Fifty Plus (50+) - If I can ride a bike in the rain, why can't I do yard work in the rain?

OK, we all know that this is true: the ability to ride 40 or 50 miles in the rain in 40 degree weather is *in no way* a suggestion that the same individual is also capable of doing yard work in the rain.

I'm just having a little trouble explaining *why.* :rolleyes:


Your turn.

Bearing in mind, that I don't ride steel bikes................I don't want my tools to rust....:)

I don't want to leave muddy footprints in the lawn.

Lack of practice?

It's best to leave the grass alone when it's raining so that it can receive maximum benefit from the moisture.

I don't want to show up my neighbors.

Keep thinking about it........................there's hundreds of reasons.

Ask her to demonstrate mowing the lawn when the grass is wet. Tell her she has to keep the underside clear of clumped up grass.

I've done lawn and garden work in the rain before. Just so I could go riding, later, when the sun came out.;)

Lack of proper clothing?

The lawnmower would be ruined if you use it in the rain.

it's VERY dangerous to work around an exposed engine in the rain.....shock hazards, explosions....slipping on the wet grass and falling underneath the mower.......DANGEROUS business.......Good Housekeeping magazine says so...........so does Pcad.........and Grandma!!

yard work in rain
usually means sharp tools in the rain
and then you get slippery situations
and lose limbs

You've gotta ride in the rain at least to get home where it's warm and dry. But yard work is only a few steps from the door to comfort - why would you?

Statistics show that more people are injured or killed in accidents at home than anywhere else. This proves that yard work must be inherently dangerous even under ideal conditions. Doing yard work in the rain would be foolhardy.

While yard work is performed at home, bicycling is done away from home, far from the danger zone.

:thumb::beer:

Any horticulturist will tell you that you don't want to damage your grass (cut it) when it is going to stay wet, it increases the spread of fungal disease. Likewise, the clumps of wet grass promote fungal infection. Unfortunately, you are supposed to mow your yard in the heat of the afternoon when it is dry. So you just have to go for an early morning ride while the grass is drying, if it should happen to rain while you are riding, you just have to wait for the next dry day to mow.

What is this "yard work" of which ye speak? I use mow, blow and go guys for the yard (rain is their problem) and I ride bicycles.:p

What is this "yard work" of which ye speak? I use mow, blow and go guys for the yard (rain is their problem) and I ride bicycles.:p

and all your bikes are a year old now, what's up with that?:innocent:

and all your bikes are a year old now, what's up with that?:innocent:

I will get to work on that immediately.:thumb:

Thanks all for your advice.

Unfortunately, none of the "can't mow the lawn in the rain" excuses work because yardwork this time of year in the Pacific NW isn't lawn mowing.

It's hauling away pine needles, clearing storm debris like fallen branches and twigs out of the undergrowth, cleaning up other storm damage, etc. So, it is the kind of thing that *some* people could be done by a rugged individual in a waterproof jacket.

But the "tools rust in the rain" is a good one, as is "don't use sharp tools when they are wet."

I need to remember those.

I have an electric mower. Surely that would be dangerous!

But the "tools rust in the rain" is a good one

Its a trap, she will say "so do bike components".

Wet pine needles will stick all over your clothing and shoes and get tracked all through the house.

Wet branches are heavier and slippery when wet, making them more hazardous.

Combine these with rusting tools, slippery sharp tools, and aching joints (which don't bother you as much when you ride, because you are sitting!), and it's at least an argument.

it's at least an argument.

The "argument" part I already had covered....

Because you don't want to and if she's so eat up with it she can do it herself.

Just a suggestion, of course.

The "argument" part I already had covered....
Just tell her the truth, rain sucks and its easier to do "fun" things and tolerate the rain. Tell her that when you pedal in the rain you feel like a hardcore badass and when you clean gutters in the rain you feel like an idiot.

Then bunker down, because this is bound to fail.

It's necessary to ride a bike in the rain and not just good weather, so that you can stay in shape to be able to do the yard work!