This is the weather forecast for today; “Mostly sunny, breezy, and mild.” Breezy? What is this “breezy” of which they speak?
At the moment, the wind is blowing at 22 mph, with gusts to 31 mph; which, frankly, tends to make riding a bicycle less than fun. And this is labeled as “breezy?”
Apparently, there are five levels of “breeze” on the Beaufort Scale, the scale which labels wind strength. So, a “breeze” can range from 4-7 mph (light breeze) to 25-30 mph (strong breeze)…DOH!!! A thirty mile-per-hour wind is labeled a breeze? Here are the five types of “Breeze,” as defined by the Scale:
light – 4-7 mph…gentle – 8-12 mph…moderate – 13-17 mph…fresh – 18-24 mph…strong – 25-30 mph
Now, I’m no windologist, but these numbers seem awfully stupid to me. I mean, there ain’t no breeze outside right now…not at 22-31 mph. There’s a freakin’ wind blowin’. Anyone who says differently is just dumb.
Look at the scale below (and thanks to Wikipedia for this). There is no condition defined by the word WINDY. In fact, the Scale barely mentions wind at all. We pretty much have Breeze and Gale; oh, and High Wind. Are you kiddin’ me; there is only ONE kind of “wind” on the wind scale? Oy…experts!
Now, I’ve ridden my bikes in breezes; I’ve also ridden them in gales. I have to say, somewhere in between, there had to be wind; just plain-old-everyday-freakin’ wind. You know, more than a breeze, but less than a gale? More than a puff, but less than a blow-your-house-down? More than a ruffle, but less than a “We’re not in Kansas anymore?” What the hell ever happened to wind? Or windy? Or strong wind? Or very windy?
Let’s define some terms here. A breeze can muss your hair, but it won’t blow your bike out from under your butt. A strong breeze can blow your hat off your head, but it won’t make you feel like you’re riding up-hill, through wet sand. Riding into a gale can stop the strongest cyclist dead in his tracks, but coming from behind him, it can push him along at 25 mph with only the slightest effort on the cranks. All of these things have happened to me in the last three years, and more. But when a 30 mph “strong breeze” began blowing across the road in front of me on my fully loaded bike in northern Arizona, forcing me to ride at a 20 degree angle to the perpendicular, I just can’t refer to it as a breeze no matter which expert might say it was. Sorry Mr. B., that just ain’t no breeze. That was wind.
In fact, it was “real windy” that day.
Later
The modern [Beaufort] scale (Please ignore “Sea Conditions” for the purpose of cycling. They just happened to be included in the Scale.)
| Beaufort number |
Description |
Wind speed |
Wave height |
Sea conditions |
Land conditions |
Sea state photo |
| 0 |
Calm |
< 1 km/h |
0 m |
Flat. |
Calm. Smoke rises vertically. |
 |
| < 1 mph |
| < 1 kn |
0 ft |
| < 0.3 m/s |
| 1 |
Light air |
1.1–5.5 km/h |
0–0.2 m |
Ripples without crests. |
Smoke drift indicates wind direction, still wind vanes. |
 |
| 1–3 mph |
| 1–2 kn |
0–1 ft |
| 0.3–1.5 m/s |
| 2 |
Light breeze |
5.6–11 km/h |
0.2–0.5 m |
Small wavelets. Crests of glassy appearance, not breaking |
Wind felt on exposed skin. Leaves rustle, vanes begin to move. |
 |
| 4–7 mph |
| 3–6 kn |
1–2 ft |
| 1.6–3.4 m/s |
| 3 |
Gentle breeze |
12–19 km/h |
0.5–1 m |
Large wavelets. Crests begin to break; scattered whitecaps |
Leaves and small twigs constantly moving, light flags extended. |
 |
| 8–12 mph |
| 7–10 kn |
2–3.5 ft |
| 3.4–5.4 m/s |
| 4 |
Moderate breeze |
20–28 km/h |
1–2 m |
Small waves with breaking crests. Fairly frequent white horses. |
Dust and loose paper raised. Small branches begin to move. |
 |
| 13–17 mph |
| 11–15 kn |
3.5–6 ft |
| 5.5–7.9 m/s |
| 5 |
Fresh breeze |
29–38 km/h |
2–3 m |
Moderate waves of some length. Many white horses. Small amounts of spray. |
Branches of a moderate size move. Small trees in leaf begin to sway. |
 |
| 18–24 mph |
| 16–20 kn |
6–9 ft |
| 8.0–10.7 m/s |
| 6 |
Strong breeze |
39–49 km/h |
3–4 m |
Long waves begin to form. White foam crests are very frequent. Some airborne spray is present. |
Large branches in motion. Whistling heard in overhead wires. Umbrella use becomes difficult. Empty plastic garbage cans tip over. |
 |
| 25–30 mph |
| 21–26 kn |
9–13 ft |
| 10.8–13.8 m/s |
| 7 |
High wind,
Moderate gale,
Near gale |
50–61 km/h |
4–5.5 m |
Sea heaps up. Some foam from breaking waves is blown into streaks along wind direction. Moderate amounts of airborne spray. |
Whole trees in motion. Effort needed to walk against the wind. |
 |
| 31–38 mph |
| 27–33 kn |
13–19 ft |
| 13.9–17.1 m/s |
| 8 |
Gale,
Fresh gale |
62–74 km/h |
5.5–7.5 m |
Moderately high waves with breaking crests forming spindrift. Well-marked streaks of foam are blown along wind direction. Considerable airborne spray. |
Some twigs broken from trees. Cars veer on road. Progress on foot is seriously impeded. |
 |
| 39–46 mph |
| 34–40 kn |
18–25 ft |
| 17.2–20.7 m/s |
| 9 |
Strong gale |
75–88 km/h |
7–10 m |
High waves whose crests sometimes roll over. Dense foam is blown along wind direction. Large amounts of airborne spray may begin to reduce visibility. |
Some branches break off trees, and some small trees blow over. Construction/temporary signs and barricades blow over. |
 |
| 47–54 mph |
| 41–47 kn |
23–32 ft |
| 20.8–24.4 m/s |
| 10 |
Storm,[6]
Whole gale |
89–102 km/h |
9–12.5 m |
Very high waves with overhanging crests. Large patches of foam from wave crests give the sea a white appearance. Considerable tumbling of waves with heavy impact. Large amounts of airborne spray reduce visibility. |
Trees are broken off or uprooted, saplings bent and deformed. Poorly attached asphalt shingles and shingles in poor condition peel off roofs. |
 |
| 55–63 mph |
| 48–55 kn |
29–41 ft |
| 24.5–28.4 m/s |
| 11 |
Violent storm |
103–117 km/h |
11.5–16 m |
Exceptionally high waves. Very large patches of foam, driven before the wind, cover much of the sea surface. Very large amounts of airborne spray severely reduce visibility. |
Widespread damage to vegetation. Many roofing surfaces are damaged; asphalt tiles that have curled up and/or fractured due to age may break away completely. |
 |
| 64–72 mph |
| 56–63 kn |
37–52 ft |
| 28.5–32.6 m/s |
| 12 |
Hurricane-force[6] |
≥ 118 km/h |
≥ 14 m |
Huge waves. Sea is completely white with foam and spray. Air is filled with driving spray, greatly reducing visibility. |
Very widespread damage to vegetation. Some windows may break; mobile homes and poorly constructed sheds and barns are damaged. Debris may be hurled |
Richard's Ride 