Commuting - Preventing Rain

I think I have discovered a way to prevent rain from falling!

All you need to do is be completely prepared for it. Raingear you want to try out, fenders, mudflaps, saddle cover for your Brooks, waterproof Ortlieb panniers, new tires you want to see how well they handle rain.

Get all that stuff and have it ready at all times and it will never rain again!

It's much like preventing flats by using heavy tires, carrying a patch kit with TWO unopened tubes of glue, a spare tube and a pump. This almost guarantees no flats... unless you decide you don't *really* need to carry all that junk, in which case flats will be immediate and frequent.

Any questions?

Any questions?

yep. i ride in the rain a lot, and lately - in heavy rain. i have all the gear, and although i'm NEVER completely dry, i really don't mind. the problem is that when i ride in my rain gear, a lot of condensation forms - drops of water on the inside of my rain jacket and rain pants. i think it must be the material they're made of. my clothes are quite damp by the end of my 6-mile commute. have you had a problem like that?

Unfortunately, I've seen the results of rain not falling for a long time. Trust me, you don't want to be riding through dust storms. Rain is good.

Unfortunately, I've seen the results of rain not falling for a long time. Trust me, you don't want to be riding through dust storms. Rain is good.

If you want rain to fall, just make sure to leave all your raingear at home. It works every time for me!

Any questions?

yes. is this "murphy bikes to work"?

Conversely, if you want it to rain, buy a new bike.

I've found a new way to make money: Threaten popular resorts to ride your bike there, totally unprepared for rain. Alternatively, get farmers to pay you to ride around on their farms. Leave your mudguards off for special effects.

Only time I hate rain is when my shoes get wet. I have yet to find shoe covers that fit over regular skate style shoes. I guess I have to go with the old plastic bag method.

There's a US government run facility in alaska that might be able to help you out if you want to prevent rain...

Taking it up a technical notch. This site lets you search on a city. Then drag your mouse over the city for details about weather. Under the radar pic, you can pan for storm numbers and their direction and speed.

That known... you can determine when to ride, or whether to scrap a ride. For me, I don't ride in Yellow or higher.
EXAMPLE of WA
http://www.wunderground.com/radar/radblast.asp?ID=ATX&region=a1&lat=47.68289948&lon=-122.12090302&label=Redmond%2c%20WA

You guys don't get it.

I *want* it to rain. I want to ride by Noah's place and see him building that big boat and shovelling double piles of various poop.

I want a gullywasher. Since I'm geared up and want to test all this stuff, all I am getting is mist and little bits of pitter patter occasionally. Barely enough to get the tires wet.

I have a feeling I'm going to be sorry about this eventually.

I have a feeling I'm going to be sorry about this eventually.

sure, but it's totally understandable. nothing worse than having a bunch of new gear and the wrong conditions for playing with it. maybe you could pay all the kids on the block to stand around pointing their garden hoses into the street while you do laps?

sure, but it's totally understandable. nothing worse than having a bunch of new gear and the wrong conditions for playing with it. maybe you could pay all the kids on the block to stand around pointing their garden hoses into the street while you do laps?

I live in a semi-industrial area in San Francisco. We don't do kids here. We do crackheads, homeless people and yuppies. I wouldn't ride through a stream of whatever comes out of any hose they'd wave at me.

You guys don't get it.
I want a gullywasher.

Sure! Come on up to Seattle. We've got storms here that move at 40notts...not exactly hurricane but it'll put your gear through it's paces.

We do crackheads, homeless people and yuppies.

that makes you a . . . . yuppie? right? just checking :p

If you want rain to fall, just make sure to leave all your raingear at home. It works every time for me!

In our climate, you don't wear rain gear anyway -- too hot. We copped 20 inches of rain one morning earlier this year (in the middle of our "winter" no less), and it still wasn't cool enough to justify rain gear. :(