Mar 23, 2022

RIDE LIKE THE WIND

UNLESS YOU HAVE DONE A LOT OF SAILING, you really have a limited understanding of the wind. Sailors learn to see it, feel it, hear it, taste it...

... and have a distinct advantage when road racing.

At one time, I was consumed with sailing.

The family catamaran turned into an obsession with Hobie Cats, which morphed into windsurfing...

... to eventually teaching windsurfing to pay for school.

Knowing the wind is everything in sailing.

Here's what you need to know when it comes to riding bikes:

The wind direction changes based on how fast you are moving.
A breakaway with a tailwind is more likely to succeed than one with a headwind because the draft is effectively neutralized with a strong enough wind.
With speed, a side wind becomes a headwind.
When drafting, move around behind the rider in front and find the sweet spot, where the wind is marginalized.
A proper pace line will have the fast side leeward (protected by the wind) and the pulling off side windward (taking the wind).
The larger the group, the shorter the time spent on the front.
It's usually easier to be in the rotation than trying to hang onto the back of the group.

The biggest of those is the first.

In a group, or alone, the faster you are moving the more the wind will hit you in the face.
It's not so much that the wind is changing directions as much as the pace of the riding has changed significantly.

Second, be aware of attacks with a tailwind.
They are hardashell to bring back.

Crafty racers will look at the predicted wind on a weather app the day before a race.
What part of the course will the group provide shelter?
Where might an attack happen?
And check it again pre-race.

Devilish racers looking to win, will "put the race in the gutter".
This means if the wind is coming from the left they will race as far right as possible so there is little to no draft to be had behind them.

Racers who know what their doing...

... ride like the wind.

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