.

Bored of it now big time

Rigga

Yes always seems to be windy for me too up here in West Yorkshire. And yes always seems to be a headwind! Frustrating to say the least.

Roberto di Velo

It does look like the last couple of years have been windier than usual and I suspect this more disrupted weather pattern is something we may have to get used to as climate change takes hold. Sorry and all that.

fenix

Is it really windier or are we just getting weaker with age and noticing it more ?

Bobbinogs

Neither, just some folks are moaning more by the looks of it.

galatzo

Earlier starts tend to be less windy in my east midlands experience.

If you have a tailwind for more than an hour I advise your check your pulse in case you've died and gone to cycling heaven.

SME

Galatzo wrote:

If you have a tailwind for more than an hour I advise your check your pulse in case you've died and gone to cycling heaven.

Where's the 'like' button?

chris_bass

Frank Wilson wrote:

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

I have a fan set up in front of mine so i beg to differ!

pblakeney

I seem to recall this being a constant moan thoughout the whole of 2015.

I truly hope that it is not a trend.

bristolpete

Well today evidence enough. 12.5 miles in, still and calm. 12.5 home. Still and calm at work. 6 miles to the estuary in calm, sunny conditions. Got there and it were like arriving in Belgium. Absolutely howler of a wind and started to hail. Crazy. It is hard to explain, but you just have to witness it really.

dstev55

bristolpete wrote:

Well today evidence enough. 12.5 miles in, still and calm. 12.5 home. Still and calm at work. 6 miles to the estuary in calm, sunny conditions. Got there and it were like arriving in Belgium. Absolutely howler of a wind and started to hail. Crazy. It is hard to explain, but you just have to witness it really.

So basically, you're moaning that it is windy when exposed to coastal areas?

That's like moaning it's too cold if you went on holiday to the North Pole.

And for the record it was windy in Derbyshire yesterday and today, and i definitely can't blame the coast.

bristolpete

dstev55 wrote:

bristolpete wrote:

Well today evidence enough. 12.5 miles in, still and calm. 12.5 home. Still and calm at work. 6 miles to the estuary in calm, sunny conditions. Got there and it were like arriving in Belgium. Absolutely howler of a wind and started to hail. Crazy. It is hard to explain, but you just have to witness it really.

So basically, you're moaning that it is windy when exposed to coastal areas?

That's like moaning it's too cold if you went on holiday to the North Pole.

And for the record it was windy in Derbyshire yesterday and today, and i definitely can't blame the coast.

Re-read every post please. At no point do I moan. Period. I was merely wondering if living nearer the coast was causing the issue. On the whole there have been some decent replies, and then idiotic, bombastic s**t like your post that roll out the usual cliched forum rubbish about moaning, manning up, rule no. what ever blah blah blah. It was a mere discussion on the foibles of changeable weather for christs sake. give it a rest man.

bigmul

I live on the North East coast and a 360 degree headwind is usual here too. I mainly run rather than cycle, but when I'm out on the bike I really notice it. Yesterday when out felt like a proper slog...

bristolpete

bigmul wrote:

I live on the North East coast and a 360 degree headwind is usual here too. I mainly run rather than cycle, but when I'm out on the bike I really notice it. Yesterday when out felt like a proper slog...

Yes, I learnt more about the affect of sea air and land air by reading decent replies here and then doing some research. Bonkers at times and as I said yesterday, you gotta experience it to feel it....yesterday was literally like riding into a different day lol :shock: But I know now thanks to the reasoned intelligent replies here.

webboo

If you go on the met office web page and get the weather map up for your area. Then do the 3 hour weather up,dates looking at wind gusts you can often see within a couple of miles the wind direction will change from East to West.
Also it is always much stronger than they forecast.

Rigga

I did have a lovely tail wind riding up mam nick in the Peak District the other week however. That's a 10.5% climb and over a mile long. You could actually feel it pushing you! Mind you it was 50+mph winds that day!

dstev55

bristolpete wrote:

dstev55 wrote:

bristolpete wrote:

Well today evidence enough. 12.5 miles in, still and calm. 12.5 home. Still and calm at work. 6 miles to the estuary in calm, sunny conditions. Got there and it were like arriving in Belgium. Absolutely howler of a wind and started to hail. Crazy. It is hard to explain, but you just have to witness it really.

So basically, you're moaning that it is windy when exposed to coastal areas?

That's like moaning it's too cold if you went on holiday to the North Pole.

And for the record it was windy in Derbyshire yesterday and today, and i definitely can't blame the coast.

Re-read every post please. At no point do I moan. Period. I was merely wondering if living nearer the coast was causing the issue. On the whole there have been some decent replies, and then idiotic, bombastic s**t like your post that roll out the usual cliched forum rubbish about moaning, manning up, rule no. what ever blah blah blah. It was a mere discussion on the foibles of changeable weather for christs sake. give it a rest man.

*Sigh*

Can't even be arsed to get in yet another heated debate on this bloody forum.

SME

Signed up, and done, a Strava GranFondo. If anyone knows south Essex...

I went form Canvey to Chelmsford via Great Wakering and Canewdon, 54 miles into wind most of the time.
Took a more direct route home - 35 miles with the wind mostly behind me. Well, you don't want too much effort on the home run, do you?!

Yeah, it was windy and gusty, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. A great Friday 13th!

briantrumpet

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.

Have a play with https://www.wunderground.com/history/ - you can put in any date ranges you want to see if your perception is right. I'd agree that there seems to have been very few still days, but I'm not sure if that's different from the past, or me just getting grumpier about it. It was the summer of 2012 (constantly cool, grey and windy) that drove me abroad for enjoyable cycling.

I've just learnt to plan my routes so that the wind doesn't totally do my head in - so I either tack into the wind so I get a tail wind home (e.g. doing a triangle where the two outward parts of the triangle go across and into the wind), or the whole route goes at right angles to the wind as much as possible.

cruff

Two things

Pete sounds like he needs to chill out just a touch

Also, since I moved to Lancashire, I've learned what constant wind actually is. The people here walk with a slant - there's a near omnipresent 20mph wind off the Irish Sea all the way through Lancashire to Manchester. Makes the pathetic wind in London look like a joke

ForumNewbie

I would agree that it seems to have been more windy recently, even if you don't live or cycle near the coast. However while headwinds are a pain, I do generally find that if I am going into a headwind one way on a ride, when I come back home in the other direction, I do usually have a tailwind. It's just that a tailwind isn't as noticeable - you just realise that you're not fighting the wind anymore and it's easier to pedal and you go faster with less effort

Near the end of one of my regular routes I come along a 4 mile, fairly straight country road going from west to east. I've been along that road hundreds of times and I would estimate that on 90% of these rides the wind has been with me along that road.

chrisaonabike

ravey1981 wrote:

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.

Thank you for confirming that you are incapable of detecting a tongue in cheek reply without added smilies.

Although, if you insist on being serious, do please explain the difference in experienced airspeed between cycling at 20 mph in nil wind, and cycling at 10 mph into a 10 mph headwind.

bristolpete

zebulebu wrote:

Two things

Pete sounds like he needs to chill out just a touch

Also, since I moved to Lancashire, I've learned what constant wind actually is. The people here walk with a slant - there's a near omnipresent 20mph wind off the Irish Sea all the way through Lancashire to Manchester. Makes the pathetic wind in London look like a joke

I'm fine, just fed up with the usual retort about manning up etc, accusing me of whinging when all I wanted was a reasoned discussion. Nice one.

chrisaonabike

Wtf is there to discuss?

If the wind's coming towards you, it's harder to go as fast as if it's coming from behind.

Often you can be unlucky and have the wind change such that it seems like it's coming towards you all the time. Clearly that isn't actually true if you ride a lot, it just feels that way.

Equally clearly, you notice when it's hard more than when it's easy, because it sucks when it's hard.

Woo. Revelation.

/Thread.

cruff

bristolpete wrote:

zebulebu wrote:

Two things

Pete sounds like he needs to chill out just a touch

Also, since I moved to Lancashire, I've learned what constant wind actually is. The people here walk with a slant - there's a near omnipresent 20mph wind off the Irish Sea all the way through Lancashire to Manchester. Makes the pathetic wind in London look like a joke

I'm fine, just fed up with the usual retort about manning up etc, accusing me of whinging when all I wanted was a reasoned discussion. Nice one.

Man up

haydenm

For some reason I was surprised about the wind here, the main route back home is a south west facing 'mountain' pass which I very rarely get headwind free. Pedaling for an hour into a near impenetrable headwind isn't my idea of fun Seems a little stupid of me not to have considered this seeing as I can see the Lake District to the south on a clear day and the Solway coast off to the west, long views make for high winds...

paul2718

ChrisAOnABike wrote:

Although, if you insist on being serious, do please explain the difference in experienced airspeed between cycling at 20 mph in nil wind, and cycling at 10 mph into a 10 mph headwind.

If riding at 20mph in nil wind requires 200W, then riding at 10mph into a 10mph headwind only requires 100W. OTOH riding at 20mph into a 10mph headwind requires 450W.

Roughly,

Of course there's no explanation for why it is so bloody windy all the bloody time. Other than somebody up there hates you.

Paul

chrisaonabike

paul2718 wrote:

ChrisAOnABike wrote:

Although, if you insist on being serious, do please explain the difference in experienced airspeed between cycling at 20 mph in nil wind, and cycling at 10 mph into a 10 mph headwind.

If riding at 20mph in nil wind requires 200W, then riding at 10mph into a 10mph headwind only requires 100W. OTOH riding at 20mph into a 10mph headwind requires 450W.

Do please explain why this is the case.

I take it we're agreed on an approximation that the only force to be overcome is air resistance, right? Rolling resistance is well known to be only a small proportion of the total at all non-negligible speeds.

Maybe 20 mph is too slow for the air resistance to completely dominate - but I'd still like to see a justification for the assertion.