Originally Posted by Carbonfiberboy

I live in the PNW and never use rain pants even though I've ridden a lot in the rain, on purpose. I use tights, lighter for summer rain, heavier for winter rain. Touring in the summer, I took the lighter pair. Much less bulky than rain pants and avoids the nasty feeling of wet, non-breathable stuff on my legs. Legs work hard and are not very sensitive to cold. I don't carry a rain jacket either, just a wind jacket, wind vest, both very light, and a warm layer to go between my jersey and jacket, and a light T-shirt for under the jersey. I don't believe in waterproof attire for riding. Always makes me overheat because there's no way to get rid of the heat. I treat the rain like perspiration and let a little of it in. Works great. I don't mind riding in the rain. I don't use a helmet cover either, just a poly hat under the helmet, same reasoning.

You might do a little rain riding, see if you already have the right garments. I've never been able to wear waterproofs for more than a half hour. Without them, my temperature stabilizes in less than an hour and stays the same for the whole ride. No matter what you wear, it's going to get wet, so I never tented out after a rain ride, did the hotel thing, dried stuff overnight. When you get in, you lay out a towel or two, put your wet gear on it, roll it up and the twist the heck out of it until it collapses into a snail shape, then jump up and down on it. That squeezes the water into the towel, then hang dry.