St. John’s

St. John’s tops the list of Canada’s windiest cities. With an average annual wind speed of 21.9 km/h, cyclists in the region are used to it. “The wind is constantly blowing,” said Kevin Flynn, president of Bicycle Newfoundland and Labrador. “Twenty-kilometre-per-hour winds make us say, ‘Gee this is great day for cycling!’” Depending on the time of the year, cyclists in St. John’s are likely to experience different flavours of wind. “In the spring, you are battling cold northerly, northeasterly or easterly winds off the ocean,” said John French, former president of the provincial cycling association. “In the summer months, when you get a warm sunny day, it generally comes with a strong southwesterly or westerly wind.” The record for the most powerful wind gust in St. John’s is an impressive 193 km/h, but French said it’s the ever-present movement of air that’s remarkable. “The winds are generally constant,” he said. “I would guess that most days you are dealing with sustained winds of around 30 km/h and there are always gusts in the range of 40–50 km/h.” Since most of the areas around St. John’s are windy routes – many of the roads cyclists use are coastal and exposed to the elements – local riders hunting an even bigger challenge in the form of wind should head south. “The barrens on the Southern Shore are extremely difficult to ride in strong winds,” French said. “On a windy day, you can almost be brought to a stop in the gusts, and it requires a hard effort to cross the barrens.” Riders in the province must be gluttons for punishment. “Each year, we do what we call the Trepassey Posse,” Flynn said. “We go from St. John’s to Trepassey, which is 150 km with about 50 km of it across the Cape Race barrens.” The early summer ride, which is capped at 30 to 35 riders – the most the community in Trepassey can handle – fills up with a waiting list.