Route choice on windy days.

[Globalti]

The wind was a brisk south-westerly yesterday. Normally I would head out into the wind so that I've got some help on the way home but since there are no cycling destinations of interest to the south of me (too built up and too much traffic) I always head out in a northerly direction. So with a partially southerly wind this means I'm giving away some of that wind assistance (what's that called in nautical terms? Windage? Leeway?) and need to work my way as far west as possible, otherwise I'll pay the price on the way home. Sure enough after my coffee stop I found myself riding straight into a headwind for a couple of miles but my direction soon became southerly and the SW wind wasn't such a hindrance.

When we used to do Polaris trailquests my brother and I always used to plan the day's checkpoints so as to benefit from the wind towards the end of the day when we would be running out of time and energy. I still plan my rides nowadays to take advantage, I have even done a couple of rides where I've got Mrs Gti to drop me and Gti Junior upwind and we've enjoyed a nice fast wind-assisted ride home, or we've headed out with the wind and got picked up.

I've also learned that there's no point in battling the wind - if you've got a headwind, tuck in and take your time as you're only wasting energy trying to beat it. Finally, I always try to pick a sheltered route - for example I have a choice of an easier but more exposed climb heading SW on a busy road up to my house or a harder, longer but nicely sheltered and traffic-free route that climbs up through woods so even though it takes me 200 ft too high, I always favour that route, especially as it rewards me with a downhill at the end.

 

[Banjo]

The biggest dissapointment for me is labouring up a mountain road only to find its too windy to go fast down the other side.
Last week I did a 60 mile ride heading off into the westerly wind only to have the wind change to the East on the way back (not very strong wind fortunately).

As you say once you get onto roads with trees or hedges the wind isnt such an issue.

 

[Rob3rt]

If it is windy, it is windy, just go out and ride...

 

[Banjo]

If it is windy, it is windy, just go out and ride...

I agree with that but its a bit pointless coming back against strong wind if you can do the hard bit first.

 

[Rob3rt]

I agree with that but its a bit pointless coming back against strong wind if you can do the hard bit first.

Depends what you are looking to achieve from the ride I suppose. TBH, it makes no odds to me in general, I will be pushing equally hard throughout the ride, the only thing that will vary is the speed for the effort going in.

 

[huwsparky]

Yep, I tend to just ride. I wouldn't change my planned route because of the wind but I have gone out once thinking I could get a decent strava kom by taking advantage of the wind.

Generally though, by keeping coastal I find the wind less intrusive as it tends to be more sheltered.

 

[nickyboy]

In the Peak District it can be mega-windy so I plan rides quite carefully. Really hard climbs like Winnats and very exposed climbs like Isle of Skye and Wessenden Head I make sure I'm not doing into the headwind. It can make a hard climb a real struggle for someone like me.
If I've got a hilly half and a flatter half to the ride, I'll try to arrange the hilly half with the tailwind.
And if it's really windy like yesterday (probably 30mph on the tops at least) I try to plan something a bit lower with a bit more shelter. I guess the difference around here is that a 10mph wind in the valleys can easily be 30-40mph on the tops so I plan accordingly

 

[ColinJ]

Depends what you are looking to achieve from the ride I suppose. TBH, it makes no odds to me in general, I will be pushing equally hard throughout the ride, the only thing that will vary is the speed for the effort going in.

But most of your rides are done on the turbo trainer ...

Yes, I know that you do venture out eventually - I saw you do a good ride on a windy Cragg Vale hill climb event last year!

They are forecasting 25+ mph crosswinds on that climb tomorrow (plus heavy showers) so I think I will give it a miss. If it turned out dry and I wanted to ride up there, I would ride to Littleborough on the more sheltered valley roads, and have wind assistance for the climb to Blackstone Edge. I did that once and got so much help that I flew up the climb in the big ring!

 

[Rob3rt]

I did 4 hours on the road yesterday too It was not wind free either!

 

[Globalti]

It's interesting how the wind varies around the topography - anybody who has ridden up or down a narrow valley like the Trough of Bowland will know that it can be blowing one way on top of the fell but the opposite way at the bottom of the hill.

 

[ColinJ]

It's interesting how the wind varies around the topography - anybody who has ridden up or down a narrow valley like the Trough of Bowland will know that it can be blowing one way on top of the fell but the opposite way at the bottom of the hill.

That's very true. I have ridden circular routes involving hills round here and had headwinds/cross headwinds the whole way round.

Many of the hillsides round here now feature wind turbines. They turn to face into the wind so you can see which way it is blowing by looking at the orientation of the turbines. I did that a few weeks ago and from where I was riding I could see an arc of about 135 degrees with views of more than 5 miles. The wind direction often varied by 90 degrees from one hillside to another.