Cyclists notice the wind, perhaps like pilots or kite fliers, probably more the most other folks. On my favorite rides, I know where all the flagpoles are – especially early, near my house, which I need to use to get my bearings. There’s the humongous US flag at the big freeway interchange in the center of town, and another on the motel where the bike path crosses Menaul Blvd.
They took down the flags at the Kwik-E-Mart up on Montgomery (sigh), but the big gravel operation north of Rennaissance Center faithfully flies is patriotism and gives me a good north side reading.
But my favorite wind vane is a bit more subtle.
Up at the north end of my morning ride is a factory that makes breakfast cereal. If there’s a headwind, you can smell the baking sugar treats before you get there. The stronger the headwind, the earlier you smell them. I love the smell of baking Cheerios in the morning. It smells like …. cycling.
I seriously didn’t know where you were going with this when it started out talking about an oat-based cereal and “wind”. Alls well that ends well.
I have similar wind vanes, but in addition I have Mt Rainier if I can see it. I get, in the morning, different smells from cattle or horses. If I don’t smell them, it’s calm.
When I lived in Davis, CA, I literally got a headwind in the morning and one in the afternoon, as the wind shifted predictably every day. I never understood why Davis riders were so strong until I had to plow through headwinds to/from work 4x/week.
D