This weekend I rode up to mom's and back to give my new body sock a good workour. Well I got more than I wished for. I learned how my body sock makes my bike handle in crosswinds of more than 20 mph with gusts up to 33 or so. The answer is: crosswinds that strong don't help. The winds weren't so bad going up to Mom's but coming back I only had the sock on for about 23 miles before the winds got so strong they were blowing me all over the place. At that point I decided I'd just take the sock off and only put it on when I was going pretty much straight against the wind. Then I got some benefit. If I only could have ridden with the wind today I would have flown (not like Dorthy in Wizard of OZ.)
I am satisfied with the socks performance overall though. Under better conditions that I had today it seems to add about 10 - 15% to my speed & it gives me substantial protection from the sun.
In the wildlife catagory I got to see a couple of deer, a snapping turtle crossing the road (no, I don't know why the snapping turtle crossed the road), a couple of hawks, probably red-tailed hawks, an oriole, some goldfinches and a small group of turkey vultures. Luckily the turkey vultures didn't seem too interested in feeding on some foolish bent rider who rode a lot furter than he should have this early in the season.
David <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...
Quoted message said:
This weekend I rode up to mom's and back to give my new body sock a good workour. Well I got more than I wished for. I learned how my body sock makes my bike handle in crosswinds of more than 20 mph with gusts up to 33 or so. The answer is: crosswinds that strong don't help. The winds weren't so bad going up to Mom's but coming back I only had the sock on for about 23 miles before the winds got so strong they were blowing me all over
--I'm waiting: how was Mom???
C.C.,Rider and mom who did my little 30-miler in glorious 20-30 knot breezes in RI Sunday (no body sock but I'm built like a spinnaker....)
David: The more you ride with the "sock" the more adaptable to those crosswinds you will become. My wife has ridden with a bodysock for two years. About a month ago at the local recumbent rally she did the whole route (35 miles), mostly with consistent cross or headwinds of 30 - 35 mph. It did blow her around a little bit but she handled it very well. Interesting, those kind of crosswinds. Makes you learn how to ride at about a 30 degree angle.
Mike S. St. Louis, Mo.
Does she do anything special to help her fight those crosswinds beside lean into them? I tried leaving the sock zipped and then unzipping the sock to see which way gave me the most control. It seemed to me that leaving the sock zipped was best. However when going up hills I tend to favor unzipped so I can lean forward a bit.
David: The more you ride with the "sock" the more adaptable to those crosswinds you will become. My wife has ridden with a bodysock for two years. About a month ago at the local recumbent rally she did the whole route (35 miles), mostly with consistent cross or headwinds of 30 - 35 mph. It did blow her around a little bit but she handled it very well. Interesting, those kind of crosswinds. Makes you learn how to ride at about a 30 degree angle.
