Typical Maryland weather, unpredictable as always. Go from near 80 & sunny in mid October no less to a week filled of rain, wind & 45-65 degrees. So as I'm gearing up for the wet ride home I get the inevitable "you're riding your bike in the rain" question from my co-workers. "Hell yeah, there's no bad weather just bad clothing choices" I tell them as they either smile or shake their head.

So as I'm riding home I really started thinking, perhaps over thinking my rain rides. Sure, it's raining so I may get a wet face, glasses etc but other than that I'm fine everywhere else clothing wise. The streets are less crowded with traffic & traffic is slower than usual. I blissfully hit 1 small puddle after another as the rain hits the ground bouncing back up at me.

The air smells differently, cleaner in a sense as all the dust & dirt no longer foul my nose thanks to the "hideous" rain. I ride slower at first because I feel safer but now it's that I'm digesting all the nuances of rain rides that make them so unique to me. It's the same route each day but the rain makes it feel different but not in an unfamiliar way but a way that calms me & reinforces my love of cycling.

Yep, I love my rain rides.

Nice appreciation of an under-appreciated event. Well written.

Sometimes I appreciate it, sometimes I don't.

I love rain rides. They be fun.

Plus drivers are a little confused by you and treat you with more respect, not a much a snowy rides, but some none the less

Can't say I agree. I have a long commute, so when it's raining at the end of the day I have 20 miles of it. I suppose if I lived in a place which wasn't so HOT and humid it wouldn't be so bad. But I live in Florida, and unless the rain is in January, that means 20 miles in a sweatbox of a rain jacket. And if I don't wear the jacket I get sticky gross lycra. I much prefer cold and darkness to rain.

I don't mind riding in a gentle rain ala the British Isle. But the chicken chokin' frog stranglers that I see in the deep south are another story. I will ususally try and wait them out...

Aaron

I like rain if it's not too cold (I generally don't wear raingear) and the winds are in a favorable direction or calm. I also think that wet roads cause a lot of cagers to actually pay attention to what they are doing for a change.

Love the rain as long as I don't get a flat in a downpour, which, unfortunately, has happened to me twice in the last month!

I just did a ride in the rain a couple of days ago, it was great in part because it was still relatively warm (in the 60s).

Rain rides are less enjoyable when it gets into the 40s. I also live in a quite hilly area so I have to take it easy going down hills, especially these days with leaves on the roads.

But when it's warm, yeah, I just love the feeling of riding in the rain.

Happened to me today. Not fun.

Great retort. I usually say "It's just water." or "I'll just be getting a head start on my shower."

I rode through some rain in No VA today but missed most of the hard downpours. I did have rain gear and fortunately didn't overheat even tough it was close go 60F. The rain let up this morning just as I got a front wheel flat. My blinkies and DIY lighting worked fine so it was a fine commute.

BTW - my wife woke me up early and lobbied for me to drive in. Since I drove yesterday (picked up two road bikes off craigslist and resupplied my clothing stash at work) and I didn't want to miss another riding opportunity I loaded up my fender equipped commuter and headed out.

If it's not too cold and I don't get a flat, a rain ride can be very nice. It's the bike cleanup that always sucks, cold temps and flats or not.

I just rode13 km into a 30 kmh headwind with what felt like freezing rain and a temperature of 6 C.

Oh yeah...I love riding in the rain.

And...I was pushing 77 gear inches on my fixed gear so pretty much was standing all the way.

I no longer do rides in the rain for fun. The last time was during one 50-mile day stretch of a 183 mile 3-day ride with an organized group which had support crews of baggage trucks, food distribution, mechanics, ambulance-mounted paramedics, and vehicles to pick up exhausted riders. The whole day was a massive downpour of rain in cold temps (it is Maine after all). After 40 miles, hypothermia set in and I ended up going the rest of the day's ride in an ambulance to where we would stop for the night.

Never again unless I just happened to get caught in a sudden rainstorm in which I will successfully complete my ride or finish it with no ill effects.

Thanks! Now I dont feel like a coconut for riding in the rain! and although I always love going out in the rain the way you wrote your post made me love it even more! I cant wait till the next chapter!

MUP was empty tonight!

I generally enjoy riding in the rain for all of the above reasons. Certainly the empty MUP is a nice incentive. Days of rain can be very tedious but isolated days are pleasant enough.

Of course once the rain starts to freeze then I view it with nothing but extreme hatred.

Me Ogg! Ogg like rain, rain make Ogg hungry after travel to labor place. Ogg fur smell good after rain.

...Ogg is an endangered species living in South Miami Dade County Fl and has been trained to operate a bicycle to transport him to his labor place 11 miles from his cave in Homestead Fl......

Ogg ride pedal thing to labor place every day. Ogg like pedal thing! It make Ogg go fast. Ogg like fast!

.... Ogg has been trained by his protection society to avoid lightning storms, which are frequent throughout the year in his habitat......

Ogg not ride when sky is full of bright light and loud noise. Ogg taught to stay still in cave during bright sky light and loud sound. Ugh! Makes Ogg hungry! Ogg not able to think when hungry. Ogg food in Ogg cave. Ogg must wait for sky demon to leave. Ugh! this make Ogg very hungry. Must wait for sky demon to sleep before Ogg can ride pedal thing to cave and eat.

It was at least different, got caught in some pretty heavy rain in N. Va. I was cool with everything except the wet feet. The Freddy fenders helped a lot, but my feet still got pretty wet. I'm thinking of breaking out my neoprene SCUBA boots next time we're looking at hard rain. Wet feet aren't that bad at 60F but by the time we get down to 35F it won't be so fun. Figure I have a month to get it figured out.

It felt good to me as well. It was a change of pace to be wearing all my rain gear. I can't recall riding in a real rain since spring.

Paul

The WORST part of a rain ride, is the time leading up to it when your still dry and warm in the house and imagining how terrible its going to be. 5 Minutes after leaving the house your face is wet, but as long as you have the right gear your then left enjoying it and wondering wtf you were so worried about and dreading before you left.

Riding in Wisconsin reminds me of growing up in Western Washington. I love the rain. I do try and stay clear of thunderstorms. Two people were killed a few blocks from my house last August. They were not on a bike but I am not into lightning strikes.
Fenders and the proper gear and all is well.
I do not think that cars see as well on a dark rainy morning, and I do not think they are looking out for bikes when their wipers are flipping back and forth.

I enjoy riding in the rain, especially if it is 60F or higher. The ride home tonight was great, the only thing I had to worry about was a bit of fogging on the goggles (applied some cat crap tonight -- should solve that for tomorrow). The only thing that was spooking me out a bit was all the leaves ... caused me to skid a few times on the turns, but no falls.

I had the same thing happen to me two days ago. On both tires. Right before I remembered that I didn't have the presta adapter my pump needed. The same presta adapter I had been worrying about forgetting when I was putting my shoes on. Yeah, rides in the rain are awesome. Long walks in the rain? Not so much.

OTOH, I'll probably keep that adapter in my bag in the future.

The harder it rains the better I like it. My co-workers were betting that I was going to drive my SUV to work when a major storm hit our area last week, and they were very suprised when I pulled up to work on my bike and was just as dry as they were when I removed all of my rain gear.