Headwinds suck

**Plakespear** · 05-02-2007, 07:27 PM

Did a 31 mile road ride this afternoon. Probably about 30.5 of those miles were into a headwind, including the majority of the biggest climb of the day.

Average speed was SSSSSSLLLLOOOOOOWWWWWW. I need to find some riding partners to draft behind. 2 hours riding against the wind is not fun at all.

**pde20** · 05-02-2007, 09:37 PM

Originally Posted by Plakespear

Did a 31 mile road ride this afternoon. Probably about 30.5 of those miles were into a headwind, including the majority of the biggest climb of the day.

Average speed was SSSSSSLLLLOOOOOOWWWWWW. I need to find some riding partners to draft behind. 2 hours riding against the wind is not fun at all.

Seconded. I'm not sure, in a meteorlogical sense, how it is possible to do a 27 mile loop ride and feel like you are pretty much always going in to the wind, but that was what my lunch hour and a half ride was like. On the up side, you will feel like one fast mofo next time it is calm out.

**smmokan** · 05-02-2007, 09:59 PM

Yep, this spring has been hell in Colorado with the winds. We got 70 and sunny today- but the winds were consistently 25-30 mph. That's no fun. Luckily I usually do a big square for my ride route, so it only feels like I'm directly into the wind on one or two of those legs.

**Plakespear** · 05-03-2007, 08:08 AM

Yeah, I did a one way ride, so I didn't even have the comfort of knowing that at some point that headwind would become a tailwind.

**uncle crud** · 05-03-2007, 09:13 AM

Yeah on the rare occasion I ride road, I have a loop that is an out-and-back following a river. For reasons that probably some weather geek could explain, the wind almost always blows opposite the current flow. On the ride out there's usually a tail wind. The head wind on the return trip can be fierce. In the late afternoon/early evening, the head wind is at its peak.

I remember one ride where I was averaging 23 mph on the ride out with just about no effort. I thought "man, my legs are burly today!". Then I got to the turnaround point and hit the head wind, and realized why my legs had seemed so strong.

With a serious effort I could do 15 mph on the ride back.

For some reason it reminded me of the scene with Carl & the Reverend in Caddyshack, where the Reverend is playing his career best round in a dark monsoon, and Carl says to the Reverend something like "I don't think the serious stuff will be here for quite some time."

**smmokan** · 05-03-2007, 09:19 AM

^^^ That happens to me all the time. The wind was so strong once that on the way out (very slightly downhill) I was averaging 28.5 mph... on the way back (slightly uphill and into the 30-40 mph wind), I averaged 12 mph.

**Rideski** · 05-03-2007, 09:10 PM

The headwind is frequently bad coming back out of Waterton Canyon. I think the heat rises up out of the city and drives right up the canyon.

That said, can't wait for my first ride of the season there this year. Anyone know if Roxborough loop is dry?

**gravitylover** · 05-06-2007, 07:49 AM

Originally Posted by Plakespear

Did a 31 mile road ride this afternoon. Probably about 30.5 of those miles were into a headwind, including the majority of the biggest climb of the day.

Average speed was SSSSSSLLLLOOOOOOWWWWWW. I need to find some riding partners to draft behind. 2 hours riding against the wind is not fun at all.

Ehh, you're just slow

**Bozoskier** · 05-06-2007, 07:18 PM

I too hate headwinds. They were a bitch in Bozeman on Friday. Hauled ass into town like I had way too much coffee and Slayer wishing I had a road bike so I could go 40 mph, but sucked hind tit on the sixth rear sprocket all the way home twice. "High profile" dude with hair on the legs+Hardtail CC bike+headwind=Slow as hell.

-Jake

**Rontele** · 05-06-2007, 07:40 PM

While riding in Chicago involves little to no hills, riding by the lake can often be an exercise in headwind punishment.

Especially south of where I live Navy Pier --> Hyde Park is very exposed and when it is blowing off the lake, the ride home from south to north can be a sufferfest.

Squatch · 05-06-2007, 08:07 PM

choose poorly on a ride up one of the front range canyons, and it gets even more interesting. think uphill+headwind at 8 mph to downhill+tailwind at 40.

**Plakespear** · 05-06-2007, 08:22 PM

Originally Posted by Squatch

choose poorly on a ride up one of the front range canyons, and it gets even more interesting. think uphill+headwind at 8 mph to downhill+tailwind at 40.

You would like to think that would even out to a 24 mph average speed, but it never does