Riding in the Wind

[marine0089]

This actually came to my attention in one of the Wellington group ride threads but seeing as the thread is yay long *open arms* thought it warranted it's own. I'm sure this has been said time and time again but for newbies (like myself) it is a vital bit of information.

When riding in the wind (which in wellington is most days :crybaby:) I was constantly getting pushed and shoved all over the place. Once even so that it "helped" me change lanes :sweatdrop. I put it down to riding a light 250 and all up only weighing in at around 210kg.

This was until I was told to hold on with my legs and not my arms. Thing was, I didn't even realize that I was putting all my weight on my arms. Next time I jumped on my bike I toyed with the idea and boy did it make a difference. When your gripping the bars tight and get hit by the wind, your body moves the bike. Gripping lightly negates this.

Moral of the story: Ensure that when riding you're not holding on with your arms like your life depended on it. Relax, shift your weight, enjoy your ride.

Really helped me :yes:

[magicmonkey]

Yup, I've also found that the longer you spend riding in the wind the less you notice it. I noticed the other day that I was riding through winds which would have made me shit myself a month ago and wasn't being affected by them at all ;)

There does seem to be a skill I've learned but I couldn't begin to describe what that skill is!

[vifferman]

Ensure that when riding you're not holding on with your arms like your life depended on it. Relax, shift your weight, enjoy your ride.

Really helped me :yes:
Why didn't you just PM me? I could have told you that. :blink:
Plus (also) [as well] it's the same as riding a motorcycle: Look Where You Want To Go and ignore the bike moving around.

Also (plus) if you're cruising down the road at 150 km/h and there's a light 20/km/h wind, isn't it effectively the same as riding at 100km/h with a 70km/h wind? :confused:

As well (however) but! there's been lots of wind threads (some about baked beans, the rest about climatic disturbances, but luckily we have a Search function to help you find these. It's there ↑ NO - just over to the right a bit... yeah - that's it!
Click on it, then type some words in, like "riding in the wind", and see what happens. :yes:

[LBD]

Grip with your legs....and counter steer.

[James Deuce]

You know what I think? I think there's far too much thinking about riding and not enough practice.

[centaurus]

This was until I was told to hold on with my legs and not my arms. Thing was, I didn't even realize that I was putting all my weight on my arms. Next time I jumped on my bike I toyed with the idea and boy did it make a difference. When your gripping the bars tight and get hit by the wind, your body moves the bike. Gripping lightly negates this.

The same technique is to be observed if you ride on gravel roads on a road/sport bike. The heavier the bike or the sportier the bike (i.e. the sharper the steering angle) the more important is to hold with your legs and keep the hands loose on the handlebars.

[marine0089]

Why didn't you just PM me? I could have told you that. :blink:

I could have if I knew that I was doing it.. :blink:

Using the search function is great if you know you're doing something wrong but like I said, I really didn't realize I was and thus other probably wouldn't either.

This thread is really just aimed at newbies like myself who might have been needed to be told to make them realize their riding faults. Thus being in the Wannabe & Newbie Bikers section :yes:

[magicmonkey]

I could have if I knew that I was doing it.. :blink:

Using the search function is great if you know you're doing something wrong but like I said, I really didn't realize I was and thus other probably wouldn't either.

This thread is really just aimed at newbies like myself who might have been needed to be told to make them realize their riding faults. Thus being in the Wannabe & Newbie Bikers section :yes:

It's stuff like this that should have a section in the wiki, sort of a 'basic tips for noobs' type of area, that'd save on searching through post after post of conversation only to realise that the thread you're reading isn't going to address the issue you're interested in!

[marine0089]

It's stuff like this that should have a section in the wiki, sort of a 'basic tips for noobs' type of area, that'd save on searching through post after post of conversation only to realise that the thread you're reading isn't going to address the issue you're interested in!

That's not actually a bad idea.

Who's responsible for the Wiki?

[magicmonkey]

That's not actually a bad idea.

Who's responsible for the Wiki?

As far as I know, we are! Seems to be user contribution based although I could be wrong, I haven't checked anywhere but I did add a section about overseas license transfer once which on-one complained about. Might be a good idea to get a 'nod from a mod' if we're talking about riding skills though as that might have some legal implications (well, in the UK it'd probably be a no-no as we're not trained instructors and would be liable for the information we give)

[vifferman]

You know what I think? I think there's far too much thinking about riding and not enough practice.
Does your current thought fall into that category, or is it just thinking about thinking about riding? :confused:

In any whiles (or wiles) [or willies], some of us aren't actually really able to do much more than offer conjecture or the products of musing about the pastime. :crybaby:

I could have if I knew that I was doing it..

Using the search function is great if you know you're doing something wrong but like I said, I really didn't realize I was and thus other probably wouldn't either.
It's not so much that you were doing something worngA as that you kinda assumed that you were the firstest person to ever have this problem. I can almost guarantee that any question or thought you have has been raised before on KB, unless you or your bike are particularly peculiar.

However (but!) if everyone only ever searched to see if their special unique thought/question/musing/joke had already been posted, KB would be more anorexic.
You go, Girl! :niceone:

[XP@]

Head wind - wear ear plugs, it is going to get noisy. Watch your fuel, you can chew through a lot of the stuff.
Tail wind - watch your speed, it is a lot easier to go faster than expected.
Side wind - Countersteer in to the wind a little and put your knee out to point in to the wind (coming from the left put your left knee out).
Truck wind - Big trucks can create a bow wave so when passing them expect this. Use throttle and countersteering to counteract.
All wind - Relax but be firm with your controls. Vary your speed, accelleration and decellaration create some stability.


Wiki - have the discussion here then collate in to a subject and put in to wiki format.
Another good place for discussions like this is in the survival skills forum (as opposed to noobs).

[AllanB]

Riding in the wind.

FFS just pass the bastard in front of you who is dropping all those farts .......

[BikerDazz]

This actually came to my attention in one of the Wellington group ride threads but seeing as the thread is yay long *open arms* thought it warranted it's own. I'm sure this has been said time and time again but for newbies (like myself) it is a vital bit of information.

When riding in the wind (which in wellington is most days :crybaby:) I was constantly getting pushed and shoved all over the place. Once even so that it "helped" me change lanes :sweatdrop. I put it down to riding a light 250 and all up only weighing in at around 210kg.

This was until I was told to hold on with my legs and not my arms. Thing was, I didn't even realize that I was putting all my weight on my arms. Next time I jumped on my bike I toyed with the idea and boy did it make a difference. When your gripping the bars tight and get hit by the wind, your body moves the bike. Gripping lightly negates this.

Moral of the story: Ensure that when riding you're not holding on with your arms like your life depended on it. Relax, shift your weight, enjoy your ride.

Really helped me :yes:

Cheers for that handy bit of info; I went out for a wee ride by myself a few weeks ago when it was windy as and not much fun - maybe the getting blown sideways led me to hang on like hell with my arms/hands and not my knees.
I was also thinking at the time that it was because of my light bike.

[Laxi]

It's stuff like this that should have a section in the wiki, sort of a 'basic tips for noobs' type of area,

or a sticky aye?
http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?t=52318&highlight=survival+tips:woohoo:

[carlosliu]

This was until I was told to hold on with my legs and not my arms. Thing was, I didn't even realize that I was putting all my weight on my arms. Next time I jumped on my bike I toyed with the idea and boy did it make a difference. When your gripping the bars tight and get hit by the wind, your body moves the bike. Gripping lightly negates this.

Moral of the story: Ensure that when riding you're not holding on with your arms like your life depended on it. Relax, shift your weight, enjoy your ride.

Really helped me :yes:

Great tips, will have a try in next ride. Hope it make difference on harbour bridge...

[GOONR]

Great tips, will have a try in next ride. Hope it make difference on harbour bridge...

The thought of going over the harbour bridge used to give me the shits. For my first run over I picked a nice sunny day with no wind etc.. Whilst I was going over it I was like, what was I so worried about. Now I ride over twice a day no matter what the weather is doing. Yeah you get pushed around a bit on certain days but if you relax it's no biggie.

[centaurus]

Riding when windy is not that difficult. Riding in gusts fo wind... now that's a totally different kettle of fish.

When it's continuous wind, you can adjust your position to match it, but when you have sudden gusts (and sometimes not from all from the same direction), then things get complicated. It's all about knowing your bike and being able to quickly compensate. There are a few tricks to help it but at the end of the day the only thing that's gonna save your ass is experience/practice and familiarity with the bike.

[MyGSXF]

Another trick to add to the list, is to drop down a gear & "power through" the wind :niceone:

& always... keep your eyes UP & looking ahead (not at the road just in front of you) ! :yes:

[XP@]

Forgot the really important one: OBSERVATION!

Use trees, grass, water (including rain), power lines, cars, trucks, other bikes or what ever else is available they will be able to tell you the direction and force of the wind before you run in to it.

Also remember that a line of trees beside the road, bend in the road, truck may shelter you from the wind then wham when you come out the other side you get blasted.