Like it or not, the wind does blow a lot here in West Texas so if you enjoy cycling (especially on the road) you have to deal with the wind, use it to your advantage where possible and look forward to those great days when the wind is light.
According to weatherspark.com, our highest average wind speed occurs in late March when we often see an average daily maximum wind speed of 20 mph.
Days with stronger winds gusting to 30 mph or more can happen during any month of the year.
Combine the actual wind velocity with the ‘apparent wind’ generated by a bike’s forward motion and — on a breezy day — you may be feeling that you’re always riding into a 30 mph or stronger breeze.
There are skills and strategies that will make riding in the wind easier, and more importantly — you can also use the wind to your advantage as relates to getting stronger on the bike.
Let’s start with route selection for windy days.
Whenever possible, you want to start your ride headed into the wind. This means that you’ll be ‘riding uphill’ on the outbound leg (more on that later) and can then enjoy the tailwind ‘descent’ after you turn around and head home.
During colder months, starting out into the wind also means you’ll avoid going into a cold headwind after you work up a sweat.
A direct headwind is also a little safer since you don’t get blown side-to-side as much compared to riding with a gusty side wind.
Another smart strategy is to ride laps around a short loop on the really windy days to avoid having strong head or side winds for extended periods of time.
One of my favorite ‘windy day loops’ in San Angelo is a 5.5 mile per lap route that follows Knickerbocker Road from the swim beach past the airport to Spillway Road, through Spring Creek Park and then back to Knickerbocker via Fisherman’s Road.
Depending on your pace, each lap will require 15-25 minutes and you’ll never spend more than 1.5 miles going straight into the wind.
Smart equipment selection will also help make windy days more pleasant. Although deep section ‘aero’ wheels look good on a bike, they tend to be much harder to control in strong winds (especially side winds). If possible, save the deep section wheels for calmer days or races.
When riding into a strong wind, remember that when the wind speed doubles, the force of the wind increases by a factor of four. What that means in a practical sense is that gusts of wind or even increases in your forward speed will have a magnified effect.
The best way to deal with pedaling into the wind is to select a gear that allows you to maintain a comfortable pedaling cadence of 85-90 revolutions per minute or higher while monitoring your effort via perceived exertion (‘how hard it feels’) or by using a heart rate monitor.
Don’t ‘blow up’ by trying to go too fast or by attempting to push a very hard gear — instead, imagine that you’re pedaling up a long constant hill and try to use a similar level of effort.
Since riding into the wind is very similar to riding up a long hill, windy day rides can be beneficial related to developing bike-specific strength and power.
We don’t have long extended climbs in our part of the state, but you can use windy days to simulate climbing by doing long rides or interval repeats into the wind.
As an example, a 6-foot-2, 185-pound cyclist riding at 15-20 mph headwind will have to produce slightly more power (watts) than the same cyclist moving at 15 mph up a 6 percent grade.
If you want to compare the power required for into-the-wind vs. uphill climbs for your size and weight, try using the online calculator at kreuzotter.de/english/espeed.htm.
Remember — cyclists in West Texas have to enjoy the windy days.
Upcoming Events
Dec. 13: Run Rudolph Run: conchochristmascelebration.com/additional-activities
Dec 13: Midland cyclocross race, https://www.facebook.com/events/860369537318302/
Now-Jan. 4: Texas Cup cyclocross series: http://txbra.org/events
Jan. 3: Resolution Run: roadlizards.org/events/ecvfd-resolution-run-2015/
Jan. 7-11: Cyclocross National Championships: usacycling.org/2015/cyclo-cross-nationals
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