Did anyone brave the elements today?

[beanzontoast]

Yesterday and today haven't been fit for cycling round here IMHO - the weather station at home was showing wild conditions today with the alarm flashing for how quickly the barometer had fallen in the hours of darkness; the gusts are very strong and the rain squalls aren't fun so on balance I chose the bus. Only saw a couple of cyclists on the way in, both of whom looked miserable and drenched from head to toe!

 

[anyuser]

Clapham Common was interesting this morning, but otherwise uneventful journey in. Even managed to avoid the rain.

 

[subaqua]

woke up heard the rain so sorted the wet weather trousers, put it all on , opened the door and the rain stopped . wind was horrendous though. got to work damp on trousers from sweat. neoprene overshoes were great though , dry feet even though i did big splashy puddles

 

[Browser]

As I lay abed at 3.15 this morning, awoken by a combination of the ache from my left hip (really must make an appointment with the GP about that, dunno what it is but I can't sleep on my left side for more than an hour now), the pain in my left shoulder (again, dunno what it is , went to bed one night fine and woke up with a pain which has not gone away) and the raindrops machine-gunning our bedroom window, I thought "feck this" and switched my alarm off, thinking I'd get up with t'missus and drive to work. Unfortunately for me my in-built alarm clock awoke me at 05:15, 5 minutes before the alarm would have gone off, and it had stopped raining although it still sounded like the business end of a wind tunnel outside.
With the thought that my two fellow-cyclist shift colleagues would be taking the pi55 all day if I bottled it and they didn't I cycled in (8.5 miles) and once I'd cleared the shelter of the village decided that, with discretion definitely being the better part of valour, I really really SHOULD NOT HAVE CYCLED IN TODAY!!! It's not so much the wind as the gusts which you have to lean harder on, then the wind drops and you veer, in my case to the right as I was heading almost due South through a WNW/NW wind (blowing right-to-left).
So, I'm really looking forward to the homeward trip (I don't think) and will take the flak from my shift next time it's like this.

 

[Mike!]

Man that was tought this morning! Almost stopped at some points on my route...lol

Looking forward to the tail wind tonight though

 

[fossyant]

Bit blowy. Advantage of riding fixed into headwinds though ! Plenty of debris about the place. Few heavy showers - just as you 'think' about stopping for waterproofs, it stopped - yay.

 

[Sheffield_Tiger]

Decided to walk...didn't want to wimp out and use the car.

Even walking uphill into the wind took the breath away!

Didn't feel like cycling thanks to a bruised arm where a car mounted the pavement (I was on foot) and clouted me with the wing mirror last night!

 

[SquareDaff]

Rode in this morning. Was a bit hard going in places and you did have to watch out for gusts of sidewind. I just took a stronger secondary than normal to allow for potential bike movement and, for the most part, drivers were really considerate and gave me plenty of room/hung back etc..

 

[PJ79LIZARD]

The wind was bad last night kept waking up to this whistling noise. But when I set off it had calmed down a bit, managed to avoid the rain So did well considering.

 

[swampyseifer]

This morning...round about 730-800 in London was horrendous! I was walking from a tube station to the office, very blustery strong winds and it was chucking down! Even with a jacket and umbrella I got to the office and was soaked through to the skin (still damp in places now)!

 

[MissTillyFlop]

Going oot this evening, so not on bike, but am looking forward to getting back on it tomorrow!

 

[Glow worm]

Man that was tought this morning! Almost stopped at some points on my route...lol

Looking forward to the tail wind tonight though

Yes same here although it is forecast to ease through the day.

I had 10 miles of fierce headwind and I nearly ground to a halt near Cambridge Airport which is quite exposed. Only then did I discover I couldn't engage the lowest 6 gears on the front ring- I hardly ever use them so it could have been like that for ages. Should give me something to do at lunchtime though!

 

[subaqua]

the 8am thunder over us at the Olympics was rather large. then the heavens opened again. look at the weather now and you wouldn't beleive it was that bad

 

[BrumJim]

[QUOTE 1668210, member: 45"]I drove in this morning. There are one or two parts of my commute that can be a bit hairy when it's windy.[/quote]
Canal towpath on bridge over the road?

Left to wind but no rain. Then it started to rain. And stopped.
Problem was the cross-winds. You can fight a headwind, but when a cross-wind blows you sideways and scares you, it stops you from going too quickly.

 

[JDP]

Down the hill near my house on a normal day - an easy 30 mph

Down the hill near my house on today into a headwind- 24 mph