BILL CULLINS: Spring has arrived in West Texas and so have windy conditions

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If you were out on your road bike last Thursday morning, you were rudely reminded that spring has arrived here in West Texas as you pedaled through north winds that gusted over 30 miles per hour.

Ask any road cyclist his or her opinion of riding into the wind and you'll likely hear some words that can't be printed in a family-oriented newspaper.

Like it or not, area cyclists will be dealing with wind on just about any given day during the next couple of months. March and April are the windiest months of the year in San Angelo with the average wind speed in March being 12 mph and April being 12.1 mph (the annual average is 10.3 mph).

That doesn't sound like much wind, but remember those numbers are averages so days with 15-25 mph or stronger winds are almost as common as days with light 5-10 mph breezes.

So why does wind make cycling more difficult? Unless you're riding with a direct tailwind (in which case everyone loves a strong breeze), a brisk wind will both make it more difficult to ride at a given pace and strong side winds can also make the bike difficult to control at speed.

The primary impact of wind is increased resistance to forward motion ('aerodynamic drag'). If the wind speed is zero and a cyclist is riding at 18 mph on a flat road, the approximate power that the rider's leg muscles must produce is 150 watts.

Add in a 15 mph head wind (total wind load 33 mph) and that same rider would have to produce around 430 watts of power to maintain the same 18 mph speed.

Side winds create less overall resistance than a direct head wind but still add to the resistance load. The amount of wind resistance from a side wind depends on the bike's forward speed, the wind speed and the wind's angle in relation to the bike's direction of travel.

The bottom line is that we live and ride in West Texas, so we have to embrace the wind, find ways to mitigate its impact and when needed - use the wind to our advantage.

One way to minimize the impact of strong winds is to have one or more 'wind routes' planned that you can ride on the ugly wind days. Ideally, this route will consist of a 15-20 minute loop that shelters you from the hardest wind and changes direction periodically so you're not spending a lot of time going directly into the wind.

As an example, my favorite wind route for strong north wind days is a 5.1 mile loop that includes Knickerbocker Road past the airport from Fishermen's Road to Spillway Road, Spillway to the back gate of Spring Creek Park, through the park to Fishermen's Road and then back to Knickerbocker.

On days like last Thursday when the wind is howling from the north, I'll do multiple fast laps around that loop and enjoy both the frequent change in wind direction and the sections where trees or terrain features shelter me from the worst of the wind.

On some days, however, the best strategy is to use the wind to help you get stronger. Since our area doesn't offer long climbs up steep mountain roads, the next best thing is to do long 'uphill' intervals into a strong head wind to build leg strength and endurance.

Warm up for 15-20 minutes, then shift into a hard gear and grind your way 'up the hill' into the wind for 15-20 minutes. Recover by coasting back downwind for a few minutes and then repeat the into-the-wind interval.

Finally, if you really hate riding into the wind, you might do what my wife and brother-in-law did a few years ago on a day when the wind was blowing 25-35 mph from the south.

They had someone drive them to Christoval, got on their bikes and then enjoyed a fast downwind ride back to San Angelo.

Ride On, San Angelo, and remember - spring is the windy cycling season here in West Texas.

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