Commute Loop – 2023.10.10

Another live by the tailwind, die by the headwind kind of day.

The ride in started with a decently stiff breeze coming in from the south. It was strong and gusty enough to cause me some pause during the Democracy descent. Usually I’m as tucked and as aero as possible and set my top speed along that section, but not today. I started getting bumped around by the winds immediately after the Canyon Retreat round-a-bout. Things would get steady only to have another gust push me or I would pass an opening for a side road and get pushed. Ultimately it was unsettling so I opted to sit up and just manage myself down.

After Democracy, anything in a westerly direction was met with cross winds while anything taking me north was a decent tailwind. This was very clear along the entire stretch of Rainbow. For all of northbound Rainbow I averaged 26 MPH, 146 BPM heart rate, and 213 watts. Yeah it was stupid fun. Really enjoyed flying while doing little work. Almost like I was following Joe Ruggles.

Unfortunately, the winds didn’t shift during the day so when it was time to ride home I was into the wind for a majority of it. The ride east Flamingo went well and I wasn’t blown around too terribly. Once I made the right to go south on Mountain Vista I was welcomed with a decent wind coming at about a perfect 45 degree angle to the road. Neither a perfect headwind nor a perfect crosswind, but a near perfect blend of both. However, once I made the right onto Horizon Ridge I was dead on into the wind, and it made the climb even worse than usual.

Thankfully the winds weren’t nearly as bad as originally forecast when I left the house this morning. I had overheard the news talking about winds up to 30 MPH albeit no high wind advisories. Thankfully I think I dodged the worst of the wind and made it home without any issues.

New bike fund: $29.90 (+$0.00)
474 vehicles @ 9.5 per mile, 2.7 per minute, Speeds: 35.8 mph (avg), 60.3 mph (max) — by MyBikeTraffic.com
Clear-Mostly sunny, 79°F-87°F, Feels like 77°F-85°F, Humidity 20%-15%, Wind SSW 6mph-SW 9mph — by Klimat.app
— myWindsock Report —
Weather Impact: -1.7%
Headwind: 61% @ 12.9-21.9mph
Longest Headwind: 09h 24m 4s
Air Speed: 18.7mph
Temp: 71.4-83.9°F
Precip: 0% @ 0 Inch/hr
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