mustang1

I dont care, but I figured I'd come abck and browse BF for another 15 mins to see if the rain goes away. Then I'll go regardless, but at least I would have given the rain a chance to go away.

So then, it's raining outside when YOU'RE about to leave the office. What do you do, ride, or wait a while?

EDIT: fancy that, it's stopped raining so I'm outta here. No fenders though (well, I have SKS Race Blades but one clip is a little busted).

jpdesjar

I just ride.

rhm

I ride. Cycling is a wet business, even if it's not raining. And I have fenders. And I have a train to catch!

LesterOfPuppets

I wait most of the time, got off at 5:30 last night, didn't leave 'til 6:30.
Whether I wait, or length of wait depends on what I see here.

noisebeam

Ride. Rain always seems worse when seen thru a window.

But... I am always prepared with headlight and rear blinkies.

(I don't need raingear or fenders)

xiyangshen

I love the rain!
If its light then its just pleasant. If its really pounding then its quite a novelty.
I suppose I'd feel different if it rained hard ALL the time but with the right equipment its just fine.
I ride in Portland too.

corkscrew

Just turn on your blinkies and ride. You can always change clothes when you get home! Also, stay away from the reflective road paint.

jpdesjar

Sometimes I skid over the painted lines in the bike lane, that's fun.
Yesterday, on my wet ride home I had to cover my brooks with a plastic bag since I didn't have my fender on. Some wetness still got on the leather, but it was mostly dry.
What's scary about rainy rides is not knowing how deep some potholes are because they are filled up with water.

lil brown bat

Sit around and post to BF about how it's raining and what should I do, thereby provoking half a dozen trolls to come out from under their bridge and tell me to HTFU plus a completely irrelevant debate about panniers.

(actually, that's not what I do, because I don't think strangers on the internet have better judgment than I do looking out my window, but that's just me)

JPprivate

Man up!!!

tmoritz

I check the weather radar loop online. Here in Colorado the afternoon storms come and go so it's worth just waiting it out. Sometimes I have to jump in a hole between storms. Then it becomes a race. Some of my best times have been when the storms are blowing through at 15-20 mph.

truman

If rain delays my departure, I have to wait 45 minutes for the next train. I ride.

jeffpoulin

Depends. If the rain shows no signs of stopping then I'll leave at the usual time. If it's a passing rain cloud with a good chance of stopping in a few minutes, I'll wait it out. I don't mind the rain, but I'd rather not ride in it when I don't have to.

Vatn

Yeah, weather radars rock! But I do find great satisfaction in riding in the rain. Feels very nice afterwards, at least

RLSchell

Put on my rain gear and go. I use overshoes (NEOS), rain pants and a waterproof jacket. My bike has fenders. I do also watch the local doppler radar. If it looks like the storm is small and will pass quickly, I might wait it out.

scoatw

If there's no lightning, then I don't hesitate to ride home. That's why you get top of the line Rain gear. Whether I have to wear it or not. I have it if I need it. And I stay comfortable. Showers Pass is my jacket of choice. And its great in the winter time.

Laggard

Not so bad riding home in the rain as I can change when I get home. Not so good riding to work in the rain.

Vinci

Around here, it's about a 50-50 chance of it raining as I am going home every day during the summer. If it is already raining, I may as well ride home in it. If I wait for it to stop, I will still get wet and dirty from the wet roads and car spray, so I'm not saving myself any cleanup time. A front fender helps a lot, but I still wish I had some waterproof booties from time to time.

CFXMarauder

I ride...If it's a drizzle I dont suit up but if it's a good pour I'll throw on my Dri Duks rain gear and start peddling..I swollowed my pride and now ride with lights a blazin , day or night..I cannot however stomach fenders yet..

Ash

Rather have rain than wind any day.

noisebeam

Video of part of my commute home in the 47F rain in Dec:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSOHb0lc69s

A bit more from the same commute:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCkyCUaY0Eg

bkrownd

We have weak LPS street lighting here so poor visibility and optical illusions during rain are a very dangerous reality on our roads. I will wait a few minutes if it seems like it might stop. Otherwise I just go.

urban rider

I may wait to see if it will stop. However, i would rather go home in the rain than to come to work. I have fenders and i have a rain jacket. Listening to music also helps.

CliftonGK1

If I waited for it to stop raining before I went home, the longest I'd have been stuck at work is almost a month.
It rained for 26 straight days here a couple years ago. I don't mean that there was some rain on each of 26 consecutive days. I mean non-stop, it was at minimum a light drizzle. For twenty. Six. Straight. Days.

ItsJustMe

I've actually waited for it to START raining. I love riding in the rain.
So far I haven't hit any weather that stopped me. The biggest hail I've ridden in was pea-sized. Much bigger than that and I'd probably wait, since hail rarely lasts more than a minute or two.