General Cycling Discussion - Rain, Rain, Go????

Last week, it rained. Okay. Then this week, it rained. DUH!!:crash:

Rain, rain go away, and never come back. :o Darnit!! No riding for me today and I'm mad as hell! :irritated:. At this very moment, it's raining cat's and dogs. :cry: Why, oh why? :confused:

Ride in the rain. Once you get past the initial wet and cold, it's pretty fun!

Originally posted by crucifixion12
Ride in the rain. Once you get past the initial wet and cold, it's pretty fun!

How is it with the skinny tires in the wet? I haven't been out on my roadie at all for any significant mileage. When it was not raining, I didn't have the time and it has been raining for basically the past 2 months, give or take a few days here and there.

It can be a little slick, just be careful not to corner too fast. The bike is a little messy to clean up afterwards too. I would recommend cleaning and lubing the chain not long after a wet ride, and I always wipe down the frame too.

Personally I prefer it to be raining when I ride.

I like riding in the rain, although I like riding in the snow more (except I don't like cold under any circumstances!!!).

Get some fenders for your bike and some rain gear, and you'll be set to ride in the rain. Don't let rain be your only determining factor in whether or not you'll be out riding. Besides, because most people don't ride in the rain, you'll have the roads and paths all to yourself. Pure joy....

Koffee

At the risk of sounding like another weather-whingeing Australian... it's the wind that's really bugging me at the moment. We've had pretty well 12 months of consistently strong westerly to north-westerly winds. And I mean in the range of 20 to 45 knots. There have been a few periods of consecutive calm days, but not many. At this time of the year, we should be getting windless but cold days with crystal clear blue skies. Beautiful riding conditions. The coastal waters forecast today has 50-knot winds going.

The winds/gusts/gales make riding across the Tasman Bridge on my commute a real lottery. When the wind gets up to 30 knots, the light poles start to vibrate and my helmet starts to lift off my head (thank goodness for the chin-strap). When it gets to around 40 knots, the vertical bars on the side railings start to hum and the water far below is white with foam. It's time to get off and walk. The path across the bridge (the only real option to ride) is quite narrow. I was picked up once by a rogue gust and thrown against the railings. Bad bruising to both forearms resulted, but the bike was OK, and I have become quite cautious. You've also got to watch for semis and buses that create interesting side-suck effects in the wind.

Rain I can handle and in fact quite enjoy because it often means no wind, and I have mudguards on the touring bike. Wind sucks... unless you're sailing, of course.

R

I got caught in a downpour yesterday. what fun!!!

I agree with Rowan. We get plenty of rain here (though not as much as when I used to leave near Manchester). I use goretex overshoes to keep my feet reasonably dry ( I HATE wet feet!) and a showerproof jacket; it's the headwind that really gets to me.

hey Seattle, you can have your weather back, we had enough fun with it.

I can't complaint, thanks to my friend upstairs, has been giving a very nice weather the past few days...