[Rec_bike] Vectors & windy day on bike

[Joe Wilson]

Hello JLab Bikers,

 

After a tough day at work on 24March11, I decided to enjoy the late afternoon with a short (12 mile) solo bike ride along a rectangular circuit of country roads near my house at the city limits of Vidalia, Georgia. The weather was breezy, mostly clear sky and a temperature of about 75F. The wind through tree branches was audible. 

 

As I pedaled along roads with very little traffic, I noticed that I had a headwind on 3 of 4 sides of my rectangular circuit. The first leg was downhill with a sidewind from the right of varying strength, which occasionally challenged balance and steering. The sidewind reminded me of riding in Newport News, VA with a hurricane off the coast. The second leg had the strongest headwind, because it was dead ahead. During the short upward incline, I was convinced that the forest was funneling the wind down the road and into my face. My bike helmet had a low pitch whistle in the breeze, which masks the sound of cars. During the third and longest leg, I incorrectly anticipated a side breeze from the left. The third leg is mostly uphill with a couple small declines. Instead, I had a slight headwind. As I pedaled alone, I thought about the navy's version of a vector math solution of apparent wind problems, where the true wind vector is added to your velocity vector. Therefore, I watched tree branches with new leaves sway in the wind and determined that the true wind was a headwind. The good news is that the German Shepherd along the third leg was too busy to chase me uphill, again. When I returned home, I saw my roadside pile of raked leaves blowing across the yard.

 

Thanks!

________________________
Joe D. Wilson, Jr., P.E.
Vidalia, GA 30474
 
The greatest statement in engineering and science is Genesis 1:3.

False wisdom is often popular with negative consequences and sometimes masts subtle evil.  
....October 2010 as inspired by Proverbs 1:1-19
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