Originally Posted by
robertblake60
Is it wrong to ask if raingear is an essential item?
I don't have experience bicycle touring (yet) but I thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail last year and probably spent 1/3 of my time walking in the rain. I sent my rain gear home after the first 2 weeks because while the rain didn't go through the gear, my body sweat like no other and I was just as wet. It was high quality gear too. Mountain Hardware I believe.
After sending the rain gear home and just living in the elements, I never regretted it.
Is there something unique to cycling that would make this much different?
Some sort of rain gear is. Because of the speed, you need to keep the wind off you. Hence a wind jacket and long finger gloves. However a cyclist is usually working harder than a hiker and so it's even easier to stay warm and get super sweaty. I both hike and bike in the rainiest part of the country. I use waterproof rain gear for hiking and windproof gear for biking.
That said, the stronger a rider is, the less likely they are to use any sort of rain gear other than a wind vest, even in the 40s. It's always easy to overload on gear either hiking or biking.
What you need for touring in over 45° F rain: long finger gloves, booties, arm warmers, leg warmers, poly short sleeve undershirt, short sleeve jersey, bike shorts, wind jacket, wind vest, poly skull cap.