You'll cycle in?
I use XCweather and if the gusts are predicted at 45mph or higher I don't commute by bike. But then I always see other cyclists out and wonder if they're mad or I need to man up?
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Questions/Support/Help
What is the highest wind speeds...
(40 posts)- Started 8 years ago by Boab08
- Latest reply from Boab08
- This topic is
not a support question
-
Posted 8 years ago #
-
I'll go in any wind pretty much unless there are bits coming off trees. I did turn back one morning in the late winter of '14 because I'd been blown clean off the bike and a couple of meters across the pavement. Stayed on my feet oddly.
Posted 8 years ago # -
Maybe those other folk are only going half a mile or something though? (I wouldn't worry about "manning up". Gusts don't care how manly you are when they dump you in front of a bus or drop a wheelie bin on you...)
Posted 8 years ago # -
@iwrats the winter of 2012 I think we had a building closure and everyone sent home due to high winds. I cycled up the WoL path. Was out of the wind a little and I have been at work on windier days before and after. Crosswinds are dangerous. If you know your route, you will know where to expect these, e.g. Kingsknowe cloth shop on my route into town. Unexpected crosswinds though, they suck
Posted 8 years ago # -
I once cycled in to work (Fairmilehead to city centre) when the wind speed topped 100mph on Blackford Hill. It was a few years ago and before they gave out coloured warnings and gave storms names (Jan 2012 I think). Didn't think it was that bad out so cycled as normal, it was only when I was pushed up Morningside Road that I thought cycling was not the best idea!
Make your own judgement. Tomorrow looks pretty breezy and even if you feel safe others around you can cause accidents. On the flip side you are still at risk if walking and at least if cycling you will probably have a helmet on!
Posted 8 years ago # -
Going along an exposed Road with a brutal side wind is pretty scary, especially going downhill. Gilmerton Road out of town is my nemisis in bad weather.
Posted 8 years ago # -
I'm with unhurt. wind bothers me a lot - especially the gusts. it is too easy for me to lose control of the bike - i'm not that heavy. nowadays I worry as much about trees falling on the meadows as anything else.
of course I also never have time to walk or money for the bus, so I cycled every day last week except Friday, when I stayed home.
Posted 8 years ago # -
I was out at 0745 on Friday morning, when Gertrude was at her fiercest BUT I mostly go on the towpath and I changed my route that day to minimise the time on the road. Interestingly, Gertrude seemed to be blowing much more steadily by the time I was at Wester Hailes, and my guess is that this is mainly because there weren't any obstructions to cause turbulence and gusts.
So I'm happy to get on my bike in any conditions we can reasonably expect in the UK, but I minimise time on the roads in those conditions and I stay out of built-up areas. It's not the wind per se, but the unexpected gusts that blow you sideways and the flying wheelie bins that I'm worried about in town.
Posted 8 years ago # -
I tend to cycle in pretty much any weather. On the odd day that I'm not sure I nip out onto the street to see how it feels before deciding, rather than relying on the forecast.
There are no prizes for going out when you don't feel comfortable. If it doesn't feel right then travel some other way.
Posted 8 years ago # -
I'm with Greenroofer on this. Having a route that avoids traffic does allow you to be venture out when others might not. My direct route is only a couple of miles (vs 1 mile walk to the bus) so I'm probably at risk for less time than walking.
Friday morning was some of the worst I have been out in. Getting round the Gogar Roundabout was tough work but it was head on so manageable.
I would say I wasn't the school run on Tuesday or Friday last week as what I'm prepared to put myself through is not the same as what I'd put the little people through.
Posted 8 years ago # -
Years ago during gale force winds I was blown sideways off the cycle in Semple Street. I landed on my hands and knees. One wrist broken, the other sprained. I was in hospital a couple of days and off work for about 12 weeks. I've been fairly nervous of wind ever since.
Posted 8 years ago # -
I once (aged 14) cycled 5 miles* in the pitch black in 80mph winds with 100 mph gusts. Headwind, obviously. As a result I am very squeamish about cycling in the wind and if I don't like the sound of it I don't do it. If other cyclists want to go out in it, that is up to them.
*45 minutes since you ask.
Posted 8 years ago # -
When I worked in town I'd just grab the bike and worry about it later, I'm not so dependent on it now so I tend to draw the line at 45 mph gusts. With the fixed gear I found myself being blown to a complete stop on a couple of occasions. That is less than ideal.
Posted 8 years ago # -
Up until recently I cycled regardless of the forecast. However, lately for some reason I have found myself reluctant to cycle in strong winds and gusts.
I've cycled in worse winds than we're having at the moment and largely without incident, although I've pretty much invariably had at least one occasion where a gust has caught the wheel or pushed the bike violently. Perhaps it was being hit by the car a few months ago, I'm not sure...
I'm trying out a new rule of not cycling if there is a wind warning (yellow, amber, I haven't decided...)- I don't think they're that common really on the scale of things?
I'm getting the bus today, and probably tomorrow too. It doesn't seem that bad at the moment but looks like it's going to be worse at home time tonight.
Posted 8 years ago # -
Cycled over the bridge this morning and until now I've generally accepted the control room's view- if the gate is open, it is OK to cycle, if closed (due to weather), it is for a good reason.
However, since they moved to the west pathway, I've changed that view. On the East the bridge and traffic provide a lot of shelter from the SWer, but on the west this morning there was diddly squat. That (45mph gusts) was as much as I was comfortable on there. I will not be cycling across this evening, even if it is open to bikes...
Did an audax about 18 months ago- Crystal Run where we went out into East Lothian with a wonderful tailwind (think the wind was a steady 40mph) and then turned back into it for the 2nd half. 3mph uphill, 5 mph on the flat and probably no more than 10mph coming down off Redstane Rig, which was such a disappointment. Never felt unsafe, just burst!
Posted 8 years ago # -
Hmmmm....sitting on a warm bus watching the tipping rain and not regretting not being out in it. Now I worry I'm just getting softer generally...
Posted 8 years ago # -
I'm wary about winds doing things like applying an unexpected and unwanted sideways force to my wheels when they're on tram tracks, seeing as one once managed to blow my front wheel six inches sideways going down Johnstone Terrace. I am so far uninjured on the roads on bikes , whereas I once had one of those plasticky signs you get attached to Heras fencing whap me in the eye when walking and really don't like sharing footways with people with pointy-edged umbrellae even when it's not windy.
Posted 8 years ago # -
"Now I worry I'm just getting softer generally..."
Can't answer that!
It's a general principle of this forum that people cycling is a good thing, and important to make people realise that it's not 'all or nothing'.
There is no need/expectation that people should get fit/bold/equipped so that they can cycle 5-7 days a week and/or 12 months per year.
Many people realise that they enjoy cycling - for its own sake, or health benefits, or flexibility, or money saving and cycle 'all the time'.
Others don't bother when it's dark/cold/wet etc.
Which is perfectly reasonable.
Crucial thing is to start again when conditions 'suit'!
Posted 8 years ago # -
Had one gust that required me to brake and put both feet solidly on the ground. Big black bin next to me almost went over too. Luckily on a quiet side street, with no vehicles moving nearby. Once I got on the main roads was fine, except for the numpties around the temp lights on Gilmore place.
Posted 8 years ago # -
Maybe it's better in black and white
Posted 8 years ago # -
Now that BBC Weather has black gust speeds I'm having to recalibrate a little: I used a 'general' wind speed of 40mph+ as a cut-off previously although this probably meant that I cycled in considerably gustier conditions at times without being aware of it; 50mph+ gust speeds are likely to be the new cut-off... I also have my own system involving wind speed, precipitation and darkness: any one is fine (unless 'extreme'), any two are manageable, but three are not a good idea, and unavoidable ice is an instant no.
Posted 8 years ago # -
Walking from the bus stop to work was hard going. I didn't regret my decision.
Posted 8 years ago # -
Oh, wind direction is also a major factor - if it is a head or a tail wind then I'm not as concerned about high wind speed and/or gusts, but cross winds will put me off.
Posted 8 years ago # -
In these windy conditions I've swapped back from my new road bike to my 10-ton Dutch omafiets. Heavier to get going but less likely to be knocked over by gusts, and once momentum is achieved it's easier to maintain.
Posted 8 years ago # -
When I lived in Slateford I'd cycle in anything, but now that I'm in Roslin I don't have any route that doesn't have some pretty exposed stretches, so I draw the line at 50mph gusts.
Rode into work this morning and it was almost benign aside from the usual crosswind over the bypass at Fairmilehead, but tonight might involve me abandoning my noble steed for the bus.
Posted 8 years ago # -
@paulmilne I've wondered about whether the heavier hybrid would be better or worse in strong winds....it's heavier yes but I guess I also present a larger "sail" to the wind?
Posted 8 years ago # -
I used to use the mtb over the racer when it was really bad, the riding position is more stable, the wide bars give more control and the wheels weighed about the same as the entirety of the other bike. The fact that it's much slower probably helped too.
Posted 8 years ago # -
These incidents on Friday on my usual route and at my usual cycling time made me think not taking the bike had been a good idea.
"He sustained head injuries but was said to be conscious when ambulance crews arrived at the scene in Pinkhill at 07:45
Meanwhile, a tree fell onto the roof of a bus on Corstorphine Road near Ormidale Terrace at 07:35."http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-35438515
Posted 8 years ago # -
As I was on heavier bike this morning I took the cobbles at the lift bridge of leamington. Normally go left down to road past the ex hunter's welly factory. Nearly blown into the canal basin turning at the corner near the bars.
Posted 8 years ago # -
I often check the time the wind is expected to die down. At the moment my commute takes me invariably into a headwind towards Stevenson College. I can cope with getting down on the drops and putting on my pain face to crawl along at less than 10km/h as long as I can sit without pedaling on the way back towards Roseburn.
Posted 8 years ago #
Reply »
You must log in to post.
posts
