I mean, don't get me wrong, fenders are certainly an improvement but rain is still wet. I think that's sometimes a little overlooked. I do have a couple clip-on fender options for the road or cyclocross bike on rainy days, but 8 miles each way in the rain, I'm going to get wet. And I suck it up and get wet, I certainly can't drive to my job, and taking transit would take a lot longer than riding.

I've commuted by bike for a good longish time, and I've done all kinds of distances on all sorts of bikes. When I've lived closer to work, I've done the commuter bike with fenders, maybe a pannier or basket or whatever, and worn normal clothes. I don't love changing in and out of spandex to get to work. But now that I live further away from work, I would much rather do that and ride my road or cross bike than ride my junky single speed over hill and dale and sweat in my work clothes. When it comes right down to it, I've found over the years that I really prefer rolling lighter and wearing a backpack or messenger bag over dealing with panniers. If I could afford to build myself a dedicated road bike for rainy day commuting with fenders, I would certainly do that, and I hope that my current race bike will eventually be that bike. But I'll still be well over on the roadie side of the spectrum, and as long as I'm still living as far from my job as I currently do, I'll be changing into my spandex for the commute.

I know that some people ride the same distance as I do on commuter bikes in regular clothes, and that's great. I don't have a problem with that. Personally I don't really want to do things that way, and so I don't. But we don't usually just squeeze easily into the boxes that are drawn in places like BF. I've still got my junky commuter bike for cruising around the neighborhood or picking up some groceries and I've had plenty of fun riding that thing. Most of the roadies I know are much the same way, we aren't necessarily that tribal. It's like wearing a different pair of shoes or something.