Tips for riding in high winds

[ericalm]

I posted these to our scooter group's FB page yesterday but figured I'd share. Many of these have been discussed here and all over before, but with the current winds whipping across the SW and West (not just SoCal), I figured they might come in handy. Any additional advice welcome, of course.

A few tips for riding in these high winds:
Don't clench up. Stay relaxed, loose and responsive.
Watch out for gusts, especially when crossing intersections or coming from between buildings.
Try to leave a lot of extra room to the sides in your lane. Might be a good day to forego lane splitting.
Beware of overreacting or overcorrecting. The force of the wind changes and you could find yourself swerving all over. Don't try to fight the wind or lean hard into it. On city streets and in traffic, the wind can seem like it's coming from different directions.
Consider different routes.
Watch out for debris and for cars dodging obstacles you may not be able to see, especially at night.
It's okay to not ride if you have other options. You won't lose any scooter coolness points.

Also, be careful when parking in high winds. If you can't find covered, walled parking, consider parking alongside or close to buildings. Use your centerstand, not kickstand. If you have a chain (for locking the scooter up), consider using it to prevent getting knocked over. If you have to park out in an open space or lot, try to park with the scooter facing into (or away from) the wind, not perpendicular to it.

Street parking could be especially problematic, as the curbs is where a lot of the debris winds up and where trees fall. Borrowing a garage or even paying for one or two nights of parking may not be a bad idea if you can swing it.

[siobhan]

Watch out for gusts, especially when crossing intersections or coming from between buildings.

...and when riding on overpasses (bridges going over other roadways). That's where I always get blasted.

I heard about the winds on the radio. Having spent two autumns suffering with those stupid Santa Anas (bloody noses and headaches that made me want to drive an ice pick through my skull), I feel for you folks. I wonder if the murder rate is going up because people are going insane.

[TVB]

It's okay to not ride if you have other options. You won't lose any scooter coolness points.

No winds here, just the usual early-winter early-morning semi-glaze on the roads, but the principle is the same. I got on the scoot and went farther than good sense should have permitted before I pulled off the road and parked it, in favor of other transportation. I'll go back and pick him up later when the roads are safer.

[ericalm]

Watch out for gusts, especially when crossing intersections or coming from between buildings.

...and when riding on overpasses (bridges going over other roadways). That's where I always get blasted.

That too! We don't have many on our surface streets so I forget about those.

[PeteH]

I would add:

* Use the leaves and debris on the street ahead of you as an indicator of wind speed and direction - see how they're blowing.
* Watch out at intersections - if you ride past the shelter of buildings into an intersection, you might get hit with a gust coming from the side.

[Tom]

Some weeks back I discovered something that worked pretty well for me, but you may consider it tensing up..
I'd ride in a sort of forward position, pushing forward somewhat on both bars evenly, when the wind blew me one direction, I'd adjust pressure to correct.

Is this not advisable? It left me tired after the ride to be honest, but it seemed to be very stable.

[viney266]

Sometimes, and a long stretch of open road you find yourself leaning into it to go straight. You may not even realize you are doing it. Beware of it STOPPING when you pass a building or even when a large truck passes you. It can lead to an instant lane change if you aren't ready.

[still shifting]

And it was a little windy here in New Mexico yesterday. A gust of 78 was regestered in my neighborhood with 88 at the foothills in the "upper " part of town. It is Very dusty here and Extra eye protection was a good idea. R

[ericalm]

Some weeks back I discovered something that worked pretty well for me, but you may consider it tensing up..
I'd ride in a sort of forward position, pushing forward somewhat on both bars evenly, when the wind blew me one direction, I'd adjust pressure to correct.

Is this not advisable? It left me tired after the ride to be honest, but it seemed to be very stable.

Santa Paula got hit pretty hard from the photos I've seen!

This is similar to how I ride in a headwind—my windshield helps. As far as being tensed up, some people will react by locking their arms and white knuckling the grips. (Similar to what new riders often do when approaching or hitting a bump, pothole, etc.) As long as you can respond and aren't so rigid it takes effort to un-clench, I think it's okay. It's just important to know that the wind from a given direction isn't a constant and you have to be ready to react without overreacting.

[Skootz Kabootz]

All great advice. I would also add, allow extra time to get wherever you are going. Being able to pullover when needed, rest, gather your wits, etc. is extremely valuable.

[jijifer]

I'd add don't use a cover on days like these. Twice in 60mph+ gust, mine turned into a balloon and carry my scooter on the wind. Skootz was lucky his cover just blew away.

Slow down and ride safely. I've noticed most cars are more courteous as the must assume I'm completely INSANE to be out there and don't want to see what other kind of crazy I may be if they piss me off

and it's the debris that is the worst. It can take flight at minute. Last year I was hit by a palm frond husk. Nearly knocked me off my scoot and totally knocked the wind out of me. One second it was on the ground the next it was hurdling through space at about 45mph. UGH!

Stay safe and only ride if you have to.

[viney266]

^^^ Good advice! Leave the cover OFF the bike in heavy winds. Only time I ever had a bike blow over in the wind it was covered.

[still shifting]

It was windy enough here in Albuquerque to blow bits of bark off of large old dead elm trees. Really! R

[ericalm]

It was windy enough here in Albuquerque to blow bits of bark off of large old dead elm trees. Really! R

And I hear it's snowing there now, too. (Friend from ABQ is flying in this afternoon.)

[still shifting]

It was windy enough here in Albuquerque to blow bits of bark off of large old dead elm trees. Really! R

And I hear it's snowing there now, too. (Friend from ABQ is flying in this afternoon.)

Yeupp I was just making a run to the bank, as the first flakes of snow trickled down. I am ready now for the silly insanity that a bit of snow can bring to this town. I have plenty of cat food! Be well in your sun light. Was Santa Monica treated roughly by the wind? R

[ericalm]

Santa Monica wasn't as much as Venice. They were (and parts may still be) without power, too.

[2wheelNsanity]

last week we had some pretty strong winds (40mph gust) and I got blown over into the oncomming lane by one. I was about to rant on them until I saw what southern Cal had to go through. My sympathies for anyone negatively affected.

[LunaP]

Whoaw.... how bad were y'alls wind gusts???

(that's right... y'all as a plural... come at me, bro)

When Hurricane Irene came through, Lokky and I woke up to the winds literally HOWLING at 20-30 mph steady, with gusts around 40mph at 10am, before it really hit. We broke apartment building rules and pulled the Stella indoors, on the elevator, and parked it on his floor. Wind is 20 in gusts here on a REALLY bad day. This was before he put the giant sail of a windshield on it, too.

When testing myself on the interstate on some commutes home from work before the hand-smash, there were some gusty nights. No trees to block wind on 64 east. At first since I'd usually be the only on the road, I'd let it push me around get a feel on how to handle it. But after a couple of nights I found it a lot better to be more assertive riding in the wind, instead of letting it push me around.

[ericalm]

We had gusts from 60mph-80mph and some as high as 100mph. In the Sierra Madre area and near the mountains to the north, 150mph gusts were reported. The geography around here is like a wind laser, focusing and accelerating it.

[mrandmrslindholm]

Just wanted to say thank you all for the wind riding tips. We went out today to meet up with our local scooter group and it was windy. I am really thankful I did not check the weather before we left or I would have stayed home. Instead, I rode, tried to relax, and learned that the wind, at least at those speeds, will not blow me over. I will so be ready to ride again when it warms up a bit or when I get some more gear for riding when it is colder and windy. Thanks for being such informed riders and for passing the information along to us newbies.

[ericalm]

Just wanted to say thank you all for the wind riding tips. We went out today to meet up with our local scooter group and it was windy. I am really thankful I did not check the weather before we left or I would have stayed home. Instead, I rode, tried to relax, and learned that the wind, at least at those speeds, will not blow me over. I will so be ready to ride again when it warms up a bit or when I get some more gear for riding when it is colder and windy. Thanks for being such informed riders and for passing the information along to us newbies.

That's great!

It's good to challenge your skills and push your limits as long as you're comfortable doing it. If you're out riding and you get that "just not right" or jittery feeling, there's nothing wrong with packing in and going home if you can.