How safe do you feel cycling in strong winds...

[GrasB]

Depends on the bike. I always take my uprights on gusty days as I find it much harder to correct for unexpected gusts of wind. When it's a steady wind however it's not a problem even if it's strong as overtaking vehicles & gaps in wind breaks are easy to spot & prepare for. All in all keep a nice low center of gravity & lean the shoulder into a side wind not the bike works well.

 

[ufkacbln]

People at work think I am some sort of nutter as I cycle in every day regardless of the weather and on some occasions such as last year's snow am more reliable than some of the car drivers.

In my case it is the fortune of owning a pair of recumbent trikes. To be quiet honest there are often days when it is windy or icy when I would probably not cycle with two wheels or do so with a great deal of caution.

The feeling of safety and confidence from a stable trike is brilliant

 

[cyclegeek]

I skiped the ride today because the gusts were far to strong. Didn't feel like taking the risk so had a walk and a pub lunch instead.

 

[Winnershsaint]

Believe it or not it was windy in the balmy south-east yesterday. Got whacked by cross winds from one side on ascent of Remenham Hill from Warrren Row/Cockpole Green (awesome place name) and then on other side ascending from Remenham village back towards the A4130. Glad my bike has low profile rims, that's all I can say.

 

[fenlandpsychocyclist]

I headed out into the wind across the lincolnshire plains earlier.
Most of the roads i used were quiet, and i was able to "own" a good chunk of the road.
It took 3 hours to cover the first 28 miles such was the strength of the wind across the fens (middle chainwheel and largest rear sprocket in places).

In places i had a side wind, and i found holding the drops whilst "wedging" my inside wrists hard against the underside of the handlebars gave me a much firmer hold on the front wheel,
whereas just holding the drops allowed more "twitchyness" to occur.

Still had the odd wobble when vehicles passed as they suddenly "shielded" the wind.

I think the frame angles on the trek (which i used today) are better for crosswind work than the coyote ... the cheapo roadbike is a real beast to control in sidewind.

Oh ... and one little occurance worth a mention. I was leaning so far over into a sidewind whilst on a "cambered" road my pedal struck the tarmac.

 

[totallyfixed]

Wind or no wind unless it's a hurricane we get out most days and nearly always head out into the wind and come back with it, which really is not the way to do it because it's always better to face the wind when you are warmed up.
I remember a day about 10 years ago when I was doing 20 mile commutes into work, the wind was so strong that as I was climbing a hill, veins in my neck standing out like a snake that has just swallowed an Antelope and my eyeballs sticking further out than my nose [pun], I knew I wasn't setting the tarmac on fire when a dog walker passed me going in the same direction.

 

[ColinJ]

I can't remember where I read this story, but someone who was on a touring holiday in Patagonia got to the top of a mountain and should have had a high speed descent to the sea but the headwind was so strong that it was actually blowing him back up the mountain!

 

[Banjo]

I do what the op does if its really blowing a gale I do a few laps on the road around a local park which is sheltered and has a good climb up oneside and a fast descent on the other. An hour of that is probably good fitness training anyway. Dicing it with HGVs and things with the added worry of being blown off course (or off the bike in extreme ) just isnt worth it for me.

Another hazard is wind born rubbish flying about, a binbag or similar wrapping round your front wheel could be interesting.

 

[tyred]

For a windy day ride, I will usually select my heaviest bike.

 

[mark c]

I hate the wind, can live with hills but the wind, So i try and plan a headwind out and hopefully a tailwind home.

 

[Davidc]

Not very, so I don't.

 

[jayjay]

It's a question of "how strong" for me. A couple of times in my ride-to-work life I've had to concentrate hard and felt a little nervous of the crosswinds, but not considered walking or driving instead. Not yet anyway.

I ride a bit further out from the verge, and have found that for my (old) hybrid a light touch on the bars lets the front wheel do its job better. It feels to be blowing sideways and lets me and the bike stay on course though with the wheels tracking over one side. I found a similar effect on my old 125 Honda years ago. I can only describe it as "auto wind lean" whereas a rigid death-grip on the bars can have me in the gutter and fighting to stay on the road.

 

[smokeysmoo]

Generally OK on the Ribble, generally not OK on the CAAD. Surprising there is a notable difference with my big @rse on the saddle, but there is.