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.