Cold Rain what do you do?
 

I ride in the rain and I ride in the cold but I am loathe to ride in a cold rain. Will you ride in any rain or is there a certain combination of wet a cold that keeps you off the bike? If you choose I always ride in the rain how long is you commute? I ride in the rain as long as it is above 40 F.

Pearl Izumi Gavia Plus tights
Wool socks
Fleece lined waterproof booties
Wool undershirt
Thermal long-sleeve jersey
Fleece beanie helmet liner
Pearl Izumi Cyclone gloves

Up here in Seattle we don't get a whole lot of snow, but it rains all winter and the temperature is routinely in the mid 30s. I wear the setup I listed above, and that's good (for me) for anything down to around 25 degrees.

I live near CliftonGK1, deal with the same weather. Typical winter morning is 35 to 38 degrees and wet.

My outfit is similar to his, except:
- I wear the Showers Pass Elite rain jacket
- Specialized Defroster BG mountain bike boots (only under 45 degrees; they're warm)
- On really rain days I wear a rain cover over my helmet
- Again, on really rainy days (not just misty), I wear a cap with a bill under my helmet to keep rain off my face.

BTW, I own "rain pants," but hate wearing them. I usually just wear regular tights; if it's really cold I'll wear something like jogging pants over my tights.

It's great fun riding in freezing rain. In particular, it's fun freaking out the smokers I pass when entering the building.
One day last year, I rolled up to work over a fairly significant layer of ice, and when I straightened up to get off the bike, a lot of ice broke off me and hit the ground. The bike had about 1/4" of ice on the leading edges.
The year before that, many of the same smokers watched me leave for home in the middle of a hailstorm with pea-sized hail.

yeah, they think I'm crazy. They could be right.

I am going to agree with the smokers on this one. For me it is a combination of factors but I just don't feel safe on the route I take in freezing rain. The risks just pile up.

There's no weather I hate to ride in more than a cold rain. I will ride in it, but I won't enjoy it. Snow and very cold temps is far preferable.

The alternative for me is taking public transportation, and that's something I will not do except under the most extreme circumstances.

I voted that I always ride, but I have to admit that I have a bike path the whole way in to my job from my backyard. It is well-maintained and plowed quicker than the roads. If it gets icy, I have studded tires.

Call me a wuss, but I don't think I would ride in freezing rain in heavy traffic.

I don't really have an MO, yet. I want to be somewhat "all weather" but I'm slowly accumulating the proper gear. My limiters at the moment are feet and hands, and the brick wall I won't ride through is freezing or frozen precip of any kind. There is no MUP nor any way to work without riding in fast traffic.

I don't love cold rain, but I sold my car. I do enjoy riding in summer rain.

Here's my list for making winter rain bearable:
Rain jacket with hood (goes under helmet)
Rain pants
Waterproof glove covers
Waterproof socks
Neoprene face cover
Chapstick
Travel mug full of piping hot coffee

Cold rain I don't mind. True freezing rain as in an ice storm is the only thing that put me on public transportation last winter (3 or 4 days, I think it was).

Last spring I built up a fast commuter (a cross-style bike) which I ride all the time now. My old ride (which I sometimes refer to as the boat anchor) is about to get a good overhaul and be repurposed to my winter bike (complete with spikes). That should see me through anything but several feet of snow (pretty rare in DC). We'll see...

I have a 10/20/30 rule for my enviromental envelope.

Wind more than 10mph.
Temp less than 20 degF.
Precip more than 30% chance.

If it's all of those, I don't ride. If it's none of those, I definitely ride. If it's some combination, I play it by ear, but more often than not I ride. I'm lucky that I can take the train for most of the trip on those less than nice days.

I may take a 2 out of 3 as an excuse to take the car and run all those hardware store/auto shop/warehouse store errands on the way home.

Skiing jacket, skiiing gloves, wool socks, and whatever base layers are required depending on the temperature. Doesn't get much colder than 10-15F here, so its not too bad.

65 degrees in a steady light drizzle about a month ago was my most enjoyable commute yet. It's 12+ miles. Unfortunately, that weather is gone till maybe next may. I plan on riding in cold dry weather, but cold and wet? Where are those car keys?

Warm rains are sort of fun.. Not that I would prefer sunshine. Cold rains. I don't even like to go out the door.

I tell myself to HTFU.

I don't mind cold rain. Hail now that's the bad one,(mind you I'll ride in that if not too painful).

Cold rain is ok, its when it stops raining and you are wet that's what I dislike as it feels colder. Scientist types why is that?

There is no problem riding in the rain or cold, as long as you wear the right set of clothes for the occasion.

i always pack my rain gear with me, so if it ever rains, i just need to pull over and put it on. :thumb:

Cold is the easiest to take care of, just make sure you pack up, or already wearing enough clothing for the temperature. :)

Wet and cold isn't a problem if you dress right.

Here's me:

Swobo Bruno knickers (heavy wool, fairly long)
Knee high wool socks
Shimano something-something low end mtb/commuter SPD shoes
Underamour T shirt
Ibex wool top
Water resistant (they claim water proof, ha) gloves
Walz cotton cycling cap

That's good down to about 40 - 45 F. Any lower and I'd swap out the cotton cycling cap for a wool one, and anywhere below 40 F I might start wearing a cycling windbreaker over the Ibex wool thing or swap out the Ibex for a heavy cycling shell (I have Endura's, can't remember the model name). When it gets into the mid 30s F I can start wearing my good, really water proof, gloves, OR Prophets (ice climbing gloves). Around that temperature I start needing booties of some sort on my feet. I also might layer the heavy Endura shell with the Ibex wool thing in the mid 30s F.

I don't ride in ice and snow, but I also don't have a bike that'll take studs yet.

I generally ride in all weather, except ice. In Philly, it's been maybe 2-3 times a year. Cold rain does not bother me that much. Keep a second pair of shoes at work - everything else tends to dry out. Brain freezes comming down a steep hill in really cold weather - well, that's another thing.

Have ridden in most of it, the only exception would be a heavy freezing rain, aka Ice Storm, and even that would be more because of the idiot cagers sliding all over the place.

you are so right on that one.

i purchased soooooo many "waterproof" gloves and all of them leaks if you take it to wash

so most of them are like 90% waterproof

it'll be good against the elements rain/snow/etc, but still not waterproof enough to hold water inside or outside :lol:

you know... just thinking of the worse case scenario, and get stranded, no water, and need something to hold rain water to drink :p

All the waterproof stuff is merely laminated breathable membranes. Otherwise it doesn't breath at all. It's not waterproof like rubber, plastic or glass, it just repels water... up to a point. I've found that kind of gear great for skiing and hiking, but other than gloves and booties, I mostly stay away from "waterproof" cycling wear. Wool and fenders are my friends.

My main gloves are the Endura super-duper-winter-"waterproof" gloves. They last for about half an hour in a heavy rain before water starts seeping in. The real problem is that once they get wet, and your hands get wet, if you take your hands out it is absolutely impossible to put them back in. But half and hour is fine for my commute.

If I'm going to be riding particularly far in the rain I'll carry two extra pairs of gloves. The OR Prophets are amazing but too warm for riding above 35 F. That's still better than riding in the cold rain with no gloves at all. I'll generally also carry my long fingered non water repelling gloves as well, just in case.

I agree cold rain (33-40F) is the worst condition of all.

Nevertheless I don my cold rain gear and ride. My expectations for enjoyment of the ride are zero so It's usually turns out to be better than I imagine before setting out. As it turns out riding a bike always brings me some measure of enjoyment no matter the conditions. I know that everyone doesn't feel that way though.

I generally don't like riding in the rain. Once I'm on the road, I don't mind it there's a brief squall I must pass through to get where I'm going. But I don't make a habit of it. More often than not, I've ended up paying the consequences of getting hypothermia or worse. At other times, problems developed with my bicycle after it was exposed to "a little foreign matter" after commutes in the rain.

For the most part, I avoid commutes in the rain as much as possible.

Have you tried sealskins gloves? I haven't used the gloves, but the socks really are waterproof.

I thought it never rains in Seattle just mists :-).........a transplant from Seattle says that when she live in Seattle she didn't tan but rusted :-).........

I wear a similar setup as you.

First, I find riding in the cold rain easier than warmer rain as I have found, despite all the new techno gear out there, that breathability and rain protection are mutually exclusive. So in the cold rain, I batten down the hatches and wear rainPROOF gear and warm clothes and am happy.

I am mostly concerned about seeing and being seen so I will pack more headlight power and more reflective gear and more blinking rear lights..........

Warmth:
Head: Wool toque
Wool shirt
Yellow LL Bean shell (39 dollar cheapo Goretex knockoff) with pasted on reflective strips
Tri shorts
Campmor cheapo rain pants (on sale for 10 buck)
wool socks
goretex liners
spd compatible bike shoes
Kinco insulated work gloves (the orange ones with the reflective strip).

That is it......and when it snows and is colder add a layer on the top and switch to bike pants and add a bootie...........below zero I have switched to larger bike spd compatible bike shoes with a sorel liner inside (prevents the cold pedal and clip transfering the cold to the bottom of my foot)......cold hands and cold feet are what I work hard to prevent...........

I am lucky-get to wear scrubs at work so all I do is hang up the wet stuff and change into my work clothes...........

No, but I did read up on reviews of them last year when I was trying to figure out a solution for not being able to find any cycling gloves that had reviews indicating they stayed waterproof through riding in the rain for a few hours. The reviews of the Sealskins were pretty mixed; a lot of people said they leaked or weren't particularly waterproof.

An acquaintance recommended the OR Prophets. Right on the mark.

No offense, but that rustling you hear is all 8,000 of Seattle's year round bicycle commuters chuckling at your post. :beer:

my cold & (light) rain outfit goes something like this:

* wool socks
* wool knickers (ibex)
* wool base layer (ibex)
* wool short-sleeve jersey
* wool long-sleeve jersey over that (ibex)
* sealskinz gloves
* wool cap for the ears
* bandana for the neck & chin

if it's raining hard, which it does do sometimes around here, i add:

* rain pants
* rain jacket
* cycling cap
* plastic bags under booties on the feet
* a dose of HTFU, just for pcad!

my sealskinz gloves are good, but they did get soaked recently on a 3+ hour ride in the rain. still, they are the best gloves i've bought to date, and want to pick up some socks too.

oh, and i have full fenders on my bike, which helps a ton in terms of road-spray.

This season will be me first attempt at all-weather commuting.

So, can I ask the experts here: For those of you who go without waterproofs and prioritize remaining warm, if not dry, how do you get your stuff to dry out before the return trip home? Or do you just put stuff on wet?

My strategy, such as it is for now, is to keep my hands and feet dry (with Sealskinz or equivalent) and keep the rest of my body warm, if not dry, with fleece/wool stuff. I'm still pondering the whole waterproof jacket/pants thing, but I'm not sure what will actually work for me. That said, I'm pretty sure I don't want a wet crotch, so I'm considering surgically altering some rain pants into rain knickers.

It shouldn't get much below 45 where I am, so I don't have to deal with ice/snow and the attendant complications.

i hang my wet clothes in varioius places around the office.