Road Riding - why i...
 

[Closed] Road Riding - why is there always a f***ing galeforce headwind?

 Smee
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Every ****ing time. Even on circular routes.


 
Posted : 05/05/2009 10:13 pm
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Depends where you ride?

Bit windy in SW. Always windy in Cambridgshire at different speeds.

Sometimes high, sometimes low. Except the U.K. is wet, windy and anything else like sunshine and no wind is a bonus!

Good training!

State of mind Smee.

Or you could move to Spain.


 
Posted : 05/05/2009 10:17 pm
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Tell me about it, rode to work this morning into the wind all the way, rode home and it had kindly changed direction so was riding into the wind and then on the time trial course tonight, you guessed it, wind in the face all the ****ing way round.

If I see Micheal Fish he's going to get a kick in the nads!


 
Posted : 05/05/2009 10:19 pm
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It's karma.


 
Posted : 05/05/2009 10:23 pm
 Smee
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No, it's definitely a headwind.


 
Posted : 05/05/2009 10:24 pm
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It's a mind game Smee.

And you lost!


 
Posted : 05/05/2009 10:24 pm
 jad
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I had one of the most horrible rides home from work today - lashing horizontal rain and a persistent headwind. Foul mood when I got home. I can't remember a worse day even throughout the winter.

1 year ago today I was biking around Kinlochleven basking in 25 deg. temperatures ๐Ÿ™


 
Posted : 05/05/2009 10:26 pm
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you need this mantra or you can adapt
"the headwind is my friend - it is a great training opportunity"
repeat - sometimes for much longer than is reasonable

yesterday here on the edge of The Peak the westerly actually maintained and i did get a tailwind home - but then again no beer stop as it carried the usual rain


 
Posted : 05/05/2009 11:32 pm
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There's always a headwind if you're pedalling fast enough....


 
Posted : 05/05/2009 11:59 pm
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i know what you mean, left for work yesterday at 5:40am and had a headwind, a killer wind that although i feel like i do a horseshoe commute its always headstrong. CAme home from work at 1am ish and again, a headwing, although i find riding at that time of the night is quite nice, bit like being in a film


 
Posted : 06/05/2009 12:02 am
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Just completed the ireland end to end, my pal for the journey had the good sense to look at the general weather patterns and suggest we ride it bottom to top.
We had tail winds for 90% of the 420 miles we just rode.

I hit 48mph with a full load on the bike. Immense.

We got up on top of a moor in the very north of Donegal today and cruised without touching the pedals at over 35mph. That road lasted for about 4 miles. It was the finest bit of road riding I will ever do.

We had to face the gale to Malin head for 12 miles. Painful.


 
Posted : 06/05/2009 12:07 am
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barrykellett - Member

Just completed the ireland end to end, my pal for the journey had the good sense to look at the general weather patterns and suggest we ride it bottom to top.
We had tail winds for 90% of the 420 miles we just rode.

I hit 48mph with a full load on the bike. Immense.

We got up on top of a moor in the very north of Donegal today and cruised without touching the pedals at over 35mph. That road lasted for about 4 miles. It was the finest bit of road riding I will ever do.

We had to face the gale to Malin head for 12 miles. Painful.

Ah - deffo on my to-do list. What route did you take, stops etc???


 
Posted : 06/05/2009 1:02 am
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... it's to make you miserable.

Road riding makes you miserable: if it didn't do that, we wouldn't bother doing it.


 
Posted : 06/05/2009 1:09 am
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I can hear gales still!


 
Posted : 06/05/2009 1:42 am
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Headwinds are mind over matter, when you don't mind it doesn't matter.

It's when you've got a headwind on the turbo you know it's not a good day.


 
Posted : 06/05/2009 7:25 am
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[i]Or you could move to Spain.[/i]

But you may not want to move to costa del luz, kitesurfing captiol of the world ๐Ÿ™‚


 
Posted : 06/05/2009 7:35 am
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It was sodding windy offroad as well last night


 
Posted : 06/05/2009 7:37 am
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mmm I can feel the joy from your posting from here Barry. It's given me a lovely warm feeling *looks at lap* oh no not again.


 
Posted : 06/05/2009 8:42 am
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I hate headwinds on long flat bits it's not so bad on hilly stuff.

I did a ride round the Isle of Harris 2 years ago. On the East side I had to cycle really hard to get down the hills, but it was ok on the climbs (wind shadow) until just before the top when I would get almost blown off. The return up the west side was done with hardly any pedalling at all - no idea of speed but it was fast.


 
Posted : 06/05/2009 8:59 am
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druidh - Member

Ah - deffo on my to-do list. What route did you take, stops etc???

Drop me an email and I can fill you in on the route we took.

Superb riding for the first 2 days but we were starting to suffer on day 3 with the weather so took main roads, I had more arduous but picturesque stuff planned for those days!


 
Posted : 06/05/2009 10:54 am
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Statistically, there are more headwinds than tailwinds. Wind slows you down if it is in front of you, or off to either side by up to about 100 degrees. If it is behind you, it only speeds you up if it is within about 80 degrees off from directly behind you.

I have a feeling the figures may vary slightly depending on your riding speed, but that is the general gist of it. Thus meaning you have roughly 55% chance of being slowed down by the wind.

Joe


 
Posted : 06/05/2009 10:58 am
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I get a headwind from the West in the morning and one from the East in the evening. I always think of it as the sun breathing in when it's rising in the morning and out again in the evening as it sets....

It's still does my head in though.


 
Posted : 06/05/2009 12:03 pm
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Huh - I was out this morning and of the 84km, I reckon 50km was into a headwind!


 
Posted : 06/05/2009 12:10 pm
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you need this mantra or you can adapt
"the headwind is my friend - it is a great training opportunity"

The English translation is "F*** this for a game of soldiers we're nearly at the cafe"


 
Posted : 06/05/2009 12:15 pm
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Singlespeed commute yesterday, headwinds both on the way in and way out. Bloody horrible, each time adding 5 minutes onto a 30 minute journey. Argh.

Made me right mardy it did.


 
Posted : 06/05/2009 12:29 pm
 ART
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Was cursing the headwind riding in this am, it's like it literally blows away your energy. Turned into a lovely tailwind when i finally dropped onto the canal though.. ๐Ÿ™‚


 
Posted : 06/05/2009 12:52 pm
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hit a headwind so strong on my off-road jaunt last night that I [i]almost [/i]had to resort to the granny ring, unbelievable....... took the edge right of my final descent as well, in that direction, it was a hairy side wind......
not to worry, that which does not kill me and all that.... ๐Ÿ™‚


 
Posted : 06/05/2009 1:05 pm
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Those winds are good for something though...

[url= http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3374/3506575621_3ecafddbe9_b.jp g" target="_blank">http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3374/3506575621_3ecafddbe9_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url]


 
Posted : 06/05/2009 1:08 pm
 Keva
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pedal harder, unless your legs get tired easily of course.


 
Posted : 06/05/2009 1:41 pm
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Agree Smee. Any headwind over 15mph just sucks all the enjoyment out of road riding. Was going to cycle into work today but thought of a 20 mph headwind on the way home put me off. I'll try tomorrow as its forecast to be calmer. Forecast is also for light rain but I prefer rain to a strong headwind.


 
Posted : 06/05/2009 1:52 pm
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You need some different road riding clobber

[img] [/img]

Who's that fat bastard?


 
Posted : 06/05/2009 1:55 pm
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Was up Flash (1600 feet high) last night and was having to lean the bike over 45 degrees to go in a straight line. Never known wind like it on a ride. I must say I was glad to get home and scoff a load of teacakes. It was just a 60 mile ball ache and when I hit the climbs I was hanging and there was slobber being blown all over my face.

I was goosed.


 
Posted : 06/05/2009 1:58 pm