Is there anybody in there?
Just nod if you can hear me.
Is there anyone at home?
Come on, now,
I hear you're feeling down."
Many know these are lyrics from the song Comfortably Numb by Pink Floyd
That song is relevant about this blog because I haven't posted here for a while. Why? Because I haven't ridden much because of the weather. I am the first to admit that I am a fair-weather biker, but if the conditions are right, I will brave the cold and get on two wheels. I don't like rain pelting me in the face, I have friends who find riding in the rain exhilarating. I don't like the ice and snow for riding conditions - that pretty much explains itself. And when the temperatures are less than 40 degrees it is cold on two wheels.
Yesterday I was driving to work and the temperature was 10 to 12 degrees standing still. That didn't't take into account the windchill factor. Co-workers I talk with, who do not ride, are surprised when I talk about how cold it really is when factoring in the windchill factor.
Let's face it, wind is like water - where there is a path, it will go. Wind is like fire - where there is fuel it will go. Wind flows, just like water, fire, and gas. In fact wind is the flow of gases on a large scale. Wind is powerful, so powerful enough it can be harnessed for power. "If there wasn't any wind, there would be little or no day-to-day change in our weather. Wind is air moving horizontally. It is created by large scale differences in the air's density. This forces the air to move toward regions of lower pressure. If you stand with your back to the wind, an area of low pressure would be off to your left and the high pressure off to your right. The greater the differences in pressure, the stronger the wind." Source
Prior to getting back on two wheels, I never really paid attention to the weather, except to look out the window. If you will notice, just to the left, I have a section of links devoted just to weather. My most favorite is the link for my friend, meteorlogist, MARINE, and fellow biker - Gil Simmons. Gil has packed his website with anything and everything you want to know about the weather, even handy calculators.
It occurred to me yesterday I would revive my Biker Dietititian Riding Blog and write about Wind Chill. If you Google Wind Chill, you will find loads of resources, including charts and calculators. Wind Chill Chart. Many of us do not know how to calculate Wind Chill Factors. There is a formula to calculate wind chill factor. If you are so inclined,Wind Chill Formula. Luckily the National Weather Service has already developed a calculator for us, so we don't have to do the math: Wind Chill Calculator. Here is another wind chill calculator that will allow you to enter temperatures greater than 40 degrees Fahrenheit: Will Chill Calculator
For example - if you are a temperature of 40 degrees Fahrenheit and you on a motorcycle traveling 60 miles per hour (that is the wind speed you will experience traveling that fast) it will feel like you are in a temperature of 24.7 degrees Fahrenheit. I usually just subtract 15 degrees from the temperature to know what it would feel like on a motorcycle. Here is an entire weather page devoted to Weather Calculators.
Posts
