Hair-raising harbour bridge crossing this arvo.

[mattian]

Crikey ! came onto the Harbour bridge this arvo via the Curren street on ramp, heading North. Traffic had crawled to a stop and I made the mistake of coming to a stop with the back wheel on one of those steel grid dividers!? ya, know the ones?? really slippery in the wet! anyways..... try to take off with the traffic picking up speed again and, the back wheel looses traction ! starts going sideways!! I recover quickly enough and wave a sheepish sorry to the car behind and then the real fun begins at the top of the bridge. Wind buffets me all over the show almost sending me into the fence/barrier I've ridden in some heavy winds before but, I would say today was the scariest crossing ever.
Saw a guy on a little 125 scooter in the center lane! he looked like he was having no trouble at all !!

[slofox]

Saw a guy on a little 125 scooter in the center lane! he looked like he was having no trouble at all !!

Scooters come complete with invulnerability y'know. That's why ya don't hafta wear any gear on 'em...

[vifferman]

The centre lanes are generally a little more sheltered (depending on wind direction). Also, some bikes catch the wind more'n others.
The key to riding on the bridge on windy days are to relax (don't hold the bars in a death grip), and don't worry if the bike moves around a bit. Be aware of which bits of the bridge cop the wind in which conditions: when there's strong nor-easters, heading north is worst just as you go down the northern side, where you get that long fetch through past Takapuna and along the foreshore by the HP HQ.
Headed south in a nor-easter, the wind picks up speed by (and on) the Shelley Beach offramp).
When it's coming from the SW, you need to be careful headed North in the outer two lanes going onto the bridge, or in the middle two lanes headed south, just as you come up to the end of the arches and head down the bridge.
In either direction, with any strong winds, be aware of large trucks or buses on the bridge: the wind spilling around the ends of them has a higher velocity. However, you can also use them as a mobile windbreak.

[suckingair]

Scooters come complete with invulnerability y'know. That's why ya don't hafta wear any gear on 'em...

I knew I should have brought a Bergman.. do you think it could ride across water ?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWueAVyfKTE

[R6_kid:Me]

Was good fun apart from the drizzle!

[JimO]

fuck it was HOT AND SUNNY in DUNEDIN today AGAIN

[skidMark]

You want to be in a low gear and be sitting on about 3/4 revs....

Enough to keep an acceleration pull but not nutting it.... stops you from getting blown around as much...if you try pootle as usual you end up in the wall.

[rainman]

'Twas fair blowing like forty baastids though. Even I had a Rocky Horror moment ("it's just a jump to the left") and I'm normally OK with wind. Not on the bridge though, up at the pooh ponds, a much worser spot.

I really should buy that new back tyre...

[Kemet]

Saw a guy on a little 125 scooter in the center lane! he looked like he was having no trouble at all !!

Probably cos it's so freaking small even a mini cold protect a scooter from the wind!!!

fuck it was HOT AND SUNNY in DUNEDIN today AGAIN

Is it ever!!! I've go the fan going next to me!!!! 26deg when I got home at 4, right now it's a mere 25deg.

Scooters come complete with invulnerability y'know. That's why ya don't hafta wear any gear on 'em...

Is that an ID software reference (iddqd)??

[Big Dave]

fuck it was HOT AND SUNNY in DUNEDIN today AGAIN

Woah! - that's what? 3 times since 2004.

[skidMark]

Woah! - that's what? 3 times since 2004.

LOL!!!

Um dave...you crossing the harbour bridge on a windy day on a bike...

Isn't that like putting an americas cup boat sail on a dingy.

[Big Dave]

Nah - I outweigh it.

I was going to say to Mattian - you have to do the racing tuck - roll up in a ball and get everything as close to the bike as you can.

[madbikeboy]

fuck it was HOT AND SUNNY in DUNEDIN today AGAIN

Speaking of which, when does your sentence for shop lifting end, and when can you leave Dunners?

[Anarkist]

You want to be in a low gear and be sitting on about 3/4 revs....

Enough to keep an acceleration pull but not nutting it.... stops you from getting blown around as much...if you try pootle as usual you end up in the wall.

Uhh.. Wut?

[chasio]

It was interesting alright. I do it every day in all weathers on my Vespa GT200, which I reckon is excellent in the wind, but this evening was a bit squeaky-bum-time.

The bugger of it was the traffic was slowish so I couldn't keep the speed up enough. I tried splitting lane 1-2 from the Curran on ramp up to the top to keep my wheels/gyroscopes going a bit quicker, but it was just too hard to hold the right line in the gaps... so I slowed down and got buffeted worse. Tricky call.

Still, we're all at home typing stories about it...