high winds

[Crickey7]

I am fortunate to have a variety of routes available to me. I can ride bridges, like southbound on the Taft Bridge this am, at a wind assisted speed of 27 mph or so. I can hide behind the ridge along which Wisconsin Avenue runs, and which blocked all but a brisk zephyr this evening. I could even ride completely in the valley of Rock Creek, though that only seems to reduce winds by a little. Or I can ride along the river and feel Nature’s wrath unchecked.

So to answer your question, I have yet to find that windspeed at which cycling is contraindicated.

[Rod Smith]

I can’t believe I didn’t get a PR for 2015 on the Whitehurst segment. Not even top three.

[Vicegrip]

Riding east on the WOD coming into Vienna doing 25 mph with calm air around me was cool.

[dbb]

Although I normally ride the MVT in South Arlington, I was in North Arlington on the Custis yesterday. Winds were brutal and it was really cold.

Clearly living in the south makes for much better cycling weather.

[Arlingtonrider]

Bridges can be really tough sometimes. My tips would be to choose a better bridge to cross on (e.g., 14th Street Bridge has nice high railings on both sides), and to ride in a slightly higher (harder) gear to have more control over the bike. In crosswinds on the 14th, know that about one third of the bridge will catch the winds and gusts more than the rest. Lean into it a little. Listen for gusts. Reef the main. .

[dbb]

arlingtonrider;107157 wrote:

lean into it a little. Listen for gusts. Reef the main. Avoid the shoals .

ftfy

But the 14th Street Bridge has no channel markers or ATONs!

[scoot]

@Arlingtonrider 107157 wrote:

choose a better bridge to cross on

Thanks for this and your other tips. I did think about choosing a different bridge. And I had crossed eastbound on Memorial earlier in the afternoon. I was coming from Kennedy Center, though, so TR was certainly the obvious and most convenient option.

But I do hate that bridge. Even in the best of conditions, it’s awful (way too narrow, and protective rails are so low that they’re barely useful). The few times I’ve used it, I’ve been lucky enough not to encounter any oncoming riders. I’m guessing that reverse commuters are willing to go out of their way to avoid it.

[PotomacCyclist]

I second the suggestion to avoid the TR Bridge. While you would face the winds on any bridge, at least on the other ones, you have a little more room to maneuver and tilt without fear of heading over the side into the river or oncoming car traffic.

I only rode in the morning yesterday (on CaBi) and took Metro back. (I’m not fond of riding back in the dark, especially in winter. Plus I’m still building my way back to consistent cycling.)

I do remember a summertime ride a few years ago. This was at East Potomac Park-Hains Point. I was actually at the Hains Point end of the loop. The winds were probably around 30-35 mph that day, with wind gusts of 45 mph or more. I was cruising along down one side of the road, aided by the wind or protected by the trees. Then when I hit the turnaround, I almost stopped completely. I was on my light tri bike but I could only manage about 5 mph with a hard effort. Then I started to lean over to try to stay on the bike. I might have been tilted over as much as 30 degrees or more while trying to push back against the wind. I counted it as something close to a hill workout. After the turn and the next straightaway, I could increase the speed again, but only to 10-12 mph for a while.

[dkel]

Rockford and I took TR today. I had read this thread, and nevertheless we just ended up going that way for whatever reason. The wind isn’t as bad today as last night, and we still dismounted and walked it. That was my first time across that bridge; it will be my last for a while. Yeesh.

[scoot]

Well I had to go back to Kennedy Center today, so ended up deciding to do the same ride this evening.

I can report that the TR bridge is still awful. But much less scary without that wind! The fleeting daylight helped a bit too, since I crossed a little earlier today.

I generally use it westbound only, as I often choose the cemetery route to Memorial Bridge when heading east. I think TR would be worse eastbound than westbound, since you’d be going opposite the cars. Certainly at night.

[dasgeh]

I am a super conservative rider (not risking any falls at the moment), and I take the tr daily. It’s really not that bad unless you have to pass someone, and then it’s not that bad if you slow way down. I was on it Friday night, and didn’t have any issue. Of course, riding a bike that weighs north of 50 pounds probably helped.

[vvill]

I take the TR westbound most days, and agree it’s pretty bad. Not quite bad enough for me to choose a different route most days though.

I would actually rather spin faster in a lower gear than use a higher gear with a strong crosswind. Definitely lean a little into the wind. Just don’t overdo it if it’s a gust – when the gust is done you might be leaning too much.

[Arlingtonrider]

I just did a google search on riding in wind and an article in Bicycling backs you up, Will, suggesting one riding alone in a crosswind use a slightly easier gear/higher cadence. Interesting.

My tip was based just on my own experience. I’ve found it easier to hold my line with the opposite approach. I’ll have to experiment some more with that. Looks like we’ll have lots of chances to try out different approaches soon.

Thinking this through a little more, I think the gearing needed to maintain good control of the bike will depend on the amount of sail. In other words, maybe someone riding a fairly upright hybrid with non-aero wheels, fenders and a pannier might need to ride in a slightly harder/lower cadence gear to keep good steering control than someone on a clean road bike with aero wheels. Also, crosswinds rarely come at an exact 90 degree angle for very long, so the amount of head/tail might also factor in. I think the bottom line is just to see what works.

[Starduster]

@dasgeh 107185 wrote:

I am a super conservative rider (not risking any falls at the moment), and I take the tr daily. It’s really not that bad unless you have to pass someone, and then it’s not that bad if you slow way down. I was on it Friday night, and didn’t have any issue. Of course, riding a bike that weighs north of 50 pounds probably helped.

On this evening, which one?

[Rod Smith]

Anyone ride on the other side of TR bridge? I was perhaps vaguely aware of a sidewalk over there but I never saw anyone using it until I saw a jogger there last week. I rode inbound on the road once.

[Author]

Posts