Aww...It's Raining
 

After being nice all day,it decides to dump a bunch of rain just as I'm getting ready to leave work. It was coming down pretty good,and there was lightning,so I decided to suit up and just hang out in the entry foyer until the worst blew over. I couldn't believe how many people were whining about the rain. They were going to have to walk all the way across the parking lot! :eek: This while I'm sitting there in my raingear. :rolleyes: Man,I sure felt bad for them. ;)

Anyway,made it home without incident. Finally got to wear my Gore brand Gore-tex jacket. It actually breathes pretty well,even without any vents. Also wore my helmet cover from bicycleclothing.com. I got the breathable yellow one,and it too impressed me by the fact that it actually did breathe. And the Topeak DeFender fenders I put on the Giant got their baptism of fire. The front worked great,the rear let a little more spray get on my back than I would've liked,but it was way better than that SKS X-whatever I had back there before. They also look pretty cool and the rear doesn't need to be tightened after every single ride like the SKS did. So,thumbs up to my new rain kit.

You should change your sig to "Infernal combustion engines" etc. :D

Yeah, I fell soooo bad for the folks at work here when it rains. No, really. :rolleyes: It's hard for them to hail a cab while under the awning/canopy at the front door of the building. :p

I got caught in the same thunderstorms about 4 miles from home and it was like being hit by a firehose. Unfortunately where I was there was no shelter (cowering under trees seemed like a bad idea in a lightening storm) so I just plugged on. I of course left my bike cape at home not expecting rain, but it was a warm day so no big deal. Although that transition from hot and sweaty to rain soaked was a little cold. I still made good time and every time it rains I love my fenders more. I still get wet and a little dirty, but nothing like I would without them. I agree rain really isn't that big a deal, but people around here do get weird about it.

I can't imagine what is would be like to let the weather determine how you are going to feel and what you are going to do during any given day. Around here, there seems to be something wrong with the weather on every given day. At least according to cagers anyways. Personnally, I figure there isn't any poor weather; just poor planning and poor clothing choices. On the other hand though, I don't understand why people keep paying for fuel for vehicles at $0.97 per litre when 9/10 times they have a perfectly good bike in the garage. Maybe I am the odd duck and I just don't get it.

Ha ha! I didn't have to ride in that storm.

Instead I was standing in mud at a construction site.

SaksCyclists - can' t blame it on poor planning. Weather report yesterday morning had nothing about rain within 50 miles of DC. It sprinkled mid-day, with rain still not in the forecast. Late afternoon the skies opened up with a half hour of thunder and lightning to accompany. If you tried to plan for the weather around here , you'd have to drag a trailer for the extra gear.

I was agreeing with the original poster regarding his view of people whining about their walk to their cars.

Anyways, I think you can plan for any possible weather on any given day. I don't watch the weather forecasters to see what the day should bring as I would probably get caught without raingear or something. The only thing I wouldn't be prepared for today are tempuratures below 0C or snow that sticks. Seeing as how our average temps for this time of the year is from 13C to 24C my risk is pretty low. The only extra clothes I carry are a lightweight breathable jacket which doubles as a rain jacket and waterproof pants which double as the last layer in colder weather. I like to think that I would be prepared for anything that mother nature could throw at me. Perhaps I am clueless but in the last two years of commuting by bike I can say I have never got caught without the proper gear. (I had to walk once when I had a flat tire but if it happened again I could fix it on the spot.)I have two panniers that carry all my stuff including saftey gear, clothes (just in case), wallet, lunch and a suit and tie for work. In my mind, if I am going to commute by bike and not have an automobile as a back up I need to carry all the gear I could need and cash for a cab/bus just in case.

Saskcyclist,
I agree with your approach. I figure that if I'm commuting by bike I should carry my stuff on by bike as well. When I was riding in the winter I was much more careful to wear or pack gear for most reasonable changes in weather. Yesterday when I was caught in the rain I had made a decision to skip the rain gear since I was carrying a lot of other stuff to work. Since the weather was warm that was safe and reasonable, not something I will repeat as we move into the fall. Like any outdoor activity you have to be prepared for changes.