Windy cycling - I'm a chicken

Glowing

Anyone else leave the bike behind for the last day or two? I detest cycling in the wind, and am terrified of being blown under a truck.

I took the car - shame on me!!! :eek:

niceonetom

Glowing wrote: »

Anyone else leave the bike behind for the last day or two? I detest cycling in the wind, and am terrified of being blown under a truck.

I took the car - shame on me!!! :eek:

it doesn't scare me - it just puts me in a really bad mood. :mad::mad::mad:

i had to cycle from rathfarnam to blanchardstown last evening and by the time i got off the bike i was feeling very unreasonable. i never get angry at hills, but i fúcking hated the air itself last night. what was its problem? why wouldn't it just fúck off and leave me alone? what was the bloody hurry? and if the air really did feel the need to be somewhere else couldn't it just go there at a steady pace? why this gusting shenanigans?

was also the first time i've ever seriously cursed the lack of gears on my fixie, which is a humiliation in itself from my point of view. one is all i need. just not that one maybe.

kenmc

Why is it that whenever it's really windy out, you seem to face a headwind on both legs of a return trip? How the hell is that possible????

seamus

kenmc wrote: »

Why is it that whenever it's really windy out, you seem to face a headwind on both legs of a return trip? How the hell is that possible????

Heh. Left it at home today. Not much fun going home yesterday evening, was about five minutes slower than usual. So I'm taking today both as a rest day (legs are quite tired from the grinding yesterday) and because I expect this evening to be just as bad.

Bike will need a little TLC this weekend after the horrible weather. I might strip a few bits down and replace a few cables. 2000km since I bought her without any serious maintenance done/needed.

memorex

kenmc wrote: »

Why is it that whenever it's really windy out, you seem to face a headwind on both legs of a return trip? How the hell is that possible????

LOL - that is the eternal question I have faced many a night. My theory (not neccessarily for headwinds per se) is that gusty wind is completely random regardless of the prevailing direction. Gusts seem to get funnelled by all sort of landscape features, buildings, buses, trucks and so on. So on average gusts seem to hit you on all sides regardless of the direction you are cycling.

kenmc

memorex wrote: »

So on average gusts seem to hit you on all sides regardless of the direction you are cycling.

Except of course, from behind, where you'd really like it to come from!:mad:

Stark

niceonetom wrote: »

was also the first time i've ever seriously cursed the lack of gears on my fixie, which is a humiliation in itself from my point of view. one is all i need. just not that one maybe.

I find that gears don't really help me when cycling into a headwind. If I put it into too easy a gear then I just stop moving

It's the flat handlebars on my bike that I curse when cycling into a headwind, even though they're great for cycling in traffic most of the time.

I used to get the wind in my face in both directions thing all the time when I worked in East Point business park and was cycling in and out every day. Damn Clontarf Bay... Strangely enough though, when I go for a run there I can get the wind on my back. I think the wind is evil and intelligent; it's luring me into a false sense of security by pushing me for ages, then turning on me when I'm 5 miles from home...

Andrewf20

Me + mountain bike + head wind + long straight boring main road = biggest pain in the ar$e ever.

It really is my biggest pet hate. Give me rain, mud or cold as a replacement any day.

Glowing

I have images of myself being blown sideways into a '08 BMW and leaving handle bar scratches all down the side ..... nice.

petethedrummer

I've started to not be bother by it much anymore. Just put it in as low a gear as poss and keep the cadence high.... It took me an hour to cycle 8 miles this morning, but I should break the magical half hour on the way home with the wind (Including stops for lights).

lukester

Hate the wind too, but since I switched to a bike with drops I hate it a lot less. It's great being able to tuck down out of it, should have done this years ago

DaDa

I left the bike at home this week... I have too much upper body surface area that acts like a sail

topper75

It does blow from behind sometimes - ah the joy - the bliss - the ImagineYouAreArmstrongness of it all.

Marathon Man

I personally enjoy cycling into the oul wind. Its the most pure form of resistance training and its free. I was cycling out in Clontarf last night and loved every minute of it. For once I didn't see a single other cyclist between there and my homestead. They must have been in their cars- windy b*******.:D

Dirk Gently

Yeah, I left the bike behind this week too. Glad I did too tbh because each day as I sat on the bus at times I'd usually be cycling it has pissed hail stones and been very stormy. I usually can't stand getting the bus but I was glad of it this week I have to admit.

It's true too about the wind always being against you. I even think ahead on my route, next turn I'm heading west, turn after that I'm heading south, then I'm heading east and so on...... , always thinking I must get a break next turn but i think the wind just chases me everywhere and cuts me off out of spite cos no matter what direction I go it's against me.

petethedrummer

I dunno what yous are talking about with regards wind direction. It blows almost exactly the same way for me everyday, give or take a few degrees.

Planet X

I did an extra 20 miles on the way home the last two evenings. Have to. First race periliously close and not alot of training done. Didn't take the long way tonight but will do about 25 tomorrow afternoon, regardless.
Nearly got hunger knock last evening with the effort to keep upright and pedal as hard as I could.
Had to have a lie down after.
No pain.......

oobydooby

Glowing wrote: »

Anyone else leave the bike behind for the last day or two? I detest cycling in the wind, and am terrified of being blown under a truck.

I took the car - shame on me!!! :eek:

Not mad on that wind in my face either but it beats sitting in traffic looking for moonwalking gorillas and listening to myself singing

Bicyclegadabout

I dunno, I don't like the wind, and my commuting bike WILL NOT STOP with the gear slipping these days. Seriously, any force at all and it slips. It's horrible.

BUT, there was something about the journey home yesterday that felt just great. I got home with a huge smile on my face. As if all the odds were against me, but I stood my ground and spat in the face of god himself.....it was pretty cool, y'know.

kenmc wrote: »

Except of course, from behind, where you'd really like it to come from!:mad:

PHWOAR!

Chips Lovell

Bicyclegadabout wrote: »

...my commuting bike WILL NOT STOP with the gear slipping these days. Seriously, any force at all and it slips. It's horrible.

Time for a new chain?

blorg

I'm pressing on, even go out for non-essential cycles unless it is pissing rain.

The wind isn't always against you of course, but I do find it is often simply not so noticable when it is behind you; until you realise you are coasting along at 40km/h+ without much of an effort and the air feels sort of still.

Danbo!

petethedrummer wrote: »

I dunno what yous are talking about with regards wind direction. It blows almost exactly the same way for me everyday, give or take a few degrees.

yeah same here, always on my back in the morning and im against it and uphill on the way home. but today and yesterday, in my face both directions. it can be soul-destroying mid way, but as Bicyclegadabout said, it feels great finishing it

Bicyclegadabout

el tonto wrote: »

Time for a new chain?

Bike shop man says it's "beyond economic repair". It's an old bike, parts can't be got anymore, or so I understand. It's ok though, I have plans for it

Anyway, bought an SCR 3 last week. Just won't be commuting on it till I have decent locks.

Stark

Bicyclegadabout wrote: »

Bike shop man says it's "beyond economic repair". It's an old bike, parts can't be got anymore, or so I understand. It's ok though, I have plans for it

Why do I get the feeling the plans involve the word "fixie" :pac:

Killgore Trout

With the weateher forecast from the start of the week suggesting that it was going to be bad i decided not to cycle - most days would've been easy enough and i could and should have.

I used pubic transport instead - so didn't have any car angst.

Raam

Marathon Man wrote: »

I personally enjoy cycling into the oul wind. Its the most pure form of resistance training and its free. I was cycling out in Clontarf last night and loved every minute of it.

I'll agree with you on that one. I go the Clontarf-Sutton route twice a day. It's been great training this week. On the way in yesterday some lad was really struggling to push a big gear and getting nowhere. I wanted to tell him to change to an easier one and spin but I didn't have the breath

Rob_l

Killgore Trout wrote: »

With the weateher forecast from the start of the week suggesting that it was going to be bad i decided not to cycle - most days would've been easy enough and i could and should have.

I used pubic transport instead - so didn't have any car angst.

I was thinking the same thing read the forecast over the weekend was thinking no feck that so bused it monday which was fine as I was hungover but by tuesday I was back on the bike, wind wasn't as bad as I expected and I was happy enough with the cycle tiring but good

Bicyclegadabout

Stark wrote: »

Why do I get the feeling the plans involve the word "fixie" :pac:

Actually I was going to cut up the frame and use the bits to make several pipe bombs. And the wheels I would of course have used to turn my cat into a cyborg of some sort. But now that you mention it.....