As promised, I commuted to work this morning, however, it didn’t go as well as I had hoped.

It wasn’t raining, but it had been and was still rainy, so I put my rain fly on my commuter’s backpack.  If I had put it on properly, it wouldn’t have flown off and grabbed the spokes of my back wheel.  So after dealing with that minor fiasco, I was back on my way.

Traffic was terrible.  Over the holidays, a bridge, the city had been building for over a year, was completed and traffic was diverted from the old bridge to the new one which runs parallel.  This new addition was clearly difficult for people to accept as the traffic bottlenecked at the bridge despite it being wider and devoid of the sprinklings of pot holes common to its predecessor.  I managed to safely pass the “parked” cars on the right to maintain a reasonable speed.

Once I passed the car clutter, I experienced the strongest headwind that I have ever encountered on a bike – which I am sure is due to my inexperience.  I looked up the wind measurement and found that weather.com reported sustaining winds of 22-25 MPH with gusts of up to 35 MPH.  Not knowing what this really means, I did a little research and found a measurement called the Beaufort Wind Force Scale, more commonly referred as “The Beaufort Scale”.  It seems that Sir Francis Beaufort, an admiral in the British Navy, developed this scale to bring common terms to identifiable wind behaviors.  Unlike the Saffir-Simpson Scale, used for measuring hurricanes, the Beaufort Scale includes measurements for casual breezes and zero wind.

Using the Beaufort Scale, I estimate that I was riding in between Beaufort numbers 5 & 7, probably spending the most time in the 6 (Strong Breeze) region.

This had a daunting affect on my commute.  First, I could not gain any speed.  I normally average out at about 16 or 17 miles-per-hour for my 19+ mile commute, but this morning, I had trouble maintaining 12 mph.  This added significant travel time.  I also dealt with a lot of cross wind, particularly when I turned down a different street. This turn made significant change in my direction thus changing the angle the wind was hitting me.  The cross winds were so harsh that I pulled over twice to check for flats because my back wheel felt very loose.

My legs are sore.  More from lack of riding then effects of this morning’s winds, but I know I exerted my self more than usual.  My ride time was roughly 28% more than normal due to the heavy winds.

I figure I need to learn how to ride in such conditions, so I did a little research.

1.  Overall, every place I found gave this as the first and most important tip:  Make yourself as small as possible, giving the wind the least amount of surface area to hit.  Sit back in your saddle, pull your elbows in and get low.  Be careful not to get too low, though.  Arching your back past horizontal can create a negative aerodynamic effect by increasing turbulence.  Do your best to keep your back parallel to the ground and inline with your head.

2.  Keep your head still.  Shifting your head from side to side as you pedal, may normally provide your with better cadences, but during headwinds, it allows the wind to shift back-and-forth from one side of your body to the other.  This makes it more difficult to keep your bike straight, thus increasing fatigue.

3.  Gearing.  I have found conflicting advice on gearing.  Some places indicate that you should gear up to maintain a slower, but smoother cadence decreasing wind resistance.  Others indicate that you should gear head winds the same as you do hills.  When it is more difficult to pedal because of the environment, make adjustments to maintain cadence.  I agree with the latter.

4.  If you expect to be riding in windy conditions, avoid wearing loose fitting breakers.  Breakers cause wind resistance and keeps it from “blowing through you”.  This is good and needed, however, wind breakers that flap in the wind create unnecessary resistance and drag causing fatigue.  If you don’t have a tight fitting breaker, you may try putting your breaker on under your jersey instead of over it.

5.  Never stop pedaling.  Coasting allows the wind to have its way with your and your bike.  If it doesn’t push your wheel out from under you, it will gradually send your bike of course.  If you find yourself making constant adjustments to keep your bike in a straight line, maintain your pedaling.

6.  Crosswinds are dangerous!  Not only can gusts blow you of course, but constant crosswinds can be dangerous also.  Leaning into a constant side wind to maintain course can set you up for an accident if a truck passes by temporarily blocking that wind.  This can cause you to veer in the direction of the wind and the truck!  If you can’t avoid it, be careful while doing this.  Keep your upper body loose and prepared for sudden shifts in wind patterns.

7.  Be careful when riding with a tailwind.  Tailwinds generally allow for riding with less effort, however, don’t stop spinning as a great tailwind can shift into a nasty crosswind without warning.  If you are coasting, you will get pushed offline.

Winds are non-negotiable.  Learn to deal with them and keep a positive attitude.  Remember that you burn exponentially more calories when riding into a headwind, so be prepared.

And there you have it.

Joe.