Anyone got some tips on riding Dartford bridge in windy conditions ? i was coming over it yesterday and found it to be very hairy, the wind was gusting and that combined with the air movement caused by articulated vehicles made for a very unpleasant few minutes.
The problem is not helped by the fact that its no turning back once you have commited to going over.
Do they stop motorbikes from using it when the conditions are above a certain leve ?
I’ll think twice before taking that route on a breezy day
If you have a serious sidewind try to anticipate it, compensate for it by steering and leaning into it slightly but be ready to straighten up when the wind drops. With experience this will become automatic. The other advice given above is good, especially Jetstream’s.
I had to go over the same bridge on Tuesday (when they had the High Winds sign flashing up) and I’ll agree that it was pretty hairy. Was getting thrown around quite a bit.
My advice is similar to what’s been said about relaxing your arms but I’d add that gripping the tank with your legs harder as you go over will add a bit more stability. It’s all to do with not transferring the wind blast into your arms and thus into the bars.
In my opinion the speed you’re traveling at doesn’t make too much of a difference either way.
In the summer I use the bridge very often to get home. There have been a few nights coming back home to Kent when it was very windy but as someone said before, just slow down and try not to filter through the cars. It works for me. But now in the winter I have decided going back via Blackwall Tunnel / A2. I guess not everyone is as lucky to have alternative routes to choose but would just recommend to slow down!!
Oddly, the more slowly you are travelling the more pronounced the effect of a sidewind will be.
Here’s an unlikely example of why this happens: On a windy day, hold a rifle bullet in your hand and toss it a couple of feet in the air (nonchalantly, as if you’re always doing this kind of thing). A strong wind will cause it to move in the air - you may have to move your hand to catch it. Fire the same bullet over the same distance in the same wind and the deflection will be so tiny as to hardly register; ie: the less time it takes to travel the distance the less it will be deflected. Also there are other factors at play, including momentum and gyroscopic forces. I have a formula somewhere for calculating relative drift in aircraft that would explain it. Much the same would hold true for a bike.
If your bike will do 2000 feet per second, good luck - the wind won’t bother you much, but then neither will bends in the road.
So, counterintuitive though it seems, slowing right down may not always be the best policy. Discuss.
That said, I also use trucks as windbreaks, make sure I have plenty of ‘drift’ room (both for me and other traffic) and squeeze with the knees while letting the arms relax. On my machine it also make a big difference if I drop down into ‘the crouch’, where I’m fully behind the fairing and laying flat on the tank. This may also help shift some weight forward over the front wheel. Also, on days when I know it’s going to be really blowing, I sometimes ditch the top box and use the side panniers instead on the principle that the less ‘sail’ you have up, the better.
Im with Wildwoodflower on this one… Oldguy, go fetch your pipe!
Having done the bridge a few hundred times in the last cpl of years (I cant bring myself to move to essex to live with the girlfriend!) - Its a pretty damn scarry place to be in the wind… even less fun when its windy and starts SNOWING! :w00t:
I used to think it was good to ride slowly and creep across the bridge, but i realised i just ended up cr@pping myself for longer! The Lorry windbreak trick works a treat, assuming you can get downwind of them - not so helpfull to blow into the side of them! lol
I rode over the bridge on Saturday afternoon when the wind was just picking up. I was only doing 45-50mph but it was still far too windy. Just slow down and avoid lorries.
