Fifty Plus (50+) - Just trying to help a wet cyclist on a dark night...

The scene:

- 7:15 p.m. tonight on the way home, about 8 miles into the 10-mile journey.
- winding, unlit suburban road
- 49 degrees
- moderate rain (it's Seattle, it's January, it's raining...)
- 20 mph wind, gusting to 30 mph

It's a pretty windy rainstorm, but I'm totally comfortable in my rain jacket, waterproof gloves, waterproof boots. The baseball cap I'm wearing under my helmet is keeping most of the rain off my face. My Craigslist special Stumpjumper commuter is rolling over the branches that have fallen in the road from the storm, crunching through debris that would have stopped a skinny-tire bike in its tracks. My Dinotte lights are throwing out a force-field of light, keeping me safe despite the lousy weather.

And I'm thinking: what a great way to get home from work! I'm dry and warm; the bike is working great; I feel completely safe; the bike is a bit heavy but whizzing along the rolling hills. I'll be good and hungry when I finally get home.

I slow to stop to turn left, and a driver in pickup truck across the intersection yells something to me I can't hear over the wind. I finally make my turn, and roll up to the truck.

Inside is a 50+ woman who asks again, "The weather is terrible, do you want a ride home?"

And I just smile and say, "Nope, doing fine, thanks for the offer; it's actually not a bad night for a ride."




Some more winter riding....last week, before the snow melted...

http://i41.tinypic.com/4ftsic.jpg

Maybe she was hitting on you. No, wait, she didn't offer a drink at her place. Never mind.

Maybe she was hitting on you.

While I'm sure the drowned-rat look has its fans, I don't think so...

Great pic, BB. Almost makes me want to ride outside in the rain, sleet and snow. Almost!:p

Great pic, BB. Almost makes me want to ride outside in the rain, sleet and snow. Almost!:p

-:eek:-.....................:roflmao2:

Nice.

Not a single flake in Virginia this winter. I mean snowflake.

Nice picture!

It's good to hear some people are still willing to offer assistance even if you didn't need it:)

I applaud you Sir!!!

waterproof boots. Congratulations. What are they please... I do have a helmet cover that keeps my head mostly dry. My feet. not so much.

:lol: I thought this was going to be a funny story about you stopping to help a "wet cyclist on a dark night".

waterproof boots. Congratulations. What are they please... I do have a helmet cover that keeps my head mostly dry. My feet. not so much.

My boots are Specialized BG Defrosters.

http://www.ajssportinggoods.com/lifesports/product.asp?s_id=0&prod_name=%2709+Specialized+BG+Defroster+Road+Bike+Shoe&pf_id=SP_6109-7&dept_id=18015

I find them much more convenient to use than booties. They are too hot if it's over 50 degrees or so; with one pair of socks they're plenty warm down to 25 degrees. I have not encountered weather colder than that.

(to eliminate any confusion - the photo above, on a snowy day, does not show the Specializeds...the Specialized boots are cycling-specific shoes, with SPD clips, meant to be waterproof and warm. For ultra-cold snow riding something even heavier might be appropriate).

I wear a pair of Herman survivors .There as water prof for leather as I have found there better than my Irish Setters from Cabellas .I bought the Hermans from Wally World for $44.00 great half boot and warm . I had a pair a herman last me 20 yrs of hunting and fishing .They moved production to China like everyone else but there very well made boots for Michigan winters .The toughest work boot I ever found is Georgia boot company just can't killem . I buy only oil tanned boots so all I gotta do is wipe a coat neetsfoot oil on them and they look new again . By the way if you have a Tractor Supply store by you they have Neetsfoot oil in pints cheap price to imo . By the way if your a big guy or wear your soils out lop sided Georgia boots soils last much longer . But for warmth and for the $$$ spent The Herman Survivors are just fantastic IMHO from experiance .

Yer nuts! Delightfully but utterly nuts.

Richard

I was out in the same storm last night, riding from the campus of a large software company in Redmond down to the Ikea in Renton. The ride wasn't bad except for one point where there was a rather large tree branch across the path. I walked around that one.

Unlike you, though, I did get pretty wet. Not from the outside, but from the inside. It was 50 degrees and I was inside a waterproof raincoat and pants. Even with the vents open (which let some weather in on their own), I worked up a pretty good sweat.

I think I only saw one other rider in the entire ride. This morning I know I only saw two others.

You sir are to be commended for your commitment. At least she was nice and offered a ride. Most of us have had the usual obscenities yelled at us while commuting. Nice picture too.

Bill

I was out in the same storm last night, riding from the campus of a large software company in Redmond down to the Ikea in Renton. The ride wasn't bad except for one point where there was a rather large tree branch across the path.

For those of you unfamiliar w/Seattle, Unixpro's commute is considerably longer than mine (around 17 miles or so one way vs. only 10 for me).

Also, to be clear, one of the points of my post was that a stormy ride has now become almost routine for me, and not that challenging. The right gear makes a big difference.

The thing so funny to me about the offer of "help" was that I had just been reflecting on how comfy I was out in the wind and rain when I got the offer of a lift. It's actually the second "wanna ride" comment I've gotten from a motorist in the past 10 days...

Yer nuts! Delightfully but utterly nuts.

Richard

It's the extreme rides that we remember best. And not just bicycle rides. :)

Time for your medication.