Does Boulder get windy like some other areas in the state or is it protected by the mountains?
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Yes, Boulder can get windy. Especially South Boulder. I remember the 1982 windstorm--it was January. NCAR clocked the winds at just over 150 mph. I was living in South Boulder and my window blew in on me around 1am. Scared the heck out of me. No one got hurt. Just be prepared for some windy nights through--January to March is the when the Chinook winds blow.
The Native Americans left Boulder in the spring because of the wind. The mountains really propagate the winds, actually. They are called Chinook, which means snow-eater in the native tongue. That's because a day of chinooks can melt a foot of snow off the ground. Spring and Fall sees the windiest times, most other season it's fairly mild, but a mini-storm can whip up just about anytime. Well worth the risk, and many glider-flyers love it.
Boulder does get seriously windy, NREL-the National Renewable Energy Laboratory is just south of Boulder off HW 93--there are days and days at a time when the wind is 70mph plus
Boulder gets wind like any other area in Colorado, but it is only a few days a year
Boulder gets super windy, 70mph gusts are common during parts of the year, it whips right down the canyon and out of the Indian Peaks
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The Chinook wind drive me a little batty I must admit, like the pioneer women who supposedly went a little cooky and got cabin fever in the late 1800's. The natives were onto something...