I'm sure that most cyclists hate the wind too. I would rather ride up a steep hill than ride in the wind. 70 - 90% of a cyclist's energy goes toward overcoming wind resistance. That's all the time, not just on windy days. Windy days just mean you are going to expend that much more energy in order to overcome the wind resistance or drag.
This morning, my ride home was one of those times of expending the extra energy. As I was leaving work, a co-worker said: "I hope the wind is at. your back!" after noting the direction of the wind I could only chuckle and say: "I don't think today is going to be one of those days."
Now I have ridden in the wind before, and it's always tough, but today was something else! Before I even made it out of the parking lot I had a serious headwind. According to Weatherbug, that headwind was about 20-30 MPH which is easily the strongest wind I have ridden in.
Normally I ride along at about a 14-15 MPH average but this morning I was struggling to keep up a 10 MPH average. I really had to lean into it. Now, given the fact that my commuter is a hybrid, I don't ride in the most aerodynamic position. I'm also riding with Panniers on the back of my bike and it's as if I was riding with a couple of parachutes attached to my bike.
I managed to fight along through my close to 13 mile trip. Usually, it takes about 50 minutes for me to complete the whole route, but today it took about an hour and 12 minutes. The wind actually added over 20 minutes to my commute time! I do live in a pretty windy area but, at least most of the time, the wind isn't as constant as it was today. I usually get somewhat of a break from the resistance. Apparently today wasn't one of those days.
My legs are reminding me of that ride tonight.
Where is that Ibuprofen?
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