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Riding Through Strong Desert Crosswinds...

1K views 4 replies 5 participants last post by  Marvman 
#1 ·
Well, had my first riding experience with the strong crosswinds you guys have around here.

Had to make a run up to Vegas today to talk with the folks at Camping World about some warranty work on my rig. Since I was in the area, I decided to head over to Boulder City and check out Hoover Dam before heading back south. That really isn't germane to the subject, except that it delayed my return by a couple of hours, so that I had to ride thru a few afternoon storm cells on the way back to Bullhead City.

Turning south out of Henderson, NV on US-95... I could see the dark clouds & rain showers ahead in the distance. It had been windy all day, but nothing compared to when I rode under that cell. IMMEDIATE strong headwinds, as the rain began to pour. About 2 miles into it, the wind suddenly shifted to an equally strong, but a 180-degree tailwind.

My first experience with what we in aviation call a microburst... Wow!

I rode in and out of a few more cells without event as I rode thru Seachlight and Cal-Nev-Ari, before turning east on NV-163 towards Laughlin.

Now is when I received my education on your crosswinds. Those of you who are familiar with the area should be able to picture it easily. :)

As I began climbing the ridge, up ahead I could see an almost complete brown-out of dust, dirt, and debris blowing from right to left across the road just past the raised terrain that was currently shielding me from the wind. Now I've ridden in pretty stiff crosswinds before, so I wasn't overly concerned... except for the constant stream of tumbleweeds & sticks I was seeing blown across the road.

As I passed by the hill, I readied myself for the onslaught to come... but not sure I was really ready for the assault I received. I leaned right, held the grips, and raised my right elbow to block a the blur of something I saw headed my way... and was still blown from the right lane midway into the left before I caught it. Knowing that stopping and waiting things out wasn't really an option at that point, I continued on... riding in a 20-to-30 degree right lean for the next 4 or 5 miles until I made the big left turn at the top of the ridge.

Once I got on the east side of the ridge, although the wind from the south was still pretty stiff... it was nothing like it had been on the west side, and the final 10 miles into Laughlin and across the river back into AZ were uneventful. But I now have a new appreciation for the winds I've read about you guys out here in the west experiencing over the past few years.
 
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#4 ·
I used to live in Boulder city and kept my airplane hangared there.
On more than one occasion I landed my plane with nearly 0 kts forward ground speed.

Picture a fixed wing aircraft landing almost like a helicopter coming nearly straight down.

On another occasion, I took off nearly vertically.
I used to teach my students real "dead stick" landings on the El Dorado dry lake bed just south of Boulder.
After one such landing, I saw the "brown wall" coming and knew I had to get out of there quick.
Full throttle forward as the wall approached and we took off nearly vertically after about a 10ft ground roll.

Enjoy and be careful.
... It's a different world out there, but I still love it.

Dennis
 
#5 ·
Had a similar situation happen to me in western Kansas coming back from Colorado in 2013.

Stopped at the visitors center and looked at the radar. Saw the storm cells, but decided to proceed on anyway. Heavy rain, high winds from the north, attempting to push me to the shoulder and beyond. Probably a fifteen mile ride in those conditions. Bike leaned into the gusts, trying to anticipate something that cannot be. More worried about traffic coming up behind me in the limited visibility of the heavy rain.

Survived it, and it makes for a great story. Finally broke down and got a smart phone after that, just for the weather radar.

Next time, I will wait out the worst of it in the visitors center.
 
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