Cycling on windy days

Brutal winds in Glasgow today...brought my bike in for the 52k ride home. Wind gusting around 55mph. No chance I'm riding in that.

I'm not crazy?!

Actually, yesterday in the shop I heard two very seasoned cyclists discussing a ride, and caught mention that "for once the wind wasn't against us the whole time."

Truth be told, I've always attributed it to the fact that I'm cycling North and South, and over here wind generally blows West to East, so I just figured I was always somehow angled into it..

Really windy the last few days. Stopped in my tracks a few times by the force of the wind.

spent the last few weeks riding the 16miles to work into a head wind and getting blown home, last week the wind has flipped round, so now i am with the wind to work and head wind home.

When i say headwind i mean gale!

Be nice to just have a few days with no wind!

One of the joys of commuting across the vale of evesham is no shelter!!

I was trackstanding at a roundabout yesterday when a particularly big blast of wind started pushing me backwards. I tried to hold it out but I had a brief moment of feeling like my front end was starting to lift and didn't fancy landing arsewards on the car bonnet behind me so I unclipped and got my feet down.

I did notice a fella the other week riding southbound down the A6 in Longsight really struggling against the wind, we both shook our heads at each other in disbelief as I fought against equally vile winds going northbound.

I am glad the wind has swapped around. It might still be blowy one way but at least it is warm. If the wind is from behind and pushing you down a slight incline and you start picking up speed with no wind resistance, going faster and faster; I call this 'Vitesse,' effortless speed. Sadly it is a rare feeling.

Just done 32 mile today in northumberland, v windy, and a result to stay on bike n get round in one piece

I used to get properly worked up commuting home into a headwind, which it invariably was, until I realised that mother nature ain't gonna change so I just have to get my head down (pun intended) and grind it out.

Now I prefer headwinds to crosswinds, they're worse, especially when you're north of 20mph and you go past a gateway to an open field!

Has been as windy as I can remember this winter...not to do with sprouts either...

Throw in some of the cloud bursts we have been having and despite the milder temperatures it hasn't been the best of riding conditions.

Rules 9 & 5!

Just got home The powers that be could not resist giving me a quick drenching But even though the route is straight (ish) I never have a head or tail wind all the way there or back I get half way and the wind changes I think it is because of the wind chaneling down the valleys Anyway tonight the second (hilly) half was assisted I am pretty chuffed with myself because I have cycled to and from work every day this run of shifts And got wet every day.... Will I see in the new year?

Crosswind got me this morning when on a roundabout. Was pretty hairy. After that a block headwind for 7 miles. Had to resort to the granny ring it was that bad that and sideways rain. Tough morning but the next few days are to be good if accu weather is to be believed.

The wurrst thing is when you are enjoying an almost tailwind, you're quite close to home and you feel like you've done your work for the day, and then the road you're on turns 90˚. For me its normally quite a shock, as you normally forget about the wind...

OHMIGOD

S'been soo windy in Suffolk this entire week.

I normally work hard in headers and recover in tails, but THERE HAVE ONLY BEEN HEADWINDS

Raleigh mentioned this thread on another forum; so thought I would resurrect it...again! Somewhat appropriate especially round here; more gale force wind and heavy rain tonight..... Will either get to work in 5 mins or 5 hours!

Went to get my bike to go to work - gone bar two skewers flat mates thought that in light of the 'stronger' winds it was a 'good' idea to hide the bike. They also hid the wheels. The single speed was there though, minus wheels as well I should add.

Wherever I ride I feel like there's a 30 kph headwind.

Strong winds in London terrify me. Feel like I'm going to be swept under a lorry all the time - guess the big rucksack makes me all the more blowable.

I just came up with a theory about winds in your face all the time. Tall buildings funnel the strong winds straight down from above, and when they hit the ground they'll spread out in all directions. So that's why the big gusts come from front, back and sides.

I eagerly await someone to tell me I'm talking nonsense.

I feel the need to resurrect this posting. Just cycled home from work; I feel like I have been assaulted by an industrial hairdryer. Thats without mentioning the lightning, rain, sleet and hail. I actually quite enjoyed it! No such thing as bad weather; just the wrong clothes! If I say it enough I might believe it myself.

I've a theory for this thesis. You are far less aerodynamic on a bike at going into the wind i.e. the position of the torso, head and arms effectively 'scoop' the air and slow you down. But look at a cyclist from behind and its a far more sleeker position (even if I say so myself). Therefore a tailwind just blows over you and doesn't give you that added assistance we all crave.

The answer is to create a sail (which the UCI ban under the 'fairing' rule) or to sit on the bike backwards like a rower would. I can just see Cancellara and Martin's revised TT positions.

Huge mistake, took the fixie to work. Head wind for five miles both ways. At one stage the gusts were so strong I was down to 2mph. Llegs are still burning

Geeky stats for y'all:

http://road.cc/sites/default/files/weather stats.JPG

I think these measurements are from Gatwick, so slightly Londoncentric, sorry.

First eleven months of both years BTW. Trying to be as consistent as possible.

If you can't get your bike to stay on the ground so you can actually get on the thing then you know it's windy!

http://www.cyclingbrussels.be/?p=387

Never known it happen this way round before but -:tailwind commute this morning
:winds changed direction to give me a tailwind home
:winds going to change direction overnight to give me a tailwind in the morning

what have I done to deserve this

Where I cycle in South Wales it's a choice between lots of hills where you at least get the "weeeeeeeeee" factor going down or a flat wind tunnel along the Severn Estuary. The scenery is beautiful though and the wind thing, well it's character building, apparently