When the wind just is'nt fun !!!

[WobblyBob]

Went out for a ride this morning, did'nt really have any detailed plan really just thought i'd do 25 miles or so....until i got out of our street & headed west into a massive (well it certainly felt like that) headwind which just absolutely drained me almost straight away, but i did manage almost 18 miles until i collapsed back through my front door
Living literaly 400yds from the beach on the Northumberland coast meant obviously i could'nt head east (& stay dry) so my options direction wise are always limited....anyway i find the wind kills me alot more than hills...& a headwind going up climbs is just cruel
Do other people struggle in the wind or is it just me being a Wuss ??

 

[Gaz Vickers]

No, you are not alone! I find everytime i get to the same incline, about a mile long! There is always a headwind. But i suppose its all good for getting stronger! lol Just not very pleasant.

 

[kedab]

i freakin hate the wind! i live in east anglia where the wind is always a headwind. there were a couple of days on my commute last year where i had the bike canted over at a stupid angle just to ride in a straight line...alright that was a crosswind but that's besides the point! i was out for a fairly breezy 25 miler on sunday, it didn't annoy me as much as they sometimes do but battling a strong wind is killer for me. it not only makes me miserable because i can't ride at any sort of pace, it gives me a frikin headache after 10 minutes or so

 

[Mo1959]

Detest it. Feels like cycling through treacle. So tiring as you are putting so much effort into it and seem to be getting nowhere.

Suppose it should be good for fitness......trying to stay positive

 

[WobblyBob]

I was trying to think along the positive lines of...... 'oh well this is definitely doing me good in the long run'......but it ended up me just manicly screaming all kind of expletives at the wind ha ha
Its was just so frustrating as i had long climbs into the wind yet when it was in my favour (which was'nt much) it seemed to be steep short descents, i obviously did'nt plan my route very well ha ha
My average ended up about 13mph where as i'm currently running about 15-16mph normally....& i was going alot slower than 13mph along some of the windiest sections !!

 

[freewheelwilly]

Makes a 25mile ride feel like a 50 mile one.

 

[Spasspecker]

I feel your pain! I only have a 3 mile commute in the mornings but there is one road that's about a mile long and has a slight incline all the way and open fields either side. It kills me every single day! When I go out for a non-commute ride I avoid it completely.

 

[gary in derby]

i love the wind! well, i do when im tucked up indoors after a ride. lol

 

[Globalti]

The answer is to head out nice and steady into the wind, taking it easy because a 20 mph headwind becomes 30 mph if you ride at 10 mph. A low-lying route sheltered by hedges and trees will be easier if you have any choice. Stop at the furthermost point for a coffee and a cake and savour the work you've done then jump back on the bike and ride your nuts off with the wind blowing you all the way home.

Or do what I did recently, get someone to drop you somewhere upwind (Blackpool) and ride home with the wind. It's good for your morale.

 

[Methuselah]

A couple of days ago I did a 12 mile ride up river from Lancaster full into the wind. It brought back memories of rides to school when I was 14. (Yes, I do have a good memory!) All the way there I was thinking, 'at least it'll be easy going back'. I rode all the way home with the wind full in my face thinking, 'it used to do that coming back from school too.'

 

[Pauluk]

Was a lovely bright sunny day here but left the bike at home and went by car. Winds were forecast at 20mph. I hate the wind more than rain.

 

[ushills]

Winds horrible and seems to always be against you.

At least hills are over eventually.

 

[darth vadar]

Maybe its just me, but I always seem to find that the wind does drop dramatically (on many occasions) at night.

So, I think I've solved my own problem.

Go for a bike ride late at night !!!!

 

[Nigelnaturist]

Echo those sentiments. I did 36 miles yesterday the first 15 miles or so were easy including the hills (i forgot to set the gps recorder on, so that peeved me somewhat), wonderful speeds. Got to Cawood (just south west of York) and had a headwind for the next 15 to 20 miles, I had started out to do 40 miles, but bailed in the end, and I had to rest briefly twice (been awhile since I had to, not through choice). Then today I had to go to to Wakefield nice easy 10 mile run these days, but not today, had to fight every inch of the way as its due west from here, however I did post 3 2nd best times on the segments on strava, so really I was quite pleased, no great speeds mind, and like the above comments I thought should do well going home, it didn't quite work out like that, though again i did get a 2nd and third best times on two segments, traffic slowed me on ones, and the final segment the run in to home well someone likened it to treacle that was my last mile for sure. strava

 

[MattHB]

Riding in the wind is like riding uphill with no summit.

It take a MUCH higher wattage to propel yourself through even a gentle headwind.