What's up with this weather ?

ccull123

Hi all ,

Is it just me or has the weather i.e the wind been really bad over the last two weeks. Cycling from Dublin city out to Lucan and the wind has been soul destroying! Give me the cold and rain any day.

Any tips/advice?........ Other than taking the car:)

Inquitus

ccull123 wrote: »

Hi all ,

Is it just me or has the weather i.e the wind been really bad over the last two weeks. Cycling from Dublin city out to Lucan and the wind has been soul destroying! Give me the cold and rain any day.

Any tips/advice?........ Other than taking the car:)

Feels like its been blowing hard or very hard non stop for the last 2 months to me.

Dermot Illogical

ccull123 wrote: »

Any tips/advice?........ Other than taking the car:)

Stay off the big ring?

ccull123

I'm with you on that.... Really starting to get annoyed:) it's great going in but soooo hard going out!! The cold in January/February I.e -5/6 is a doddle compared to this:)

CianRyan

I've been killing myself with headwinds over the last few weeks.
I can not wait until the wind dies down and the sun comes out.

Or France... Bring on France.

RebelButtMunch

The slower you cycle the less strong the wind 'seems' to be

Captain Havoc

I went about 40kms into today, torture. I was on this really windy stretch and I turned one turn earlier than planned (about 2kms) to get out of it. It was nice to have for the TT this evening though

bcmf

RT66 wrote: »

Stay off the big ring?

Personally I find that into a headwind picking a nice big (hard ) gear is better. Put your head down and think of all the good work getting done.

ccull123

Def hand the wind in my face for 13km...... Reckon my avg speed was 16kph. On the way into work I was around 40kph!!!

07Lapierre

As Raam says "learn to love a headwind".

fletch

What I don't understand is how the wind is against me in the mornings AND in the eveinngs! I soon learnt that while cycling, if the wind is with you it's raining, if it's not raining the wind is against you.

feck sake lads

no answer to your question really just ride slow don't fight it what can you do:D:D

Keep_Her_Lit

ccull123 wrote: »

Really starting to get annoyed:)

I'm sure your annoyance has been duly noted by the folks in the Wind Bureau. Expect blissful calm and tranquility in the morning
[Sorry, not trying to be a wise guy; your comment just gave me a chuckle]

Just maintain the same work rate that you normally do and accept that the journey time will be a bit longer than normal. All things considered, the weather has been great over the past few weeks IMHO.

Keep_Her_Lit

RebelButtMunch wrote: »

The slower you cycle the less strong the wind 'seems' to be

Definitely. In fact, if you stop, you hardly notice it at all!

happytramp

Keep_Her_Lit wrote: »

Definitely. In fact, if you stop, you hardly notice it at all!

Also, turning around and going the other way can help too.

Keep_Her_Lit

07Lapierre wrote: »

As Raam says "learn to love a headwind".

That's sage advice. A fellow club member told me that he preferred to attack into a headwind; a gusty wind disrupts the bunch and for many riders, the thoughts of having to give chase into a headwind is too much; easier just to sit in. Someone with an appetite for hard work can use that situation to their advantage.

thebouldwhacker

I agree, one must be zen when in a head wind, accept it, feel it, realise and absorb what is going on.
Its just like cycling a hill at night, you dont know how long it lasts or how hard it will be but it will come to and end. The question is when the end comes will you be happy with how you rode....

That said I got so fed up with the wind on tues that I changed my route and just did hills, If I'm going slow I want it to be on my terms:P

CheGuedara

ccull123 wrote: »

Hi all ,

Is it just me or has the weather i.e the wind been really bad over the last two weeks. Cycling from Dublin city out to Lucan and the wind has been soul destroying! Give me the cold and rain any day.

Any tips/advice?........ Other than taking the car:)

The wind? It's the time of year for the scairbhin wind - my da's talked about it, apparently its well recognised in munster where a period between mid-April and mid-May is known for strong winds typically starting SE and eventually moving to N or NE (and cold) before subsiding. Didn't know about it myself until last weekend when we were b!tch slapped all over the Ox mountains in the Tour of Sligo by it! Seems to be legit!

The advice I can give - cycle with friends, share the draft, dig deep and when all else fails - HTFU pills... (found convieniently at the back of the pain cave... :P)

ryan_sherlock

I hate the wind too, but two things that help me.

If it is training, plan the route according to the wind, have a headwind for the easy sections, a tail for the harder parts... (This was really really important when training in the Canaries...)

Secondly, treat it as time to train your aero position - get low, comfortable and spin along. Think about how it will help you next time in a race.

irishmotorist

I find that fighting it doesn't work - you'll get an extra km/h or two more, but the effort goes right up. I just spin through it. I find that I'm sitting in my typical starting off gear or perhaps one lower and just keeping a steady pace like that. Concentrating on keeping a good cadence helps the time pass a bit better. It won't be fast, but it will get you there with good effort.

seamus

irishmotorist wrote: »

I find that fighting it doesn't work - you'll get an extra km/h or two more, but the effort goes right up.

There's a formula for it. Don't know it off the top of my head, but it's something ridiculous like increasing your speed by 10% requires a 50% increase in effort. So fighting it will work, but you'll be knackered and have very little to show for it.

Best thing is just to ignore the speed on the computer and keep your legs spinning comfortably.

fletch

Keep_Her_Lit wrote: »

Definitely. In fact, if you stop, you hardly notice it at all!

That always baffles me too...and the second you start moving again, it hits you WHAM in the face

BostonB

Watch the trees. Long open roads are the worst. Rat running though small streets/estates cuts out the wind a lot.

Sacred_git

My formula is leave the bike at home until it stops, having said that im on a mtb, cycled to Howth/Malahide last weekend from thev city centre, fcuking nightmare on the way out, bliss on the way in, hate the wind, ill wait til it dies down and just hit the gym!

seamus

It's screwing with my WW200 training anyway. Wanted to do 140km this weekend, was even considering an event in Wexford, but not in this wind and showers, and with the cold bite in the wind. (HTFU)
60km last weekend in the wind destroyed me, so I might just do the same tomorrow, though taking Ryan's advice to minimise hillclimbing into the wind

irishmotorist

seamus wrote: »

There's a formula for it. Don't know it off the top of my head, but it's something ridiculous like increasing your speed by 10% requires a 50% increase in effort. So fighting it will work, but you'll be knackered and have very little to show for it.

My legs concur

BostonB

For commuting I leave at the busiest time, then tag on to the biggest group going my way....

manwithaplan

fletch wrote: »

What I don't understand is how the wind is against me in the mornings AND in the eveinngs!

My rule is that if the wind isn't against you, you're not going fast enough.

CianRyan

Bloody hell, all geared up and ready to head out on the bike and the house was shuck with a crack of thunder, with that came a ****e load of hail stones.
Pretty much decided my cycling for me for now...

AstraMonti

CianRyan wrote: »

Bloody hell, all geared up and ready to head out on the bike and the house was shuck with a crack of thunder, with that came a ****e load of hail stones.
Pretty much decided my cycling for me for now...

Well now is nice and shiny! That's Irish weather for you

CianRyan

Ah, I'm having dinner and a dog walk first at this stage, I'll get out though.

petethedrummer

I don't mind the wind at all anymore. Long daily commutes into it help to build up the immunity.

vistafinder

There is an Irish saying for it when it happens this time of the year dont know the Irish for it is but translated to english it means the rough weather of the cuckoo and it is rough with the last 2 weeks. I enjoy a good hill but i hate the wind.

manwithaplan

vistafinder wrote: »

There is an Irish saying for it when it happens this time of the year dont know the Irish for it is but translated to english it means the rough weather of the cuckoo and it is rough with the last 2 weeks.

Is ea "scairbhín na gcuach" atá i gceist agat. Cloistear é i gCiarraí is i gCorcaigh.

Jawgap

Aimed at Aussies, but the sentiment is universal (NSFW!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EY7lYRneHc

cdaly_

CianRyan wrote: »

Bloody hell, all geared up and ready to head out on the bike and the house was shuck with a crack of thunder, with that came a ****e load of hail stones.
Pretty much decided my cycling for me for now...

I was on the way up to Sally Gap in that. Caught us at the Yellow House. After that it was fine all evening...

CianRyan

cdaly_ wrote: »

I was on the way up to Sally Gap in that. Caught us at the Yellow House. After that it was fine all evening...

Jaysus, say it was worse up there.
Anywhere to take shelter or did you fight through it?

Jawgap

Could be worse - We could be in California

cdaly_

CianRyan wrote: »

Jaysus, say it was worse up there.
Anywhere to take shelter or did you fight through it?

The hail was the last shower we saw. Ducked in under a hedge until it turned to rain then carried on. We were lucky with the wind, it had veered to west or northwest by evening so it was mainly tailwind up on top. I can see how a hail shower might be a bit of a problem up on the gap itself...

kennyb3

Sad to say it but i wimped out of a spin for the first time ever this evening. Did rain and hail all winter but wind like that just makes it too much of a chore.

feck sake lads

kennyb3 wrote: »

Sad to say it but i wimped out of a spin for the first time ever this evening. Did rain and hail all winter but wind like that just makes it too much of a chore.

a wise decision

ednwireland

blinkin windy up here

Plastik

Aye, was out for 30k around Greystones, bloody windy.

cdaly_

Had a good spin into work this morning. Teamed up with another lad on the Clontarf cycle path and we managed a 30-32kph pace into the teeth of the wind. I doubt I'd have managed 25kph solo...

Dermot Illogical

cdaly_ wrote: »

Had a good spin into work this morning. Teamed up with another lad on the Clontarf cycle path and we managed a 30-32kph pace into the teeth of the wind. I doubt I'd have managed 25kph solo...

Got a puncture there this morning. 2nd spin in a row to get a puncture, and it happened in the same place. :mad:

xz

According to all scources, the streets the place to go, cos tonight for the first time.................................only joking, but joking aside, any one else hear that we are supposed to be in for a scorcher over the next 2 months, temps of up to 30 C :rolleyes:

ccull123

I haven't been out on the bike in a week. Managed 30km's today. The wind was not as bad as I thought it would be. I'm holding out for a good summer!

Hermy

xz wrote: »

any one else hear that we are supposed to be in for a scorcher over the next 2 months, temps of up to 30 C :rolleyes:

What good is that? Then it will be too warm.
We'll be reduced to cycling in the shade.:mad:

xz

Hermy wrote: »

What good is that? Then it will be too warm.
We'll be reduced to cycling in the shade.:mad:

Never said it would be good, it will just give us another weather condition to moan about

Whitehawk

i dont find the head wind as bad as the gusts of wind that hit you on the side out of know where they have been so stong last few days/weeks etc that a few times ive seen and myself as well never been blown off the bike and under a car not fun at all, really hope it gets better soon!

ccull123

Give me hail, snow, rain, frost or heat any day over the dreaded WIND!