Riding in strong winds.
Moderators: robbosmans, Moderator Team
In Tokyo, there's a 11km loop that most cyclist go to early Sunday to get their quick ride in.. While flat in terrain, its very much oriented for crit racing and you get the even blend of twists and turns. During the winter when the bay winds really kick up, the winds go from head to tail to cross (rinse and repeat) which usually results in a huge gap btw avg and max speed. Not to mention the occasional "where the hell did that come from" gusts when going across bridges can be nerve racking. Tailwinds usually are short lived, followed by a long stretch of headwind w/ copious amounts of cursing...
Though its not enough to put me off from going outside, it is completely soul destroying when you have to face a never ending headwind that only has you riding at 20-25km/hr.
Though its not enough to put me off from going outside, it is completely soul destroying when you have to face a never ending headwind that only has you riding at 20-25km/hr.
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riding in the wind does make you stronger both physically and mentally. there are ways to 'cheat' the wind though - find a route that goes against the wind most of the time and going home you'll have a pretty damn nice ITT - provided you can master your effort and not blow up after an hour or so. actually riding with higher speeds isn't that easy too, and having proper tailwind is a great exercise IMHO - not to mention how fun is it to overtake slower vehicles
the wind direction plays even more important role that the wind strenght itself. I was once escaping from an oncoming storm, literally feeling the raindrops on my back and seeing the clouds just behind me - the wind was so strong I was doing 53x12/11 for the most part of a nearly 40km road, and barely made it before the hell broke loose. only later I found out the storm caused some serious havoc as it moved along, with broken trees and ripped off roofs..
the wind direction plays even more important role that the wind strenght itself. I was once escaping from an oncoming storm, literally feeling the raindrops on my back and seeing the clouds just behind me - the wind was so strong I was doing 53x12/11 for the most part of a nearly 40km road, and barely made it before the hell broke loose. only later I found out the storm caused some serious havoc as it moved along, with broken trees and ripped off roofs..
kkibbler wrote: WW remembers.
Thanks for all your comments guys.
I must admit I didn't go out on the Saturday, just got to busy. I did ride Sunday but I waited for a two hour window late in the afternoon when the wind dropped form 50kmh to 28kmh. Still don't think I'm mentally there yet to tackle those strong winds. I see the trees next door nearly blowing over and just get on the Kickr.
I must admit I didn't go out on the Saturday, just got to busy. I did ride Sunday but I waited for a two hour window late in the afternoon when the wind dropped form 50kmh to 28kmh. Still don't think I'm mentally there yet to tackle those strong winds. I see the trees next door nearly blowing over and just get on the Kickr.
I've been myself a couple of times riding with very strong winds both in Italy and Spain; normally the best option is for going for some climbs where you're sort of protected and still beareble.
Well yesterday the wind was 42kmh with 53 kms gusts. I actually opted to go for a ride instead of on the Kickr. I didn't want to go to far from home so did some 18km loops. The wind was howling from the side making it very difficult to keep the bike upright on the descents. Had a few scary moments to say the least, even though I was 30kmh slower than normal. (70kmh). To be honest the wind didn't really bother me to much on the climbs, so much to say I'm heading out now in the same conditions. My legs defiantly felt the wind but as you guys said drop to a lower gear which I did and it certainly is a mind game as I did want to give up a few times.
