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It was a first for me..... out at the Long Wind/Mynd yesterday, bloody hell it was windy. Not normally a problem anywhere else but out there it swirls an gusts rather than just blows constantly. I was going round the ST down towards Carding Mill and the wind almost picked the bike up then let it go, front wheel dropped of the edge, OTB ! Nice big hole in my jacket, and my base layer, oh and my elbow.
Once, going up Skiddaw, and the wind then literally blew the bike another twenty yards down the hill!!
A few times. Most memorable was just as I popped off a wall, big gust, bike and me went horizontal, first thing to make contact with ground was my right elbow. Silly to try a 2' drop knowing it was windy and gusty.
Plush Hill in the wind was amusing !
I'm ferkin wrecked this morning. Combination of a big fall, that wind, and whatever it is out there that saps your energy.
I don't understand it. The trails out there are easy, they're nearly all just fast rolling grass, and I normally do a lot more than 39k. Maybe there's a lack of oxygen or something because it's a valley.
Got blown off the road climbing the Cat 'n Fiddle last winter, not as bad as the lady behind me who got blown into the ditch!!
No. But I rode up to the wind turbines on Scout Moor a couple of months ago and it was incredibly windy. At several points, the wind pulled snot out of my nostrils. Odd.
Me and a roadie friend got pushed off the road about 2 weeks ago in our local area. We don't ride tight to the verge either but we both almost ended up in the bushes...
steve_b77 - MemberGot blown off last winter, not as bad as the lady behind me who got blown into the ditch!!
isn't it tromboning if the lady is behind?
Almost but not quite. Commute home on Wednesday I came through town and over a crossroads, the crosswind was so strong it almost took my front wheel out from under me (bladed spokes didn't help I suppose). Only just managed to hold on.
Many years ago I was riding down the Llamberis path on my trusty GT RTS (yes it was that long ago) after an aborted attempt on the summit due to bad weather.
Hopping over a water bar a gust of wind lifted the bike up horizontally and sent me flying and bouncing luckily down the trail. After lying there for several minutes to check for potential injuries I finally got to my feet with only a badly scuffed/holed knee and torn waterproof and badly dented spirit.
I found the bike about 30 ft up the trail, limping back up I was amazed I had managed to bounce over/through some very nasty pointy and sharp rock outcrops without more injury.
Was a bit more cautious when I finally got back on the bike and crawled back down, saw nobody else that day on the mountain, could have been there a long time with more debilitating injuries.
Lessons learned -
Thankfully I put a helmet on before starting back down.
I always wear knee pads now, regardless of what I am riding.
Never ride new or potentially risking condition on your own.
Oh and mobile phone were not common back then.
I've never crashed but just recently had some major sidewinds take me off course, only on the road bike though. ONce up on Portsdown Hill and then on a bridge over the motorway. It was that whole sheltered to exposed area that suddenly catches you out.
Coming off Lochnagar, the waterfall blowing back uphill should have been a warning. I didnt get blown off, I'm heavy, but carrying the bike was like holding on to an umbrella in a hurricane.
yep - climbing mam tor on a pootle. About 5 of us were caught out.
yes - full 90deg change of direction coming down one of the rocky/stony bits from Helvellyn summit. Bailed and held on to the bike. Thought I was going to end up in Red Tarn.
edit: might have been the next bit along actually (lower man). forget the exact spot. we were more concerned about getting down to a sheltered spot.
Had a few dodgy moments on the Tay bridge but never actually come off.
I think this thread is also the appropriate place for this:
http://inrng.com/2011/03/how-come-the-dutch-are-so-good-at-riding-in-crosswinds/
Went from one side of the tabletops to the other in the air at Cwmcarn. Was wheels firmly on the ground after that.
I was out on the Long Mynd too. Bloody windy as you say, excitable1. I layed my bike down to admire the view and it started to vibrate, I could actually see it shaking due to the wind. It also made a whistling noise as it blew through my spokes as I was riding. I only saw one other rider all morning, heading down Carding Mill Valley, so I guess that was you.