Headwinds: Your thoughts

[paulw1969]

Headwinds are a pain in the arris. Dont forget you still get wind resistence from forward momentum alone so add a ten mile an hour plus headwind and things get interesting.I drop down a gear...try to drop my head a little and generally get very out of breath. To be honest if its bad i tend to slacken off a little and accept the fact thatthere will be a few minutes added to the journey.
Strong sidewinds on a commute can be difficult as well, particularly in heavy traffic.......both headwinds and sidewinds can be dangerous if high sided vehicles are passing at any speed.

 

[shouldbeinbed]

avoid headwinds, hahahahahahahahahahah. grit my teeth and pedal harder.

for the record, I don't have a different route that it rains less on either

 

[Hitchington]

I put a traffic cone on my head. Makes me more aerodynamic and I can cut through the pesky headwind like an orange Concorde or something.

 

[lulubel]

I never tried to avoid headwinds on my commute - they're not pleasant, but the only real effect is that you work harder and go slower - but I did try to take a more sheltered route to avoid crosswinds. I always checked the Met Office forecast, and if gusts stronger than 50mph were forecast, I took the car instead.

The bad thing about working 10 miles roughly south-east of where I lived was that the wind was usually westerly. I would have prefered to have the headwind on the way in and tailwind on the way home.

 

[Matthew_T]

15 average fully loaded and 17 back! Bloody hell, the joys of being young! I have NEVER averaged those figures over long distances but have done better on short sections. Don't get old Matthew, take it from me.

I will try.

 

[wisdom]

On the Fylde coast winds are inevetable,Its the severity the varies.I ride in all winds but sometimes alter my route to try and keep out of the worst.I go between the streets rather than on the coast roads.

 

[Sheepy1209]

On the Fylde coast winds are inevetable,Its the severity the varies.I ride in all winds but sometimes alter my route to try and keep out of the worst.I go between the streets rather than on the coast roads.

Yep, I dream of 12mph winds in Blackpool - most annoying is that a warm summer's day sets up a north-westerly sea breeze so I'm guaranteed a constant 12 - 15mph headwind on the way home. Using the inland route makes a big difference, at least I've got the option.
But tonight a lovely southerly made the ride home almost effortless

(windfinder.com, Blackpool Airport is a pretty good guide)

 

[HLaB]

Hi guys,

So, what do you think of headwinds on your daily commute and do you have different routes or methods to try and avoid them?

Cheers!

Head winds are a pain in the butt. You can take different routes on leisure routes but on commutes you need to go from A to B regardless of the wind direction. I did manage to lessen them however, on my old commute by using a old railway path (mainly in cut) on really windy days.

 

[Edwards80]

I think my 4th ever commute on the road bike had me I driving rain and 30/40mph gusts. Practically brought me to a standstill a couple of times. Think it stopped a bit of a breeze bothering me from then on though.

Just push the pedals harder :-)

 

[Boris Bajic]

The Good Lord sends headwinds to punish cyclists who have sinned.

Even two sinners on bicycles riding along opposing carriageways at the same time will experience headwinds.

Even when you are unaware of your own sins, the Good lord is not. You will face headwinds even when you believe you are without sin.

A tailwind is nothing but a headwind for a rider going the other way who has sinned very, very badly.

Like the late Ian Curtis of Joy Division fame, the Good Lord moves in mysterious ways.

If you doubt the above you will be committing the sin of doubt and you will suffer headwinds.

You know in your heart that I am right.

 

[400bhp]

No man is without sin Boris.

But those who accept the headwind learn to respect it, nay, even pray for its forgiveness once in a while (note, the praying can sometimes be misconstrued as swearing.)

 

[BrumJim]

http://www.cyclechat.net/threads/its-so-much-harder-with-the-wind-behind-me.115561/
is my opinion.

 

[Browser]

I live in the Fens, land of straight roads and 360-degree headwinds, i.e. you can ride into a dead-on headwind, turn 180 degrees around and still have a ruddy headwind! If I tried to avoid or re-route it would add several miles to my route and I'd still not be any better off as I'd have to have dealt with sidewinds instead, which tend to blow you accross the road one way or t'other.
As others have said, head down and get on with it.

 

[akb]

If there is a headwind on the way to work, I am 99% sure that there will be a Tailwind on the way home. And vice versa. So take it as it comes. Wind is the worst, but makes for good resistance training.

 

[Boris Bajic]

No man is without sin Boris.

But those who accept the headwind learn to respect it, nay, even pray for its forgiveness once in a while (note, the praying can sometimes be misconstrued as swearing.)

Oh no... Really?

That might be a hard one for me to explain away.... I just volunteered to cast the first stone.