I never start a ride in the rain. If I had a rain bike, I might reconsider that but would never ride in cold rain. I get caught in thunderstorms fairly often in the summer as they pop up unpredictably and there's no way of knowing what might happen over a two hour ride. I don't really mind it, but I riding vintage steel that's had rust issues I worry about the bike. In hard storms, you have to ride in the center of the rain as the right edge tends to puddle too much. This leads to a bit of apprehension over visibility when cars approach from the rear, but I generally find drivers are sympathetic and especially cautious under those conditions.