Posted by Les Faber in A stressful day at work is easily followed by a hard and rewarding bike ride. Today the conditions were superb. At work it seemed like the stars were not aligned at all. By 5 PM, I was ready, willing and able to get some stress relief. The weather was an unbelievably balmy 32 degrees Celsius.
- Ottawa Weather April 27, 2009
This in itself is amazing for the world’s coldest capital in April! Sadly, I believe that this is somehow related to global warming and climate change.
My one chance to take advantage of industrialization and the mass stupidity of so many countries! Take advantage Les — take advantage.
I knew I was in for a challenge when exiting my driveway, I saw a mid-winter like mass of Monday afternoon garbage can lids & recycle containers gathered at the far end of my street. Bonus – some small untethered children had also collected in the heap (LOL).
Gathering steam I headed down to the end of the street amassing an amazing speed of 20 KMPH!. Wow, what a powerhouse. And this was in the shelter of a subdivision! Round Golflinks Drive and head on into the wind 20, 19, 15 (hold your ground Les). The next 3 Kms. were straight into the wind. My legs were screaming (I would have done the same. But nobody would have heard me and I would have had a lung full of dust and other assorted debris).
A left turn brought me into a situation where I was cutting across the wind. I actually had to lean into it!
This reminded me of our September trip to Holland. The wind in the northwest of Holland was similar to today’s.
- Ottawa Canada Wind
I ended up doing 25 Kilometers – far below my goal of 40. But in all fairness, driving into a wind like today made it feel like at least 40 kilometers.
Speeds on the flat:
- Into the wind – 15 kmph
- Across the wind – 26 kmph
- With the wind – 51 kmph
Distance into the wind: 8 kms.
Life is good people – life is good!
G’day
Great read, but I think you need to HTFU
Maybe come out here to Perth, Western Australia for some afternoon summer riding down the coast into the headwinds. My regular commute to Fremantle is around 42 km of which 95% of it is straight into the south-westerly we call the Fremantle Doctor (cooling wind). The problem is this wind can easily get to 60 km/h and regularly averages around 35 to 50 km/h.
Of course it always kicks in in the afternoon when one has to ride home.
Great for those that live north of the city but, they get a fantastic tail wind.
Enjoy your riding.
All the best
Andrew
Andrew — thanks for your comment. Yes wind is a tricky beast. For some reason it is the hardest part of cycling for me to deal with.
Maybe I can come and visit you to see if your Aussie winds are as severe as you say!!?!?
Commute home on Monday was right into the wind – woo it was pretty intense! I don’t think it’s ever taken me that long to get home!
So yes, I do agree 100% with this statement: But in all fairness, driving into a wind like today made it feel like at least 40 kilometers.
Good luck this weekend – may the wind be with you!
PS…now have a bent rear derailleur. Surgery this weekend. Wondering if it’s time to invest in a new bike….*sigh*
Hey Nadine — Thanks for the kind wishes. Come out on Saturday. You can meet both Helen & I. I’ll be the fellow with the look of absolute fear in his eyes.
Where do you ride and how did you mess your derailleur?
Hi Les
Funny, I did not see you out there on Monday afternoon!
On Saturday, I hooked up with my regular group and did an amazing 115km ride. There were fifteen of us with a fair amount of wind, however, nothing compared to Monday afternoon. I ended up doing 40km on my own and that first stretch westbound on Barnsdale was brutal. I don’t think I have ever experienced wind as I did that day. The 40km ride on Monday was more difficult that the 115km ride on Sat. I was wondering what the wind speed was. Am I correct in reading your chart at 39km per hour.
Oh by the way Les, 20 to 22km/hr into the wind and 58km/hr eastbound on Century road.
Hey buddy — too funny. at least I wasn’t dreaming. It was a real pig out there. Happy you got out in the W/E.
Looking at your stats reinforces my conviction that I need to reduce the overall weight of my ride (AKA loose weight).
I have my little competition on Saturday. That should be fun.
We need to get out and ride together again. Need those kms. for Rideau Lakes!