Since the rain you are talking about is severe, I wouldn't ride in it. It is over soon and isn't worth the risk of not being seen by a car.

I think you made the right decision.

Keep a plastic shopping bag or small trash liner with you. Takes up little/no space and keeps clothes and valuables dry inside your bag during weather like this. Even if you don't ride at night, it's a good idea to use a front and rear light of some sort, which increases your visibility on rainy days.

yep... I have to agree that dry road grime don't look nice at all on the bike... I have got to figure a way to put fenders on my road frame now... maybe have to retrofit... there are not many commuter bike accessories available here... most fenders I seen around at the LBS are the plastic kind or for comfort/city bike.. anyway thanks..

Long after the rain stops, the roads are wet. Sometimes for days afterward there will be unavoidable water on the road. Fenders are great in that situation!

In some regional cycling newspaper, I have seen an ad for a kind of bike-tailored rain poncho that stretches out to your handle bars, turning you into a vividly colored rolling tent. Does anybody know who makes/sells these? Any experience with them?

+1. I love mine.

Never bothered with fenders or waterproofs. Buy a Buffalo Special 6 shirt - not waterproof, but will keep you warm and dry (ish) down to freezing point if you're generating a bit of heat cycling, even in moderate rain/heavy rain, and they dry out ridiculously fast. Fantastically durable too, mine's 5 years old, very well abused, and still perfect. Not sure if they do pants in the same pile/pertex combo, I'll investigate come autumn.

My main concern is being seen by cagers. Lights, lights, more lights, reflective tape everywhere on the bike/luggage, and a hi-vis mesh jacket. I look like a travelling UFO/Xmas tree... I'll also leave half an hour earlier on the way in and later on the way back if I can just to let the rush-hour traffic thin out a bit.

I'd say slow down a bit, but I'm about 5 minutes faster each way on my daily commute in the rain for some reason. At first I put it down to lower rolling resistance or some such scientific mumbo-jumbo, but really I think it's fear - all that lovely adrenaline!

so... most road tires are OK in the rain, just go slower and watch for obstacles/slippery surfaces? I didn't care so much about getting wet, but I cared about how slick the road might be and I couldn't SEE the road surface, combined with my skinny road tires...

Enjoy it. I love to ride in the rain. The one thing I always have in my bag (commuting) or vest (commuting and fun) are my goggles in case of rain. Other than that I just reduce speed a little. When I'm commuting rain is a little dicey because my bike (old Schwinn) has horrible brakes when wet (has to do with the wheels, which will be rebuilt soonish).

I don't like riding under rain because my glasses get fogged up instantly, and I can get cold. I do like it when it's hot and raining very slightly, and only a few big drops occasionally hit me

When caught I go slowly because breaking distances augment, and I'm slightly nervous when cornering because the road is slippery.

Bottom line: when it rains in the morning I take the bus. If it's going to rain later in the day I take a chance. My commute is 25min only so I wait a bit if it's pouring and/or go for it.

I don't bring a rain coat. The one I have is suffocating hot. Fenders are a must for road grime coming from below. If it rains often then you should invest in fenders and a coat that breathes well.

Just take it a bit easier as others have suggested. The rain eventually washes the oil off the road, but there's slime from leaves, mud film, and other treacherous stuff even surfaces that you'd expect to be grippy.

On a related note, one of the problems with rain is that it lubricates debris (broken glass, wires, etc) so that it will puncture your tires more easily. Changing wet tires is not as fun because it's easy to introduce debris, so get decent tires. I'm a huge fan of the Schwalbe Marathon Plus. Be aware that durable tires don't grip on wet surfaces as well as good racing tires. Armadillos, a popular commuting tire that is often recommend on BF, has the worst wet weather traction of any tire I've ridden.

Consider not riding your tires at max psi if that's what you normally do and don't corner hard -- it's easy to wipe out.

OP, make sure whatever you carry your stuff in is waterproof, then put a change of clothes in it.

should work. but, if it's raining as hard as you say, i'm guessing the rain won't last too long. if it were me, i would keep in mind that people unfamiliar with driving in the rain are freaking crazy drivers when it rains. especially when it rains hard. i'd find a dry place to sit, get some food and a book out of my bag, and i'd wait for it to pass. maybe catch up on a phone call to an old friend, or ... (something other than be on the road with freaked out drivers on oil slicked wet roads)

Don't do it on steel rims... otherwise you're probably OK. Oh, and make extra sure you're visible (blinkies, bright colours etc)

i keep a bag from an old raincoat in my regular pack with a green garbage bag that i can tie around my backpack for downpours, a bandana to put under my helmet to keep water from going in my eyes, reflective leg straps and a few other things. i also like to keep two other bags; one under my saddle and another extra one just in case.

i don't have "fenders" on my commuter; instead i have a square-shaped splash guard tied to my downtube (no toe overlap!) and one of those curved rat-tail style ones on the rear. i also zip-tied a piece of plastic (from a pop bottle) to my brake bridge to minimize spray.

depending on the temperatures and destination i will either just get soaked or wear gear. i have a cycling-specific jacket, which i'm very glad to have purchased. i've slowly adapted my wardrobe over the years to be more wet-cycling friendly. be careful in colder temps not to get wet and then chilled, especially in slow-drying clothing.

it's very satisfying to arrive at work dripping wet on the outside, smiling, and be dry underneath.

ps. someone recently taught me to put a couple crumpled pieces of newspaper to help dry out your shoes!