stonecrd

I have seen threads in the road forum on riding in the rain but don't recall seeing one in the 50+. I wonder if as you get older your tolerance for bad weather diminishes. I bring this up because yesterday I was caught in a monsoon in the last 3-4 miles of my ride. In general I will not go out and start a ride if it is raining but if I am out and already wet with sweat then I generally will stay out unless it is blowing sideways or there is a lot of lightening. I find that I seem to ride more in a zone when it is raining, the rain seems to put you in a little cocoon and everything around you disapears. Other than slowing heavily in corners I generally don't slow down and actually tend to ride faster.

How about you?

serotta

We got caught Wednesday night about 20 miles into a 38 miler. You are correct about getting in the "zone". We had a tandem, and three single riders. The pulls were generous and stong. The wind, rain, lightning and thunder were equally as strong. The ride usually takes us several minutes over two hours with a 10 minute or less stop at the midway point for lottery tickets, gatorade and a moonpie. The rain forced us to continue without the stop, and we were back in 1 hour and 45 minutes. It took longer than that to clean the bike!

OBXBIKR

It's odd that you bring this up, but it happens to me, too. On my recent cross-country tour, I got caught in a thunder storm somewhere in Montana. I rode with a mother and daughter who were on our tour for twenty miles in the rain, and it was the fastest 20 miles I rode during the entire 3,000+ mile tour.

It just seems like you get an extra adrenilin rush in wet conditions. I have noticed this before, on other tours, but this example is the most striking I can remember. It seems like it only happens if the rain is rather light. If it is a real downpour for a long time, it seems like the ride just becomes a hard slog.

Grampy™

I won't start in the rain..... but ya gotta get home.

NOS88

I've always suspected that a large part of human nature is to rise to the challenge. I think that's what happens to me when in the rain. On those days when I start a ride in the rain, my sense of accomplishment is always a bit higher. I have some level of pride that I was out there when others were not. The French Painter Eugene Delacroix has said: "We work not only to produce, but to give meaning to time." For me this is a statement about the human condition. We are meant to take on challenges. In my rather pampered life riding in the rain is such a challenge.

Pat

I also find it hard to start in the rain. But here in Central FL especially during the hot humid summer you are going to get wet whether from rain or sweat. At least rain does not smell.

Rain does affect braking some and it affects cornering.

There is a nice thing about the rain though. Everything can seem nice and well sort of tranquil and quiet.

Also some of my most memerable rides have been rain rides. Adverse weather has a way of sticking in the memory.

stonecrd

I kind of liken this to when I use to run in a heavy snowstorm in Chicago. It was probably the best running I ever did, it was so quiet and beautiful you kind of get lost in the weather and the usual aches and pains go away. Then of course there are the looks you get from others in cars ' Look at that crazy SOB'

jppe

Unless I'm just desparate to get out and ride, I probably would not start in the rain-even for the smaller organized weekend rides. However if it starts raining when I'm riding so be it. On warm days it actually feels pretty good.

Nothing like getting road spray in your eyes and mouth from other wheels........Sunglasses are pretty worthless at that point.

For epic organized rides, I'm dumb enough to even start in monsoons with lightning popping all around. That describes the start to the Assault on Mt Mitchell this past May.

howsteepisit

I don't start in rain or really threatening weather, but carry at least a rain jacket and maybe some kind of warm tights if it seems like a rain possibility. I agree, You gotta get home. I seem to have two internal rules for cycling.... Try not to stop and always finish a ride (no calls home for a ride). Of course, scheduled stops for pie are excluded from the don't stop rule .

Artkansas 

No.

Rick@OCRR

I agree with the above posts, i.e. riding in the rain does make one push a little harder, and ride a little faster than we might if we were in dry conditions.

On this year's Solvang Double Century, (and last years Butterfield Double - aka: Butterflood), we were in the rain for four or five hours, plus we were in rain with a fierce headwind from San Luis Obispo to Morrow Bay. I was putting out more than normal effort, which helped keep me warm and increased my speed, but also left me pretty burned out by lunch, at the 114 mile point. On the bright side, I was the fifth rider into lunch, and I've never been that close to the pointy end of field on a double before!

Morrow Bay was the turn-around, so we picked up a tailwind there, and while the next 75 miles were dry, I was pretty much suffering all the way to the finish, with some extra suffering climbing Drum Canyon (steep with switchbacks, cattle guards and terrible pavement). My time was 13:15, the fastest Solvang Double I've ever ridden, but also the most miserable and difficult overall.

So, warning to myself: Don't push extra-hard in the rain! Practice intelligent resource management even when you're wet and cold!

Rick / OCRR
56 years

ticwanos

In Texas we understand sweat, but what's rain?

McDave

It rained here Tuesday for the first time in months. I couldn't wait to get out in it. I hadn't ridden in the rain since I was a kid and I loved every minute of it! I might be able to play in some mud this weekend if we get more rain as predicted. Can't wait!

Coyote!

In Praise of Rain, Tropical Depression Ernesto, Blessed Solitude, and The Who

Folks, it's only weather and we're ALREADY wet on the inside! Simple as that.

I took off this AM in the first outliers of Ernesto as they passed over Shenandoah Valley/Eastern Panhandle WV. Great ride. I had my favotite loop all to myself. When I stepped out into it, Roger Daltry "plugged in the amps" inside my head and the Lads stayed with me for three hours. . ."Oh Lord I need a drink of Coool-Coool rain. . ." [tho' he may have been singing of something else altogether; dunno' 'bout that poetry stuff].

Looking back on an entire adulthood in the saddle; seems heat, humidity, cold, wet, wind, UV. . .weather issues in general just go away after the first five minutes. I will add that the longest, hardest, and best day I ever spent in the saddle was a rainy one.

Age and weather? I don't notice much difference except in appreciation in being out there.

ticwanos

All my smart alecky comments aside, I do have a serious question. It is so rare for my rides and rain to coincide I haven't often had this problem, but I am blind without my glasses. Does anyone have suggestions for maintaining visibility when your "eyes" are obscured by water. Umbrella hats?

stapfam

Rain does not seem to bother me- or it never used to. I can remember going out on a ride and it was raining at the start. Only 4 of us but That ride was memorable for a couple of reasons. We got to a part of the ride and it chucked it down. We saw a telephone box and all 4 of us left the bikes and jumped in for shelter. It was in a village just off the Hills and the road started gushing water. The drains had filled up and only route was down the road. Then the Telephone box suddenly had 6" of water in it. We opened the door, just in case it got stuck and we had 12" of water. And then it stopped raining. So all outside the box and up to our knees. Found the bikes and they had been completely under water. We decided to get to higher ground and it was up a muddy path with a stream running right the way down it. Not bragging but all 4 of us climbed the path. There was no way we were going to fall off in that stream. Got to dry ground after about 200ft and it was almost as if it had not rained there. Carried on with the ride and final bit on the way home was through a wood. This was once again down off the hills, and it was like a sponge. It did not look Muddy but as you rode through the woods- you were sinking 6" into the soil. Not mud till we passed over it but it was wierd. Then just before we finished the ride- it chucked it down again. The bikes from riding in the woods were muddy, and so were we. That final burst of rain- cleaned not onlyt the bikes, but all our clothing aswell. Got home amd the wife moaned at me for dripping water everywhere, but did not believe that story of the amount of mud we had ridden through.

Then last winter it was a cold morning- just above freezing- and it started to drizzle. The action of the cold and the rain meant that I abandoned the ride after only about 12 miles. Must be me getting older- or getting more sense.

jazzy_cyclist

I guess I'm a weenie - like others, I usually won't start a ride if it's raining, although it doesn't bother me too much when I get caught (I do try to avoid thunder/lightning situations). I don't mind the riding so much as the clean up afterwards. I recall riding in the rain and not cleaning up - it was astounding how quickly rust formed on the chain!

backinthesaddle

I'm here in Northern California. Generally no rain May-September. The rest of the year, if it looks like it might rain I just don't ride. My tires have no tread, I'm not sure they're even suitable for rain. For better or worse, I have no rain riding skills as I haven't ridden in rain for many, many years.

stapfam

Had a friend that wore glasses and he had the problem of Glasses fogging up and water obscuring the vision. Cycling googles- or most of them, do work well in the rain- so he changed to Contact lense's and used goggles. Worked for him till he lost one on a downhill.

serotta

I don't wear glasses, but friends that do swear by rainX

Louis

I, too, am a glasses wearer. Try wearing a cycling cap under your helmet when riding in the rain. With the visor down it does a fair job of keeping the rain off your specs. Of course it's nearly impossible to ride in the drops with the visor down.

I am also one who no longer starts a ride in the rain unless there is no choice -- such as a multi-day tour where they transport your luggage to the next town.

Digital Gee

I enjoy the occasional ride in the rain.

DnvrFox

Rain??

Whats that?

ticwanos

Thanks for the above tip (re: rain and eyeglasses). I will probably never wear contacts, but a hat seems an obvious fix and I will look into the rainx. We may get rain before Thanksgiving and if so, I think I'll give it a try. Riding in the rain sounds like it could be a kick, sort of like vacationing on an alien planet.

crtreedude 

If I didn't ride in the rain, I would ride for 8 months - we have a serious rainy season.

Of course our rain is warm. I tend to ride faster in the rain because it cools me down. This may be the reason for better times, water does a great job of removing heat.

Of course, if the water is too cold, it can cause problems.