Discussion
Look for shelter in any form........ And just accept it..... If your usual cruising speed is 20mph and youve got a 5mph headwind then to maintain your 20mph you've got to be able to cycle at 25mph.... If you could cycle at 25mph then that would be your usual cruising speed so you would have to be able to maintain 30mph.
anonymous said:
[redacted]
First rule of cycling: there is -always- a headwind!If riding in a bunch, well then seek shelter. Just remember to take your turn at the front of course, as others will be looking to do the same! Else, if you're solo (or indeed at the front), then get aero (drops, low on hoods etc: whatever leaves you able to pedal effectively) and power, power, power.
Eddh said:
Just accept it and apply rule #5.
ThisLast Saturday I was riding my arse off and still only doing 13mph when at that effort I would have been doing 27/28mph without the wind. You just have to put up with it and savour the times when it's behind you, like these lads http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8qgjyqibwY
Edited by Rouleur on Saturday 9th February 13:11
BliarOut said:
Don't move to the fens!
Precisely.Did a ride from Saffron Walden to Ely, up to the west of Cambridge, back down to the East of Newmarket. As I got north of the A14, the terrain flattened out, and I was cruising at a speed way in excess of my average. Brilliant! thinks I. Between this flatter terrain and all the training I've done, this
I continued to kid myself right up to the point where I changed direction on the southern outskirts of Ely, whereupon I realised that I had been 'wind-assisted' for almost the entire northward leg. This of course meant 40+ miles southbound in the grip of an almost constant headwind, and resultant misery after I ran out of food and drink in the middle of
All-in-all, a sobering lesson in being better prepared if you go out for an 'off-the-cuff' century.
The Fens: No shelter from the wind! http://goo.gl/maps/4SPQy
Mind you, late last 'summer' I stayed a couple of nights with my sister near Swansea, and took the bike. I went out from Hendy, and up into the hills, through Felindre, Rhydypandy, then back down through Betws, Pantyffynnon, and Garnswllt. It was a route I had done hundreds of times as a teenager, first on a 'cast-iron' Carlton 5-speed 'racer', then later on a Record Sprint. It was brilliant to re-discover old routes, and the scenery is epic, BUT. There is a reason why there are no trees growing on those hills, and that reason is measured either in Miles Per Hour, or more often using the Beaufort scale. http://goo.gl/maps/7kHKZ
Wind-blown hills - worth the effort, for a descent like this: http://goo.gl/maps/GrO2A
When all is said and done, I often take it for granted how spoiled I am to have access to all of Surrey/Hampshire/Berkshire right on my doorstep, although it would be nice to combine the gradients of the Fens with the shelter of the Hampshire countryside and the traffic levels of the Welsh valleys.
Urgh, don't talk to me about wind.
Went out last week and it was stupidly gusty. As is typical with all Dorset hills after you've slogged up the majority of it they have a nasty ramp at the top, I reached the 25% ramp at the top of a 3 mile climb only to turn into the wind, the first blast stopped me dead, the second actually blew me over while standing with the bike! (Bloody slippy cleats!)
Lastly- I did NOT need the wind assistance on descent, I am 100kilos I don't need no help!, had to have the brakes on to keep the speed under 50.
Went out last week and it was stupidly gusty. As is typical with all Dorset hills after you've slogged up the majority of it they have a nasty ramp at the top, I reached the 25% ramp at the top of a 3 mile climb only to turn into the wind, the first blast stopped me dead, the second actually blew me over while standing with the bike! (Bloody slippy cleats!)
Lastly- I did NOT need the wind assistance on descent, I am 100kilos I don't need no help!, had to have the brakes on to keep the speed under 50.
JuniorD said:
Wind is excellent training. Doing 15 mph into a 10mph headwind is just like doing 25mph on a still day, but with less spinning and more grinding. What's not to like about that?! 
What's not to like? How about riding down an icy fen road and getting blown completely sideways and there's f
k all you can do about it. You can't even steer into wind to correct as it just blows you straight into the grass 
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