Ha! Well, theologically speaking, we are all elves (aveternal), so none of us are “mere mortals.” Grin. I don’t know if you want to exclude my response for other reasons, though. Still, I’m cocky enough to offer it. Grin. If it helps, I turned around once because of wind. Climbing Pikes Peak on the QB, I didn’t have a low enough gear for riding into 60mph steady winds while climbing at 13,000. That, plus a wrong lean at the wrong time could have put me in Tennessee by the time I landed. Grin.
But on my regular rides, I’ve climbed and descended both with and against up to 60mph sustained winds, though 40 sustained with gusts to 60 is more common. Swirling is the worst, as there is no way to know which way to lean, so I aim for the middle and tuck as low as I go. There is a spot notorious for strong swirling winds, including impressive dust devils. It can be the hardest several hundred yards of a ride when all comes together just right. Grin. Some rides there is a concern that if I don’t pedal hard enough I’ll go east whilst aiming west. “I aimed for Woodland Park, honey, but ended up in Limon. Can you, er, come get me?” Grin. Wind is a great example of how fishnet long johns have transformed my riding. I used to have to choose between being too warm and boil-in-a-bag but with wind block, or too cold. Not now. Today’s ride was 30-38˚F with 40mph winds and a tasty squall blustering through. I wore fishnet long john top, medium weight cotton flannel shirt, scarf (I can adjust air flow as needed, but this time of year it generally keep it snug), and Walz ear flap cap. Warm, dry, and felt like a gentle summer breeze keeping me just right in a light shirt (this is how the fishnet long john system always feels when dialed in for a given condition, be it raining, snowing, calm, blowing, 50, or minus 20. Oh, and be sure to breathe only through your nose. It eliminates that gaspy feeling when the wind creates a vacuum around your mouth and you can’t suck in air. It filters out dust and bits of tin roof, barn wood, an occational lamb or cockapoo that weren’t properly tied down. What else did you ask? “What do you consider a strong wind, and where do you stop riding? ... What's your technique, mental as well as physical? What gear?” Strong: above 40mph. Where do I stop riding. I suppose much over 60mph. I’ve walked in 100mph winds before and that is something to experience once and avoid thereafter. Grin. You wonder my mental technique? Seriously? (I know, I know, you DQ’d me. Tough. Grin.). I ride. Like there isn’t a wind. Same as a hill. It’s just the conditions that are between me and where I’m going, so why let them weigh me down by focusing on them? There are what they are. So what? Nothing I can do but tuck and ride and have fun because of how mind blowingly moronic I am. Grin. How’s that for mental technique, aye? Kind of gave away my physical technique too. Tuck. Elbows too, and head to stem. I relax my hips back, roll my back forward and I micro-stand, because if I stand more than that, I end up in wheat fields. Micro standing takes more arm work than full standing, but still allows for gravity assist via my body weight to aid the downstroke enough that it helps. What gear? Whatever gear I’m in. I generally do not change gear for the wind until significant climbing/altitude is involved, so 72” on the QB, 62” on the Hunqabeam (wet snow necessitates a downshift, powder up to 6” does not). With abandon, Patrick, too daft to notice the wind much anymore, doesn’t seem to matter if I do. Grin. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
