Bad Wind Stopped Play

For 2 weeks in a row we Belles have not trained and last weekend’s excuse was ‘bad wind’. This was neither due to a fear of following flatulent fellow Belles nor a result of our ‘training’ excesses the previous week. It was simply that weather conditions were against us.

At this point, ordinarily, I would have said “it’s only a little bit of wind, come on girls” or something similar. But I knew better than that because:

1. I did that when it was just a little bit frosty and that led to a series of unfortunate events and
2. I was out pedalling in high winds a few weeks ago and it was an interesting experience...

I went for spin on my road bike in similar (but not as bad) weather conditions. It should have been a relaxing Saturday pedal and yet it became a battle of wits at every field gate. In fact, the wind whipped through any gap, in any boundary, and my journey through Bucks, Oxon (and a little bit of Northants) was a perilous game of chicken. Would I, or would I not, make it past the gap before the wind gusted? On more than one occasion I found myself passing a gap and making sudden, involuntary, lurches across the road on my wonderfully light carbon fibre machine. I didn’t come off but that was more down to luck than skill or judgement.

So this got me thinking – what do (dare I say it) (even) more committed cyclists do to combat bad wind?

Cycle Performance Tips tell us to:

• Keep a good mental attitude. Stay positive. Wind, day after day, can beat you down mentally. But head winds actually help improve fitness.
• Watch for cross winds. Especially on roads with truck traffic. When you're leaning left to maintain a straight line and a passing vehicle momentarily blocks the wind, you might veer into the lane. Fight the tendency by keeping your elbows loose and upper body relaxed.

Cycle Chat advice is:

• Hope drivers are aware that a sudden gust of wind can cause a sudden wobble.
• Follow a cyclist with a flag and use that to warn of coming gusts.

And finally Cycling Tips, Australia came up with the answer:

• Cycle as a group and be...
• ...like geese. This is the most efficient way of using the group’s energy to cut through the wind and maintain a high average speed. The riders in the echelon will rotate through from the sheltered side to the front and then pull off back on the windward side.

So be warned you may just see us gals cycling in an echelon formation with a flag flying, heads down, necks extended, flapping our floppy elbows and squawking (more than usual). And be aware that, despite our best efforts, we may suddenly veer into your path and blame it on bad wind.