I've bike commuted long enough to have the proper gear, so while I don't really like it, it's not a big deal to ride in the rain. However, I avoid riding in the rain at night.... visibility is just too awful. Car headlights reflect off of wet roads and blind the bejeebers out of me!

I'm reminded of October 2019 when I joined a few fellow BF members on the Hilly Hundred ride in Bloomington, Indiana. On Saturday, it was raining and 50F in the morning. Myself, Allen (@nomadmax) and Robbie are all former Marines, so we have been indoctrinated with the idea of amphibious assault and couldn't justify not going out in this weather....




I'm on the left, fully kitted out for this nonsense.
Dale (@speedevil) joined us a mile down the road, where he had been waiting.
By the end of the day, the value of full rain gear had been proven!
A lot of riders ventured out with little or no rain gear, and more than a few had to get bail out midway. It never got above 50F or so, and the risk of hypothermia was real.

Steve in Peoria (nice and dry so far today)

I don't like riding in the rain - primarily because I don't like soaked feet.

reason #2: pavement paint gets slick, and can remain slick after the rain is gone. (been down [on] that road)
reason #3: rain seems to flush up out of the surface of the pavement tiny steel auto tire threads that cause flats.

But, when you get caught out, you only get wet once. Then that part is over.

The picture above looks great, there's something about commiserating in a less than ideal situation with friends and being able to laugh about it afterwards. Reminds me of an annual event ride I was participating in for a number of years, big event which closes down the main highway going through the city and fills it with cyclists. It was a 6:45 am start and the weather was miserable, cold and rainy. I had forgot my bike sunglasses and was riding the rear tire of a colleague and the spray came flying up into my face for I don't know how many KM. Good times.

The one nice thing about riding in the rain is there are no pedestrians, other cyclists, dog walkers, etc....so it's almost like having the road/path to yourself.

I’m less eager to ride in the rain, but it doesn’t stop me categorically, depending on conditions etc.

Rain gear is really annoying for the reason I don’t have to state. I avoid it to the extent possible. I find fabrics that stay warm when wet so they become warm sponges. Better to be wet that way than from the steam bath I create wearing a rain jacket. I have ankle gaiters which I wore on a long rainy ride, and they worked great. I haven’t had much need to wear them often but they didn’t cause the rain jacket problem for some reason.

One of the worst things about riding in the rain is vision. I normally wear glasses not so much for the vision correction but for protection. Now that I have a helmet mirror, I can take my glasses off in the rain and still have a mirror. This is a big gain. But riding with impaired vision really reduces the fun and incentive. Not only that, I don’t trust motor drivers to see me well, so it’s another factor. And rainy nights can be very scary.

It depends on a lot of things-- temperature, and whether commuting or riding for leisure. I actually love riding in the rain on a hot day on a long ride when I'm wearing cycling woolens. If I'm commuting to work in work clothes and I get caught unprepared, it's horrible. But if I know it's raining and I don my rain gear, I sort of enjoy the commute to work in the rain.

This was from a glorious ride in NH on a day of pouring rain:

boy, I do try to stay out of the rooster tail from any riders ahead of me, even though I always have glasses on.
You never know what might be mixed in with that water.
Also... there's this....



I've never seen so many worms on a road as on this ride. Yuck!

Steve in Peoria

Rain here in Cambodia is epic. Some times it just hurts to ride. But fun.

We had hurt rain like that yesterday here in B'ham. 6 inches in a short time span. Except, I don't think it would have been fun, and many roads were turned into impassable rivers.

I don't know if it's bunk advice but my Grandfather who was in WW2 always told me to keep my chest dry in the rain. If your chest gets wet for long periods that's when you will get sick. So most importantly for me is a good waterproof jacket. I recently went to buy a Helly Hanson but I was surprised! Despite claiming to be waterproof none of the zips on the pockets etc actually were.

I think though that my classic bikes have turned me into a fair weather rider. I spend hours cleaning and polishing so I don't want to get it wet and have to start all over again.

Commuting this morning in the rain and wearing rain pants reminded me of why I bought this pair (from Showers Pass, excellent stuff). The previous ones developed a leak at the crotch seams, and I’d show up at work with a tell-tale wet stain across the front of my pants. Not a good look.

I shower at work. I would find it impossible without a shower at work. I never wear anything on my legs all year round.