Worst ride ever!

[oldguy]

Yep, as I was riding home from Pukekohe this afternoon I well and truly wondered what the hell I was doing on my bike today.

Was I up against it with dodgy car drivers, yapping running dogs, pouring rain, glaring sun strike etc?

No! It vas ze vind!!!! Every lean into corners, every time I had to slow, shit, every time I had to stop, the gusts were terrible. I recall being literally blown into the "fast" lane on the motorway once while riding home on the ginny and thinking "well, at least that won't happen once I'm on a heavier bike". Haha.

I really could not believe how treacherous the gusts were - completely unpredictable and incredibly strong. I'm sure I read somewhere we're meant to be in for a rather blustery spring, so please be careful out there people. Even you big muscly guys!

most important thing you got home safe. Bad enough having to contend with the traffic, yeah just got to take care out there with this unsettled weather.

[Edbear]

Yep, as I was riding home from Pukekohe this afternoon I well and truly wondered what the hell I was doing on my bike today.
...(SNIP)..

, so please be careful out there people. Even you big muscly guys!

Wot about us big guys who aren't all muscly, just bigger..? Don't forget us!!!

Have to admit it takes a rather strong wind to move me and my bike around much...

[YellowDog]

The best advice I had off KB was to change down and hold the bike at high revs. This acts like a gyroscope and helps control the bike.

This works well for me, but then I have nearly 300Kg on the road.

So far as keeping the body loose, easier said than done when it's really blowing. I just let the arms counter what the body is doing.

For me :

Auckland Harbour Bridge in a high gusting wind


Y i i i i i i i i H a a a a a a a a a a a

[smoky]

so please be careful out there people. Even you big muscly guys!

Yeah - only us big fat guys can handle it

[elevenhundred]

Relax and don't let the wind push you around. Keep your upper body loose and grip the tank with your knees. The problems start if you tense up and the wind pushes your body which then pushes the handlebars which then turns the bike. I live in windy Wellington and I don't notice the wind much.

Yup, us Welly riders have got it sorted.
I actually enjoy riding when it is really windy, must be why I like naked bikes too. Nothing better than bombing down the gorge then into the big right hander of the flyover, getting buffeted like mad then down towards the crosswind prone area near Aotea Quay turn off all while dodging cars who are getting blown about in their lanes.
As Maki says, grip the tank with your knees, keep a firm grip on the bars but make sure your arms are nice and relaxed.

[sunhuntin]

I must to confess to a couple of expletives leaving my mouth on the ride home. The gusts were mainly from the sides - very swirly - including hitting me in the chest and helmet. Despite keeping a relaxed grip (but holding tight to the tank with my thighs) it really felt like a dance with the bike. Unfortunately a polka, not a gentle waltz!

lol. yeh, i was swearing and laughing at the same time. just stuff like "come on bitch, i know you can do it" all directed at the bike and said with all the love in the world. that was a fun section of road that. pity i cant remember where the hell it was though! somewhere south of chch. i remember there were cars coming towards me, and the people inside were looking at me like im nuts. [well, i was a bit. the wind razzes me up]

[trailblazer]

The weather here was a shocker today, PB! There's no way I would have considered being out on the bike in that. We had wheelie bins flying and even a trampoline ended up in a paddock about 150metres from the house, just down the road!

Yes the wind was bad in the eastern bay today but i still went for a bit of a ride at lunch in the pouring rain and after work in the wind.
Had a couple of mates that ride harleys ask me what the fuck i was doing riding in weather like that. I just replied next week i won't have a choice if the weather is shit it's not like i can just stay home so i might aswell get used to it.

[The Stranger:Me]

I really could not believe how treacherous the gusts were - completely unpredictable and incredibly strong.

I use a quick push of the bar to counter steer into a gust.

[BiK3RChiK]

Yes the wind was bad in the eastern bay today but i still went for a bit of a ride at lunch in the pouring rain and after work in the wind.
Had a couple of mates that ride harleys ask me what the fuck i was doing riding in weather like that. I just replied next week i won't have a choice if the weather is shit it's not like i can just stay home so i might aswell get used to it.

You must be nuts!

We had a buyer for a bike turn up just as the first thunderhead went through, and shortly after the second.... I'm glad he had a trailer! And I think he was too.

[modboy]

The wind gusts between the Terrace Tunnel and Kiawharawhara (Wellington) can be a nightmare. I just drop the speed, try to stay relaxed, let it buffet me round a bit and just try to soak it up. It's uncomfortable, but I wouldn't say too scary.

[sugilite:Me]

Kinda scratching my head at the don't fight it brigade, but then again I did many years riding in Wellington.

When it gets really gusty, especially with those trade mark sudden WAMMO Wellie gusts, I get into the motocross attack position. Sit right forward, elbows out and up on the balls of your feet (foot peg wise). That way you are ready to instantly react with opposing FORCE.

I've aborted a trip to Lake Ferry taking the lakes side road as I thought it was going to end badly & this was 2 up on an RF9, hardly a small bike. Another route saw us there, but it was getting ugly & I've ridden in welly all my life.

Some days just exceed all others.

Yep, had a mate on the back of a RG500 on that West lake road, we both 2 meters tall. I actually scraped the footpegs/belly pan just to keep it in a straight line, and yes, scariest road ride EVER.

[dpex]

Yep, as I was riding home from Pukekohe this afternoon I well and truly wondered what the hell I was doing on my bike today.

Was I up against it with dodgy car drivers, yapping running dogs, pouring rain, glaring sun strike etc?

No! It vas ze vind!!!! Every lean into corners, every time I had to slow, shit, every time I had to stop, the gusts were terrible. I recall being literally blown into the "fast" lane on the motorway once while riding home on the ginny and thinking "well, at least that won't happen once I'm on a heavier bike". Haha.

I really could not believe how treacherous the gusts were - completely unpredictable and incredibly strong. I'm sure I read somewhere we're meant to be in for a rather blustery spring, so please be careful out there people. Even you big muscly guys!

I remember being on a 'smaller' bike and having suffered what you recount, on the Southern Motorway, on the flat heading up to the Bombays. It was pissing down! The wind was treacherous, I felt almost out of control.

But I'd watched a vid, here on KB, supplied by the Dutch Police, prior to this rather unnerving event. The instructor recommended sticking out your windward knee...and went on to explain why, but it all read like theories to me, till I tried it during that furious storm.

Do this. On a smaller bike, or even a bigger bike in hurricane conditions, stick out your windward knee as far as you can. Bugger me the bike settles. But geez, during winter, your nethers get a bit cold.

Better cold nethers than ditching. :--))

[CrazyFrog]

I had my scariest ride on a bike in 25 years, was over the Rimutakas in a storm last September, just before the police closed the road.
I was on my KTM 640 Adv bike, a tall beastie, and I'm 95kg 6ft 2" tall. Riding knobblies on a wet road, and gusting 120kmph winds.
Just far too much up high catching the wind gusts, rather than low slung weight like a sport bike. I got pushed into the armco barrier 3 times by the wind, and another once right accross the opposite lane of the road into the drainage ditch. Lucky for me, there was bugger all traffic, no one else stupid enough to go over the hill in that wind. Bloody madness, I'll never do that again, crashing just ain't that much fun for me.
Needless to say I needed an undie change by the time I got to Featherston. Shitting the whole way down the hill.