Wild, volatile, rollercoaster weather Wednesday.

[myoglobinologist]

That was exciting! And brisk! I was wondering, on the way in to work this morning, if it were possible to attach a sail to a bike. The google machine gave me this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FtWxmYiZqI

[83b]

@jrenaut 79507 wrote:

And the cold wind just went right down into my soul. I may never be warm again.

That’s very well put. I’ve been sitting at my desk for over an hour now and my toes are still bloody cold. I want this winter dead and buried already.

[Subby]

14th street bridge was the worst I’ve ever experienced (small sample size alert). Whoever I was behind was leaning hard to the left in a sweet leaning tower of pisa pose. I’m sure I was doing the same.

[hozn]

I was grateful for bar mitts this AM. And goggles. The goggles were awesome — and no fogging up. And amfib tights do an awesome job blocking wind. And my Gore windstopper SO jacket is just phenomenal. On the whole, I have to admit to being quite comfortable despite having to ride directly into the WNW wind (westward on W&OD). It’s amazing what $500+ of cycling clothing and accessories will do.

Sure looking forward to sailing home.

[cyclingfool]

@TwoWheelsDC 79504 wrote:

Somehow not nearly as bad as I was expecting. The winds seemed to moderate as the sun rose, so even riding due north wasn’t terrible. Uphill into the headwind wasn’t awesome, but didn’t seem worse today than other windy days.

It may have moderated for you as the sun rose, but my 9 AMish commute departure sent me straight into the teeth of the strongest wind gusts since midnight.

http://w1.weather.gov/data/obhistory/KDCA.html

@Subby 79514 wrote:

14th street bridge was the worst I’ve ever experienced (small sample size alert). Whoever I was behind was leaning hard to the left in a sweet leaning tower of pisa pose. I’m sure I was doing the same.

I was doing the same along the MVT between Gravelly Point and CSX bridge. I literally had my bike leaning to the about 10-15 degrees from vertical to keep a straight line. My sample size for 14th St Bridge crossings is fairly large (I think) – five years of almost daily commuting, and this was a doozie even by those standards.

@83(b) 79513 wrote:

I want this winter dead and buried already.

Don’t look at Sunday night-Monday night’s forecast then.

[cyclingfool]

@83(b) 79513 wrote:

That’s very well put. I’ve been sitting at my desk for over an hour now and my toes are still bloody cold. I want this winter dead and buried already.

Don’t look at Sunday night-Monday night’s forecast then.

[jrenaut]

The one positive – I’ve never had such a nice tailwind on PA Ave. Can’t wait to ride it home tonight in the opposite direction!

[Arlingtonrider]

My experience was like JRenaut’s, Subby’s and cyclingfool’s. This might have been the toughest commute I’ve ever done.

Four Mile Run trail was closed (about 8:40 am), so I detoured through Crystal City on Potomac Ave and Crystal Drive. Crystal Drive was like a wind tunnel with headwinds and crosswinds. Pushed through on the MVT to the 14th Street Bridge, where the winds pushed me (and my pannier and bar mitts) enough that I dismounted and walked the bike for the part near the Virginia side that gets the worst crosswinds. Much better once I got into town. The winds were wicked throughout but at least I stayed warm – jeans and longjohns, hiking boots, Gore Fusion windstopper jacket, bar mitts and ski goggles/face mask. Still glad I did it.

[Terpfan]

If it makes you guys feel better, I took Metro. (Long story short–involves a rental car and my wife having evening obligations, which negated my genius plan to simply drop her at Metro, drop off car, bike to work and bike back to car). Huntington to Gallery Place was a breeze, but then the 45 minutes I spent waiting at Gallery Place for a Red Line toward Shady Grove did not help. I gave up after realizing I would be there another 45 minutes waiting until there was a train in service and empty enough to let us on. Enter a line of folks hailing cabs. Finally get one, but his CC machine is broke (oh what a surprise). So visit the atm, hail another cab, and make it to work 2 hours and 15 minutes later for a ride in that’s 1:20-1:30. I guarantee that even with the winds, everyone was faster than me.

[consularrider]

I decided to skip my extended route which would have included five plus miles up the Potomac from 4 Mile Run to Rosslyn. Instead I got three miles of headwinds going west on the W&OD before turning around at West St and enjoying the tailwind to Rosslyn. However, it seemed that the wind was bouncing off the sound barrier walls and back into my face on parts of the ride. I also decided against using the bike with Bar Mitts since it still has studded tires and there was no ice to deal with. I tried a new glove combination which was barely adequate for a 45 minute ride, should have gone with the PI lobsters. I also have to agree with hozn on the Gorewear windstopper SO jacket. I bought the Fusion Tool model at Spokes end of winter sale two weeks ago and it did a great job blocking the wind this morning.

[ShawnoftheDread]

I guess I got lucky. Strong, brisk, but not ridiculous wind until I got to the trail at EFC, then easy going until TR Bridge. I took that at an acute angle, but it’s been worse. Cold toes and eyes on arrival, but a hot shower set me right.

[americancyclo]

A late start for me got a nice tailwind in, but it seemed to be coming more from the south, so I’m hoping my ride out to WFC doesn’t take more than 1h30m today.

[Arlingtonrider]

+1 on the Gore Windstopper Fusion jacket. Unfortunately, the womens’ version seems only to be available online and was not on sale, but it’s an awesome jacket. I ordered mine directly from Gore.

[dkel]

I must be an idiot: in spite of riding into the headwind on the W&OD from Falls Church to Vienna, I went ahead and doubled my mileage for the morning by doing several detours. The wind was absolutely wicked, and completely relentless. Nevertheless, I was pretty warm: I had on my rain layer, top and bottom, which did a good job of keeping the wind out and the heat in. Only my toes got a little cold, but not much. I’m looking forward to a steady tailwind all the way home this afternoon (after this morning, that wind bloody well better still be there when I leave!).

[Greenbelt]

@TwoWheelsDC 79504 wrote:

Somehow not nearly as bad as I was expecting. The winds seemed to moderate as the sun rose, so even riding due north wasn’t terrible. Uphill into the headwind wasn’t awesome, but didn’t seem worse today than other windy days.

Agreed. I got a late start — by 10am it was just a normal windy winter day, not great, but not terrible.

[Author]

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