As a rule I avoid the rain. There have been exceptions, such as the NYC 5 Borough Bike Tour last year when it looked like rain and went from a slight drizzle to a steady rain before my daughter decided she had enough. I went to Seattle for a bike trip a few weeks ago and my first purchase was a good rain jacket. It came in very handy. I was caught in the rain 4 times over 5 days. I still have fenders from 20+ years ago that haven't been used since then that could go on my commuter. So I'm all set to ride in the rain, except see comment #1 above.