General Cycling Discussion - What's your policy in regard to rain?

I am so glad that this has finally become a topical issue in this part of the world again (for the moment at least). For those who aren't aware, this morning's ride was done in torrential rain and headwinds gusting up to 70km/h, thanks largely to a certain tropical cyclone hovering over the South Pacific (although it's breaking up now unfortunately). To put it bluntly, I loved every minute of it.

However, it has come to my attention that there are some who don't feel this way. I remain a little skeptical (how could anyone have not appreciated it?), but I'll find out with this poll I guess.

If I lived in a sub-tropical area I won't mind so much riding in the rain. But riding in anything less than 75 F makes me cold so I do not enjoy. I'll take the five minutes to mount the bike on the trainer if its raining. Guess I'm just a *****.

I would like riding in the rain if it were a warm rain and your drive train does not get all messed up...

As the first part of my commute is very exposed (see the bridge thread), if it's raining heavily especially combined with wind, then I won't take the bike.

I don't mind getting caught in the rain, and at the weekend enjoy riding in the rain, but commuting in the rain is not a good start to the day.

Ok on the way home as a long bath awaits.

well, since i lived in Portland for 3 years i got really used to riding in the rain...

when i was in Texas, rain meant: try not to go outside, almost definitely no sports voluntarily.

in Portland you just expect to ride in the rain and do. otherwise you sit inside for 9 months!

you get used to it and you have the right gear and it's not so bad.

that said, with a few minor exceptions when the rain is really cool, i prefer riding dry instead.

after leaving Portland and living in places where it doesn't rain as much, i now am much MORE annoyed by the rain than before.

for example, yesterday i expected to ride home in snow and it had warmed up to just over freezing so i rode home in the RAIN and i was annoyed! others who live wher it doesn't snow much probably think riding in the snow sucks, but it's often quite fun (OK, only in the winter - all year would suck)

I don't care to ride in it, but if it IS raining... Whatever, I'll just go anyway.
However, if I was in ChrisL's conditions lately, and I woke up this morning and it WAS raining, I would phone in sick to work, and go out for a nice long "rain ride". :)

ChipR

Yesterday's commute home was nearly the worst-case rain scenario. Just above freezing and a steady rain, with ice and snow on some of the roads. The only thing missing was high winds.

Just to make things more interesting, I left my boots in my office so I ended up cycling home in oxfords and ski-wear. I only came off the bike once though....

I have learned just to adapt to it. I have yet to learn to really enjoy it. If I ride in it often enough, possibly I will come to appreciate the rain. It worked that way with cold temperatures for me, but I haven't mastered rain just yet.

regards
Dan

To expand on what Nathank said, here in Texas
if its spring, and its rainin then somebody's gonna lose
a trailer. . .
The only 2 situations I try to avoid is
rain accompanied by hail, high winds (think tornado)
and severe lightening.
the other is I don't like rain and less than say 45 degrees
farenheit. Cold and wet is not fun.

Other than that as the song says
"let it rain, let it rain, let it rain . . . "

Marty

Oh wait, that's "let it snow" well you get the idea

75F, thats almost a summer max temp around here !!

If I have to ride somewhere and its raining, I still ride.
Commutes and shopping trips dont stop for the weather.
On tour, you can find yourself riding all day in the rain. If you pick your all-weather gear with care, an use fenders its not uncomfortable.

The rain around here is usually fairly gentle and the temp between 10 and 20C, so keeping cool or warm is not a problem. Today, its hovering above 0C with a few spots of sleet and rain, but Im still riding.

Originally posted by nathank

when i was in Texas, rain meant: try not to go outside, almost definitely no sports voluntarily.


Don't like rain when it's cold outside but that's kind of rare in northeast TX so it doesn't keep me off the bike much. Rain in the spring/summer is great because I get to take my shower and commute to work at the same time.

Riding in the rain is definately fun. It is quite a bit of work, and I would definately prefer the rain to happen on my commute home. (I hate putting on wet clothes to start a ride). I think I would love it even more if the rain came after your super heat wave Chris.

I do need a warm shower immedeately after the ride though. The showers at the office kick out at best slightly warm water, so there is no easy way to warm up after a rain ride into work.

I prefer no rain, but I am not afraid of it.

What kind of rain do you mean, Chris? Once you (hopefully) get more rain over there, you will learn there are various types. A cooling summer rain is nice, a freezing autumn rain with heavy winds is not. We don't have hurricanes where I live, so I pretty much ride in any kind of weather. But light summernight rain followed by a sunny morning has got to be my favourite.

--J

re: wet clothes on return journey, eeeuw.
Synthetic jersies and leggings generally dry if you can air them. Goretex jackets which have lost their beading treatment can take an age. Thats why I prefer Pertex, it is dry within 1/2hr.
I find that Lycra is not very quick drying.

Socks and gloves are the problem, but most offices thoughtfully provide a personal desktop sock dryer/computer screen.

Ride in the rain??? Are you nuts???
We're talkin' Dihydrogen Monoxide here!
Literally raining down on you as you ride! Oh the horror!
Hint: remember the Wicked Witch of the West crying I'm melting, I'm melting... I'm m e lt n ...
Run away run away! The sky is falling! I want The Government to protect me!

I will not begin a ride in the rain but will deal with it if caught out in it with no problems.

In the summer, I get soaked anyway. I might as well be wet (and cooler) from the rain. The only problem is rain on the glasses - but I'm getting used to that.

In the winter I'll cycle through light rain - but not a heavy downpour.

Originally posted by MichaelW
re: wet clothes on return journey, eeeuw.
Synthetic jersies and leggings generally dry if you can air them. Goretex jackets which have lost their beading treatment can take an age. Thats why I prefer Pertex, it is dry within 1/2hr.
I find that Lycra is not very quick drying.

Socks and gloves are the problem, but most offices thoughtfully provide a personal desktop sock dryer/computer screen.

I am not so much worried about my immediate clothing. Jerseys, tights, etc.. The stuff that takes forever to dry is the gloves and booties. I haven't talked myself into shelling out for a second pair of these, and even less so now that winter is almost over.

Originally posted by SamDaBikinMan
I will not begin a ride in the rain but will deal with it if caught out in it with no problems.

Same here
:D

Sun... good
Rain... ok
Wind... BAAAAAAAAADD!

I don't like riding in the rain or on wet roads - cleaning the bike afterwards is a pain in the butt - IMO. I'll take the trainer over rain...

~Michael~

Yesterday's commute home was in freezing rain. I don't mind the rain, as I am usually prepared, but yesterday's rain combined with the sand from the recent snow, made a terrible mess of the drivetrain. By the time I got home, the bike was making a not-so-nice grinding sound. I spent much of last night cleaning it all off. Now, this morning, the fresh unplowed snow kept me off the bike...even with my new studded tires. :(

Rain is perfectly ok as long as it isn't freezing to my various surfaces as I go, and even that isn't too terribly bad if I'm dressed right for it. Tornadoes are not at the top of my weather favorites, but if you time it right you can get some HELLACIOUS tail winds from those things. Come to think of it, I rode in the rain yesterday and it must have fried my cyclometer. It's flashing 84 MPH and I think I would have remembered that. Must have been that dang wormhole in the space-time continuum...
The only big peeve I have with riding in rain is the fact that most of my miles are on non-blacktop surfaces, such as river gravel and gritty dirt and you come home covered in liquid sandpaper. All muds are not created equal, and although I love the stuff it must surely be rough on mechanisms.

I live right smack in the middle of the Puget Sound convergence zone and work on the southern rim of it we get most of the rain in the region. So I experience only 2 seasons here warm wet (May to September) and cold wet (October to April) we sort of pride ourselves around here to be able to do anything in the rain and as Greg posted before (hmm only 9 months of rain you must live up north in the sun belt :) ) if you can't do it in the rain you are inbound for a long time. I sort of enjoy it though I don't really like our phenomenon that happens in February/March which I like to call wet air, it doesn't really seem to rain but the air is very wet and it is cold the droplets seem like the are so small it even penetrates gor-tex. Don't think we are going to see any of that this year. This time of the year I clean my drive chain weekly sometimes twice a week. Having webbed feet helps too, its easier to clean between your toes.

I'm not a big fan of rain, but I'm not exactly a fair weather rider either. I'm sort of a mix. I don't mind getting caught in rain, but if it's actively pouring rain, then I usually don't go riding, unless I have to, or it's a event of some kind (MS 150, organized century, etc). I used to draw the line at riding in rain with temps less then 50, but since I've started riding during my first winter this year and had to deal with temps down to then teens (F), not accounting for windchill which would drip those temps a few more degrees.

If I know rain is in the forecast, and the temps are below 40F, then I just don't chance it. If there is rain in the forecast but the temps are up in the 40's or 50's (F), then I'll chance it, espeically if the chance of rain is under 50%. If it's already pouring rain, then I just usually skip the ride, unless it's above 75F. I just don't like cold rain.

The exception to this is snow. I'll ride in snow, as long as we aren't going to get a foot. We don't get much snow anyway. But it has to be snow, and not a rain/snow mix. If that is the case, then I usually skip the ride too.

PBW

Where I live (B.C. coast), if you don't ride in the rain, it means you don't ride 10 months of the year. We get lots of rain. I do find it uncomfortable when it's just above freezing and there is a strong wind. And it's always a headwind, I don't understand why.
I ride out into a headwind , turn around and come back into headwind...go figure.:confused:

ngateguy,
Dont you mean it rains 12 months out of the year????!!!

I grew up in the midwest (Chicago area) and the summers meant a humidty and heat buildup until the mid to late afternoon and then all hell would break loose. So riding in the rain was always a possibility. However, as a credit to my luck (or lack thereof), if I ever wanted to see rain and it was nice and sunny out, all I had to do was go for a bike ride. The rain itself wasn't bad but I kinda disliked having the skunk-stripe on my back for half my ride.

I now live in the PacNW and avoiding rain means avoiding rides. An interesting thing always happens to me whenever it's raining out. I'll look outside and tell myself I don't want to ride in it but once I get out there, I have a blast. The only thing that bothers me is all those SoCal transplant drivers who can't drive in the rain encroaching on my lane or the shoulder while attempting to go 80MPH around a hairpin curve.

my biggest problem with rain is that I can't see with rain on my glasses. Sweat drips are bad enough.

and as for being cold, usually when it rains here it stays similar temp(30c plus), it just gets really humid.

Originally posted by skdsl
my biggest problem with rain is that I can't see with rain on my glasses. Sweat drips are bad enough.

I've found the Rain-X wipes to work reasonably well. It works even better the faster you go. Of course that also presents some other dangers. |8^)

Originally posted by Juha
What kind of rain do you mean, Chris?

Yesterday morning, torrential rain. Prior to that we'd only had light rain/drizzle at best for the last two years. Put it this way, it was the first thing that had caused our water supply to actually increase during that time.

Oh yeah, we had a minor flood in Feb 2001. That was the best of all.

Originally posted by TLN
ngateguy,
Dont you mean it rains 12 months out of the year????!!!

Oh yeah it is just cold rain in the winter and warm rain in the summer ;)

and Khoun I know your from Chicago but don't buy into the SoCal propaganda take it from this native the locals are the biggest problem when it comes to bad driving.

And on the rainex thing I have been wary of using it the last time I read a bottle they said not to use it on plastic and my ridding glasses as well as my regular glasses have plastic lenses. Have you used it on plastic lenses?

IF I have a ride planned with friends etc I'll be the last ot back out
If I'm riding alone???????

Ride some
Pat

Originally posted by ngateguy
Khoun I know your from Chicago but don't buy into the SoCal propaganda take it from this native the locals are the biggest problem when it comes to bad driving.

I guess that's probably true as well.


Originally posted by ngateguy And on the rainex thing I have been wary of using it the last time I read a bottle they said not to use it on plastic and my ridding glasses as well as my regular glasses have plastic lenses. Have you used it on plastic lenses?

I have used the wipes on plastic lenses with no noticable crazing or anything. I haven't used the name-brand Rain-X bottled stuff but I have used a competing brand called RVR Rain Repellent (http://www.sportys.com/acb/showdetl.cfm?&DID=19&Product_ID=330&CATID=96) which is sold at pilot shops. I'm not sure why these products should harm plastic since Rain-X was originally sold for aircraft windshields which are typically made of plastic.

Some of our Northwestern scenery just looks wrong on a sunny day; especially north Clark County, Prune Hill, and the island areas of Puget Sound. Rainy-weather rides are maybe an acquired taste but a lifetime addiction once you've done enough.
I'll ride in any conditions except for frozen pavement.
Equipment helps--if you wear glasses, get a visor for your helmet.
If you ride a road bike, either trade for or get a second bike that will fit fenders properly; nothing says "idiot" to me like a $5k bike that needs the fenders monkey****ed on with zip ties and little clips. Over many the years, the headwind to tailwind ratio does even out--they say that if you don't like Northwestern weather, wait half an hour and it'll change.

I love it. I've got mud in my blood, I tell you!!


I have disc brakes, and when it rains around here the temperatures are usually pretty warm. Sometimes in the summer a cool shower is much appreciated. The only thing I dislike about it is the extra cleanup I have to do. But other than that I think riding in the rain is awesome, provided its warm outside. I won't commute in the rain at all, either. But for leisure rides, I think the mud makes things alot of fun.

Rain or not to rain, i`ll ride it anyway.

I like everything except HEAT, i remember my bike trips in France, awful hot and steamy!

:beer:

I don't mind riding in the rain. I don't like to ride below 40F. I'm in Oregon so we usually have light rain and mild temps. Like others have said--I hate the wind. I live in a rural area so it's usually just me, a fairly empty country road and a soft rain. Now if I could just afford a road bike...life would be perfect :)

kari

I don't particularly care to ride in the rain. I won't start off in the rain if I can avoid it but light rain isn't bad once you're on the bike and warmed up. If I think that I am going to get rained on, I will break out one of my old wool jerseys so I will keep warm. And if it's too cold or raining really hard, I won't ride in it unless I have to in order to get home.

I have yet to be cold when riding in the rain. I am mostly just wet. With the polyester jacket on, it just gets warm. The water eventually seeps through, but the heat is retained pretty well.

Chris, you are the man. I know whereof you speak.

However, I must say, that the rain that you're talking about only occurs in our neck of the woods during the summer. For example, today, we had a great drizzle, with temperatures between freezing and something a little higher.

Personally, I prefer snow.

Nevertheless, it's my goal to conquer this situation. Without being facetious, I currently hope that you and your "go-get-em" attitude will show up around here and tackle the, "wet pu$$y syndrome."

(By the way, have you ever had temperatures below freezing where you live? :D )

Originally posted by Pete Clark
"wet pu$$y syndrome."
Er, "pu$$y," as in, "wimp." Also referring to a feline covered in cold liquid.

There is no other meaning, here.

I think this weekend I am going to break down and ride in a 60 % likelhood chance of Rain for So. Cal this weekend. Gettting in shape for doing more than 100 miles the Weekend of the Death Valley 100.. For all that slight chance it could rain in Death Valley on 3-1..

Originally posted by Pete Clark
(By the way, have you ever had temperatures below freezing where you live? :D )

Officially the Gold Coast has never recorded temperatures below freezing. However, Springbrook (a mountain not far from here) once clocked -4C on a June morning that I decided to do a pre-dawn ride. We have had winter rain previously, but not since 1999. :eek:

I'm surprised nobody has commented on the 70km/h headwinds mentioned in the inaugural post in this thread. I was quite proud of that.

If you can't something nice, don't say anything at all..........(70km headwinds!?! somebody is c..zy).

The worst part is getting home and trying to get the soaking clothes off arrgghhhh nothing worse than soaking wet knickers stuck to ur bum!!!! I don't mind the rain at all in the summer it's just the wind and the rain that really gets to me especially if it freezing or hitting u in the face at 25mph!!

Originally posted by ParamountScapin
If you can't something nice, don't say anything at all..........(70km headwinds!?! somebody is c..zy).

If this is crazy, who wants to be normal?

talk about an ironic topic! After I replied to this thread it decided to rain this week! And yes of course I got caught in it a few times, but we definately needed the rain :)

Gee, I thought they were getting heaps of rain up north. Guess I must have been wrong.

this is Townsville remember. As you drive up the highway through the cane fields, there is a brown, dry patch with no cane for around 100km. Right in the middle is Townsville. You are probably thinking of Cairns, it's usually raining there.