I prefer not to ride in the rain, but it's hard not to do so if you are a regular bike commuter. Forecasts are too unreliable around here to depend on, so you roll the dice and take your chances with the weather -- and that means you sometimes end up riding home in the rain. My commute is pretty long, about an hour each way, so I get pretty soaked if it's really raining. However, my main concern about riding in the rain is visibility. My route is entirely on streets, some heavily traveled, with no bike paths, and I don't feel as safe when it's raining. It's also a lot harder for me to see since I need glasses and they always get spotted or fogged up in the rain.

What is hardest for me are the iffy days when the forecasters are calling for 50-70% chance of rain. That was the situation this morning, and I decided to drive. A cold front is moving through today and the most likely time for rain is right during the afternoon rush hour, so I decided not to risk it. That plus the fact that it is really warm here for January and my rain jacket is just too hot for temps in the 60s-70s.

I don't know if it's just our forecasters or NC weather, but the weather guys have a poor track record at forecasting rain around here. More often than not, they are wrong. They call for rain and we get nothing, or it rains on days when it's supposed to be clear.