@&#*!!! Waiting out a high wind warning: Spearfish to Spearfish
Thursday May 23, 2013
I’m not sure where I built up the bad karma. But here we are – on hold in another weather delay.
I will consider riding in a high wind advisory (sustained winds 25 to 38 mph – depending on direction and consistency of the wind, and amount of traffic and width of shoulder). But my personal feeling is that there is no good reason to ride when there is a high wind warning (sustained winds over 40mph), unless you are on a deserted road way out in the middle of nowhere.
So today there is a high wind warning for western South Dakota and northeast Wyoming. SSE winds of 35-45 mph, with gusts to 60 mph. Yeah, I’m not riding in that, even though the wind would, at times, be a tailwind. It’s the thought of the times when it would be a crosswind that make it a definite no-go for me today.
My decision not to ride is vindicated when I go out to run errands on foot. I pick up my Wyoming geology books at the post office, print out some photos at Walgreens, purchase some food. It is hard to even stand today, so I can’t imagine riding. Then, while I’m standing at a traffic light waiting to cross the street, a gust of wind blows me into the light pole. Yep, good day to try to stay put.