Knowing where the wind is coming from can sometimes be a little tricky. I have been on rides where I have ridden all directions (N,S,E, and W) and it felt like I was riding against the wind no matter which way I went! 🙂

Actually, most of the time you can tell the overall wind direction pretty well but it can be hard to tell exactly where it is coming from. Like you may know that the wind is mostly from the west but is it a little NW or SSW?

Some of you may recall that I wrote about wind direction and the app that I got for my iphone back on July 11th. I still use my iPhone app (it’s called AccuWeather) but wind direction can be variable and although the app does a fairly good job, it is not always perfect. I still check this big flag that I ride by on my usual rides to see where the wind is coming from.

Checking wind direction (no wind here)

Well today I discovered another handy trick for checking wind direction out on my ride and just wanted to pass my latest idea on in this blog.

I always carry a handkerchief in my bike bag (which I have used for a number of different things) and once in a while, if I was curious about wind direction I would take it out, hold it over my head and check which way it was blowing.

This worked pretty well although I’m sure that I looked pretty goofy to anyone nearby that might have been watching me (not that I mind looking goofy all that much but I don’t always want to advertise my weirdness).

Anyway, on my ride today I decided to tie my handkerchief on to a low hanging branch on a nearby tree (there is almost always one of those handy on bike rides). I was in an open area with a lot of unobstructed wind (unlike the photo that I included above where there was no wind). This worked really well since I could just take my break and watch the way the thing was blowing without holding it over my head or to the side the whole time.

In this case, although my weather app said that the wind was directly from the east, I discovered that in my specific location it was also a little north so it was more like ENE.

If you are going to check the wind this way it is important to find a good location where there is no interference with the wind. When I was taking flying lessons wind interference caused by obstructions was referred to as mechanical interference. Like you can get bad wind speed and direction readings near the corner of a building or between 2 buildings or other obstructions.

OK, so that’s probably more than enough for this simple tip. Just remember to tie a handkerchief from a low hanging branch in an unobstructed location for a quick wind check.