The wind kicked my butt today

Biked from Moreno Valley, CA up to Colton, CA -- via Riverside and Grand
Terrace -- and the wind was as bad as I've ever seen it. My route was
almost entirely northward and wouldn't you know it, I was biking directly
into a north wind almost the entire way.

Steady 15-20 MPH wind with gusts up to 40-50 MPH. Weather Service indicated
up to 60 MPH gusts but I'm not sure it was quite that bad... I saw hundreds
of tumbleweeds making a mass migration... one I swear was bigger than a VW
bug, crossing a road.

That ride normally takes me about 45 minutes... 1:10 today. That was
terrible.

brink

On Jan 9, 3:28*pm, "brink" wrote:
Biked from Moreno Valley, CA up to Colton, CA -- via Riverside and Grand
Terrace -- and the wind was as bad as I've ever seen it. *My route was
almost entirely northward and wouldn't you know it, I was biking directly
into a north wind almost the entire way.

Steady 15-20 MPH wind with gusts up to 40-50 MPH. *Weather Service indicated
up to 60 MPH gusts but I'm not sure it was quite that bad... *I saw hundreds
of tumbleweeds making a mass migration... *one I swear was bigger than a VW
bug, crossing a road.

That ride normally takes me about 45 minutes... *1:10 today. *That was
terrible.

brink


How was it coming home?

Cullen

wrote:
On Jan 9, 3:28 pm, "brink" wrote:
Biked from Moreno Valley, CA up to Colton, CA -- via Riverside and Grand
Terrace -- and the wind was as bad as I've ever seen it. My route was
almost entirely northward and wouldn't you know it, I was biking directly
into a north wind almost the entire way.

Steady 15-20 MPH wind with gusts up to 40-50 MPH. Weather Service indicated
up to 60 MPH gusts but I'm not sure it was quite that bad... I saw hundreds
of tumbleweeds making a mass migration... one I swear was bigger than a VW
bug, crossing a road.

That ride normally takes me about 45 minutes... 1:10 today. That was
terrible.

brink


How was it coming home?

Cullen

If his life is anything like mine, by then the wind had shifted 180
degrees and an earthquake had changed the slope of the ground so that
both rides were uphill into the wind.

In article ,
"brink" writes:
Biked from Moreno Valley, CA up to Colton, CA -- via Riverside and Grand
Terrace -- and the wind was as bad as I've ever seen it. My route was
almost entirely northward and wouldn't you know it, I was biking directly
into a north wind almost the entire way.

Steady 15-20 MPH wind with gusts up to 40-50 MPH. Weather Service indicated
up to 60 MPH gusts but I'm not sure it was quite that bad... I saw hundreds
of tumbleweeds making a mass migration... one I swear was bigger than a VW
bug, crossing a road.

That ride normally takes me about 45 minutes... 1:10 today. That was
terrible.

To me it sounds like an interesting and noteworthy adventure.

Tumbleweeds are kewl. Sometimes I miss seeing 'em. I recall
an old Outer Limits episode involving intelligent, malevolent
ones. IIRC the episode had Eddie Arnold in it. In Vancouver,
the closest thing we get are those li'l summertime garbage
tornadoes swirling McDonalds wrappers and plastic shopping
bags around on streetcorners.

In Canadian winters, north winds pound coldness like icy
railroad spikes into your core (unless you're dressed
for it.)


cheers,
Tom

--
Nothing is safe from me.
I'm really at:
tkeats curlicue vcn dot bc dot ca

On Jan 9, 4:28*pm, "brink" wrote:
Biked from Moreno Valley, CA up to Colton, CA -- via Riverside and Grand
Terrace -- and the wind was as bad as I've ever seen it. *My route was
almost entirely northward and wouldn't you know it, I was biking directly
into a north wind almost the entire way.

Steady 15-20 MPH wind with gusts up to 40-50 MPH. *Weather Service indicated
up to 60 MPH gusts but I'm not sure it was quite that bad... *I saw hundreds
of tumbleweeds making a mass migration... *one I swear was bigger than a VW
bug, crossing a road.

That ride normally takes me about 45 minutes... *1:10 today. *That was
terrible.

brink

you were going the wrong way.

In article , Tom Keats
wrote:

In article ,
"brink" writes:
Biked from Moreno Valley, CA up to Colton, CA -- via Riverside and Grand
Terrace -- and the wind was as bad as I've ever seen it. My route was
almost entirely northward and wouldn't you know it, I was biking directly
into a north wind almost the entire way.

Steady 15-20 MPH wind with gusts up to 40-50 MPH. Weather Service
indicated
up to 60 MPH gusts but I'm not sure it was quite that bad... I saw
hundreds
of tumbleweeds making a mass migration... one I swear was bigger than a VW
bug, crossing a road.

That ride normally takes me about 45 minutes... 1:10 today. That was
terrible.


To me it sounds like an interesting and noteworthy adventure.

Tumbleweeds are kewl...


Then you might be interested in http://www.prairietumbleweedfarm.com/


Turns out tumbleweeds aren't even native to the US.

wrote:
On Jan 9, 3:28 pm, "brink" wrote:
Biked from Moreno Valley, CA up to Colton, CA -- via Riverside and
Grand Terrace -- and the wind was as bad as I've ever seen it. My
route was almost entirely northward and wouldn't you know it, I was
biking directly into a north wind almost the entire way.

Steady 15-20 MPH wind with gusts up to 40-50 MPH. Weather Service
indicated up to 60 MPH gusts but I'm not sure it was quite that
bad... I saw hundreds of tumbleweeds making a mass migration... one
I swear was bigger than a VW bug, crossing a road.

That ride normally takes me about 45 minutes... 1:10 today. That was
terrible.

brink


How was it coming home?

Heh. Naturally, I didn't get to enjoy the tailwind... I biked up to Colton
to pick up my motor home -- had the windshield fixed. Drove home. It's a
fantastic route with some amazing grades and views... through great
neighborhoods near University of California-Riverside.

I suppose it was a sort of a built in bike Karma in that it's an overall
serious drop in elevation from my home to the dealership... shoot, the
first 4 miles is usually easy as my house is at 1850 feet and and that
4-mile point is just over 1100. Final destination is under 950... so 900
feet worth of drop (with a few inclines here and there of course).

Driving back, took the same surface streets I biked on rather than the
freeway -- didn't dare take a high-profile vehicle like that out on the
freeway with those kinds of gusts. Gets so bad out here in SoCal around
this time of year with the Santa Ana winds it literally blows over unladen
semi-trucks as they drive on I-10 and CA-60 Freeway.

brink

Tom Keats wrote:
In article ,
"brink" writes:
Biked from Moreno Valley, CA up to Colton, CA -- via Riverside and
Grand Terrace -- and the wind was as bad as I've ever seen it. My
route was almost entirely northward and wouldn't you know it, I was
biking directly into a north wind almost the entire way.

Steady 15-20 MPH wind with gusts up to 40-50 MPH. Weather Service
indicated up to 60 MPH gusts but I'm not sure it was quite that
bad... I saw hundreds of tumbleweeds making a mass migration...
one I swear was bigger than a VW bug, crossing a road.

That ride normally takes me about 45 minutes... 1:10 today. That
was terrible.

To me it sounds like an interesting and noteworthy adventure.


It was fun but in hindsight perhaps a little too dangerous for my liking.
Maybe I'm overstating the risk, but I sure felt a little out of control on
the final steep downgrade... it's a 7-8% grade and I was really fighting
the wind as I was on the western face of a big hill with the winds
funnelling from the north.

I think next time I'll sit out the gale force winds on my bike...

Tumbleweeds are kewl. Sometimes I miss seeing 'em.

I don't give them much though til this time of year when they can create
hazards and a big mess... other than that I agree, they are cool.

brink

In article ,
"brink" writes:
Tom Keats wrote:
In article ,
"brink" writes:
Biked from Moreno Valley, CA up to Colton, CA -- via Riverside and
Grand Terrace -- and the wind was as bad as I've ever seen it. My
route was almost entirely northward and wouldn't you know it, I was
biking directly into a north wind almost the entire way.

Steady 15-20 MPH wind with gusts up to 40-50 MPH. Weather Service
indicated up to 60 MPH gusts but I'm not sure it was quite that
bad... I saw hundreds of tumbleweeds making a mass migration...
one I swear was bigger than a VW bug, crossing a road.

That ride normally takes me about 45 minutes... 1:10 today. That
was terrible.

To me it sounds like an interesting and noteworthy adventure.


It was fun but in hindsight perhaps a little too dangerous for my liking.
Maybe I'm overstating the risk, but I sure felt a little out of control on
the final steep downgrade... it's a 7-8% grade and I was really fighting
the wind as I was on the western face of a big hill with the winds
funnelling from the north.

I think next time I'll sit out the gale force winds on my bike...

Tumbleweeds are kewl. Sometimes I miss seeing 'em.

I don't give them much though til this time of year when they can create
hazards and a big mess... other than that I agree, they are cool.

For the last week or two, the fog here in Vancouver has been
kicking ~my~ butt. Or at least keeping it off the saddle.
Thick fog ranks highly among my least favourite weather
conditions in which to ride. Especially at night. Not
only is there the visibility thing, but moving through our +/-
freezing, coastal fog feels like wearing a cold, wet blanket.
Unless you're wearing a space suit, it penetrates. Heck, it
penetrates yer skin & flesh, just to gleefully chill you from
the bone, out. And fog, plus temps hovering around freezing,
plus slowly-melting old snow sure leads to some fairly sketchy
black ice.

I daresay we're having the ugliest winter I've ever seen here.
Oh, well. Better days are coming.
I'm ready for 'em :-)


cheers,
Tom

--
Nothing is safe from me.
I'm really at:
tkeats curlicue vcn dot bc dot ca

In article ,
(Tom Keats) wrote:

In article ,
"brink" writes:
Tom Keats wrote:
In article ,
"brink" writes:
Biked from Moreno Valley, CA up to Colton, CA -- via Riverside and
Grand Terrace -- and the wind was as bad as I've ever seen it. My
route was almost entirely northward and wouldn't you know it, I was
biking directly into a north wind almost the entire way.

Steady 15-20 MPH wind with gusts up to 40-50 MPH. Weather Service
indicated up to 60 MPH gusts but I'm not sure it was quite that
bad... I saw hundreds of tumbleweeds making a mass migration...
one I swear was bigger than a VW bug, crossing a road.

That ride normally takes me about 45 minutes... 1:10 today. That
was terrible.

To me it sounds like an interesting and noteworthy adventure.


It was fun but in hindsight perhaps a little too dangerous for my liking.
Maybe I'm overstating the risk, but I sure felt a little out of control on
the final steep downgrade... it's a 7-8% grade and I was really fighting
the wind as I was on the western face of a big hill with the winds
funnelling from the north.

I think next time I'll sit out the gale force winds on my bike...

Tumbleweeds are kewl. Sometimes I miss seeing 'em.

I don't give them much though til this time of year when they can create
hazards and a big mess... other than that I agree, they are cool.

For the last week or two, the fog here in Vancouver has been
kicking ~my~ butt. Or at least keeping it off the saddle.
Thick fog ranks highly among my least favourite weather
conditions in which to ride. Especially at night. Not
only is there the visibility thing, but moving through our +/-
freezing, coastal fog feels like wearing a cold, wet blanket.
Unless you're wearing a space suit, it penetrates. Heck, it
penetrates yer skin & flesh, just to gleefully chill you from
the bone, out. And fog, plus temps hovering around freezing,
plus slowly-melting old snow sure leads to some fairly sketchy
black ice.

I daresay we're having the ugliest winter I've ever seen here.
Oh, well. Better days are coming.
I'm ready for 'em :-)

I know what you mean, though I'm reveling in the relatively mild (yet
not rainy!) temperatures this week.

Exciting new fog problem: I have a powerful head-mounted light. It turns
out in the fog I have to turn it to "low" or else the backscatter off
the fog blinds me.

--
Ryan Cousineau http://www.wiredcola.com/
"In other newsgroups, they killfile trolls."
"In rec.bicycles.racing, we coach them."