Man I hate peer pressure! You guys suck!

Fine, I just went out and lubed my chain and put plastic over my sponge of a saddle (recumbent) for the 38F and light showers commute tomorrow morning.

My past commuter was equipped with the works including fenders. This spring I went to the dark side and purchased a recumbent and have no desire to ride a wedgie again. Therefore, I stripped my commuter down and gave it too my wife. I only have one bike that I ride and I don’t want to put fenders on it, so I told myself that I was going to be a fair weather commuter... Based on conflicting schedules I can only ride to work on Mondays and Wednesdays leaving me the option of cutting my mileage way down or sucking it up and riding in the wet.

This thread came at a good time to convince me to go for it… but I am dreading it greatly! However, as modernjess said:

Same here. We have a LiteSpeed in the storage area that has permanently bonded with its bike hook, so I just hang my wet and/or sweaty clothes from it using clothes hangers, set a box fan next to it, and by the time I'm ready to go home, they will certainly be dry. LiteSpeeds are great! ;)

Sopping-wet shoes are a possible exception, especially if you can't fully open them up to let air inside (Specialized Defroster, for example). I'm told that stuffing them with newspaper will hasten drying, though.

yup, i had to do that on monday - forgot to take out the inserts though, so they were still a little damp in the afternoon. thank goodness for thick wool socks i guess!

Rain is not a big deal, but freezing rain sucks - when ice forms on all exposed surfaces gears/brakes/and pedals get really slick.

You basically have to keep braking constantly and changing gears constantly to keep moving parts free of ice, not to mention the bike abuse from salt.

This being said - I have ridden several times in freezing rain - I try and avoid it, but sometimes there is no choice but to ride in these sub-optimal conditions. I just go really slow.

I'm in Seattle. If I didn't ride in the rain, I'd only ride a few months out of the year.

I've tried lots of different gloves and waterproof clothes and, for that matter, many other accessories for my ride. None have really stood up to an entire season very well. These days I have glove/shoe driers both at home and at work. Those actually dry things out.

Late last winter I switched to a recumbent. This fall I added a fairing. The rides in both wind and rain so far this year have been *wonderful* compared to my rides on both the Diamond Frame and the recumbent without the fairing. Even so, riding 19 miles each way I'm going to get wet.

As far as the clothes are concerned, I also hang them up in the office. I have 4 coat hangers and each gets an item. Two hang on the door and the other two off the white board.

I am a novice when it comes to riding in the rain. I did get caught at a LBS a couple months ago during a downpour and because of a prior commitment, I ventured out into it.

My question is how do you keep your feet dry. It was warm out so I guess I didn't mind my hands and the rest of my body getting wet, but my SIDI SPD shoes seemed to fill up like buckets. From reading the thread, I assume there are some "booties" that are recommended for riding in rain, or are there better shoes out there that allow the water to drain?

Thanks.

Most people have mentioned proper gear which is important. I have a few variations all of which have been covered here. I think almost equally important is the effort you put out on the bike. During cold rain conditions I focus on keeping my cadence and heart rate up at a higher than normal level. Helps keep my core teperature up.

I don't mind mother nature throwing two obstacles in my path but I draw the line at three. If its raining and cold I will ride but if its raining, cold and windy; I'm driving.

If I hadn't ridden my bike on that day, I would have worked from home. It would have been TOTALLY crazy to try to drive a car in that.

My route is largely rural, and on the trip in to work in the morning, before I hit town I typically only see 3 or 4 cars, all going the same way I am. If I'm really concerned about the cars not being able to maintain control, there's a back road that I can take which has very little traffic, and lands me about 1/4 mile from work. I have only ever taken it 3 or 4 times.

Ugh, I'll ride into quite cold temps but cold rain is a big turnoff. Lately, in fact, I've wussed out and rarely ride in any rain but that's mostly b/c I don't like to clean the bike after the ride. Anyway, I've never been a fan of cold rain. I don't believe there's a truly waterproof option for hands and feet -- a dealbreaker for me as my extremities easily get cold.

After posting on this thread yesterday I had to put my money where my mouth is this morning. 38F and rain with cold blustery headwind. I could have gotten a ride from my wife, but I put the rain gear on rode and and I'm glad I did, though I didn't see many others today. I'll admit it did feel like I was pedaling squares for about the first 10 minutes though.

Yesterday night, after having shivered for almost two hours in a pretty wet rugby practice, I had to get on my bike and pedaled home... It was hard enough on the mental (not mentally prepared right now for that november weather!) that I *almost* had a doubt about commuting with my bike this morning as the weather was getting better. So last night it was maybe 1.5 degrees C, with a howling steady wind of 30 km/h and gusts of 50-60 km/h. Headwind of course! On top of it, freezing rain/wet snow/hail mix. Let's say that with my "legs" (you know, these half thights you can add to a cycling short), my damp rugby socks in my shoes, my little xc summer gloves, I had some visions of fuzzy clothing. But I was okay with my head (I had my little lycra toque... a bit too windy though for complete "ice cream headache" protection), and torso (softshell + underarmour type of baselayer.... great for fall rugby!). I like to pedal with my softshell, unless it is REALLY pouring rain like crazy. I prefer getting a little wet rather than too hot with the GTX shell. Booties and good gloves would have been mandatory that night! My toes and little fingers were happy to get in the shower after a big hot chocolate!

This morning, temp was almost the same (2 deg, wind of 35km/h with 45 km/h gusts, but tailwind), but no rain and even a little sun (more sun right now!). I donned my wool socks in my shoes, my fuzzy lycra thights, same gloves (hoping it won't rain again until when I get home), my softshell with light underwear, little toque... perfect! I'm just hoping the wind will lessen tonight, and snow will wait a little longer 'cause I took the speedbike with no fenders this morning :-S

Last thing: I do like to wear winter spd type shoes when it's snowing heavy and wet, and for colder, drier temps.... better than hustling with booties!

Nasty days in Seattle, especially in November, December, and January, I will have days I ride to work along the major bike thoroughfare of the Burke-Gilman Trail and never see another soul.

I love that.

Ive ridden in cold wet, close to freezing. It is the worst combination and that time I used a cheap, yellow pvc non-breathable waterproof with a few wooly jumpers and some hiking boots.
Ive gone abit more hi-tech with paramo waterproofs, sealskins. Im not impressed with my featherweight pertex pants, my older heavier guage pertex was pretty waterproof for years. Im still old-school with gloves, woolen ones get wet but not cold.
The most interesting tech of recent times has to be nano-technology permanent waterproofing of leather. This was developed for the military and the first civillian hiking boots are showing up. It is not a membrane or surface treatment, it coveres every fibre and is really permanent. Just need a lightweight, slim boot without bulky padding.

One thing I have started to do is to slip a plastic sandwich bag over my stocking feet before putting my shoes on. If my socks are dry I can put up with lots of cold on my legs.

I too am interested in these too. Not only how waterproof are they, but how warm? I kayak too and am looking for some gloves to do double-purpose for the warmer months. My hands get cold very easily in the rain.


If you have some sort of facilities room with pumps, ducts, etc. near your workplace, try to get access to it. they are usually poorly-ventilated and toasty warm from the equipment. Your clothes will end up dry and warm! (I'm disappointed that I can't do that this winter, they swapped the locks on that room's door.)

As for shoes, try inverting them over a forced hot air vent if your workplace has them. If your co-workers complain you can add some potpourri!

Not as good, but helpful, is to stuff your shoes with newspaper. With my mtb/commuter SPD shoes when they would be completely soaked last winter, before I had full fenders, stuffing with newspaper and changing out once during the day would result in dry shoes most days for the ride home.

Putting on wet clothes for a wet ride home sucks.

I ride the bus. Or drive if i'm going somewhere other than work..

Looks interesting and not terribly overpriced considering name brand boots often cost that much anyway.
Care free. Ride 99% of time. An actual ice storm will cause me to consider carpooling. I'm really liking wool socks now and plan to try other wool garments.
Usual gear: rain pants, rain jacket, helmet cover.
Hands: if warm they get wet, have some new gloves and will see how they work this winter. The heavy fleece ones I used last year in the winter took a long time to dry and were wet from the inside. The very light weatherproof ones weren't.
Dry feet: For warm weather I gave up and use sandals in the rain. This winter, trying waterproof, lightly thiinsulated (200gr) Sorel slip-on shoes and purchased some thinsulated (400gr) slip-on leather work boots (Wellington style) for snow. The Sorels with wool socks and rain pants kept everything south of the border dry. The boots are going to be sno-sealed. Biggest complaint about winter riding is the prep time. If the boots don't work out, will use the NEOS overshoes I used last winter.

Drying wet gear: if saturated I stick it in front of a fan otherwise drape it over the bike.

Yesterday I rode into work expecting it to rain - so in my packing, I packed a rain jacket and pants, the kind you would use going to a football game. The ride home was fun - my feet got soaked and my head was dry, but my sweat-jacket hood was soaked since I had my helmet over it. This morning I was hoping to ride in the rain again, but I really don't like lighting popping around - not a lot of fun getting struck by lighting on the way to work. People at work are beginning to think I'm crazy...wait till it's 15 degrees out and I'm pedaling into work.

Nothing like a warm rain...nothing like a cold rain, either. Cold rain sucks.

Heck, I've ridden home in rain and had icicles hanging from various bicycle parts, and my nylon jacket looked like a glazed doughnut. :eek: Just this morning I was riding through mostly-rain but mixed with snow. I haven't read this whole thread but I'm guessing I'm not alone in either of those things.

As long as I'm warm and nothing freezes up on me mechanically, it's all good.

Like the other Seattle area posters, you just keep on going. There's lots of cold rainy days/nights and that doesn't stop me unless there's so much rain that the roads become hazardous (i.e. huge lake-like puddles that obscure the roadway) or it turns to ice. Once commute last fall I encountered cold rain, hail, snow and sunshine in 8 miles, it was in the 30s.

Layer, layer, layer. I don't use waterproof anything except for booties. My gloves claim to be waterproof, but that only lasted for 2 commutes. Now they are just nice and warm and dry quickly, with good reflectivity. I can put those thin rubber gloves, surgical, on under them if I need to. As said before, wool and thin heat-holding pieces like tights and arm-warmers are fantastic as is something to cover your scalp under the helmet (personally the feel of rain landing on my scalp through my helmet creeps me out). I also have a good water-resistant jacket (Canari) and RainLegs (how did I survive without these wonderful things!). Reflectivity is a part of every piece of gear too.

For bike - good lights front and back. Fenders, front and back. Waterproof panniers. Extra reflecties all over bike. For drying stuff I am luck to have a large locker room and nice people using it. We all have no problem hanging pieces of clothing all over the place to dry during the day.

I'm going high tech shortly. I've ordered some custom rain pants from a guy named Lou in the Northwest and a Showers Pass Elite 2.0 rain jacket. I have some short gortex style riding boots for my Look pedals.
If it's 70F or warmer I don't take any other precautions. Several of my bikes have full or rear fenders and my newly equipped cross bike will sport studded snow tires - great for icey conditions.

O.K. So I'm a wimp! At least I'm a warm and dry wimp! I rode to work this morning with very lite sprinkles... But I called the wife for a ride home this evening in steady COLD rain.

I ride if the radar shows green. Anything heavier and visibility with my glasses is zilch.

I never ride in even the lightest snow. I don't want to tangle with a plow/salt truck again.

I live near BengeBoy and CliftonGK1 and cycle through 4 towns to get to work. The temp's vary about 10F enroute. It can be raining in one town, snowing, in the next, foggy or sunny etc...

So my outfit is similar to BengeBoy:
- I wear the Showers Pass Elite rain jacket and HOOD
- Waterproof Garnae winter racing boot (below 40F, microfiber, liner, wool socks and Hotties)
- Marmot precip pants with thin PI tights underneath
- Polypro shirt, with Wool zip cardigan
- Giro ski helmet with vents that open/close

My wife takes no mercy on me: her motto-if I rode in I can ride back.....her tough love often works-once I get pedalling I feel better and am less grouchy once I get the endorphins circulating. I am usually glad I rode back.....funny how it is....I feel like Lance Armstrong at 6am and a slug at 8pm.

I voted "I ride in the rain if it's at least 40 degrees" but that's not the exact truth. This post sums it up pretty well:
The truth is, cold rain makes me look for excuses to take the day off or, if that's not an option, have my wife drive me to the station (this costs her 40 minutes sleep, so I don't like doing it). Complications:

1. I can work from home if I want to. This gives me a good excuse to stay home if the weather looks nasty. Flip side to this, however, is that when I do stay home I usually get no work done.

2. I ride 6 miles, then I sit on a train for an hour. Riding six miles in cold rain is unpleasant enough, but to do that and then sit on a train for an hour is unpleasant in the extreme.

3. Bringing a folding bike on the train is not a problem, but a folding bike with muddy water dripping off it is another story. It is no more pleasant for me than it is for the other commuters, but while I'm willing to deal with this unpleasantness I don't like inflicting it on others.

Bottom line, nasty weather tends to make me stay home.

I'd feel like a slug if I worked 7am to 7pm.