Usually at this time of year its a little too warm for the pain hall (which will also take time to set up) so I do the majority of my workouts outside. However, today is forecast to be high winds (well high for here at least where there’s no significant terrain). Am I silly for even thinking about it?
FWIW I went out in very similar winds this morning and it was fine. I probably wouldn’t want to be coming down a mountain with those gusts but flat to rolling roads I wouldn’t worry about it. Maybe take a bike with shallower wheels if you have that option and are concerned, and leave it as late as you can when the wind is dropping.
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Yep. Deeper rims make a bike react much more to crosswind gusts. It will also complicated doing the workout. Just try riding in an area you’re comfortable with, see how it goes, and get some experience with it, then you’ll know.
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I find wearing earplugs helps with the annoying wind noise. I don’t love gusts above 30 MPH, but I’ll ride in them over the trainer just depending on how I’m feeling.
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I guess riding in windy conditions is a skill like any other type of riding. If you are not used to it, it might be intimidating. If you’re unsure I would give it a shot and see how it goes.
Being from a very windy place, if didn’t ride in conditions like those I woul almost have to scratch a third of my rides. Just last week it was 25 mph winds, gusting to 45. Me and, as Strava showed later, many others just had one thought when seeing those conditions. KOM-weather.
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Im use to riding in strong winds (the forecasted worse, whether it actually was that was 80mph solid with 120mph gusts, I hugged the glens up north and got blown home). I was wondering for ‘training’ if it was actually worth it. ‘Mentally’, having actually done it I think it was worth it. Although I wasn’t always consistent with zones for strict training. For some reason under threshold (237w) seemed hard to hold one way but a breeze (excuse the pun) to hold the other way later on. Some of it wasn’t due to the wind though I had a twerp with a massive trailer coming the other way to turn in front of me and then brake at every traffic calming. If I had been going straight at that junction there’s no way I could have stopped in time.
I mean, it depends on what you like doing.
Those sorts of winds are almost a daily occurrence on the prairies. I was just riding in 20mph gusting to the low 30s with 50mm deep rims. The local weather called them “light winds.”
Didn’t think anything of it but again this is like almost daily weather.
So I wouldn’t call you silly for riding in those conditions. 45mph is about my upper limit for riding personally.
Wind sucks if you’re not used to it though. The noise, the extra fatigue from fighting gusts, the extra work, etc. if you’re not enjoying yourself and you don’t have to ride in it, then don’t!
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