Well, it rained today and I chickened out on riding to work. It's supposed to rain again tomorrow. Maybe I'll pick up some fenders over lunch so that I'm ready tomorrow morning.

"Why would you even want to bike to work on a day like this?" my girlfriend asks me. I'm glad I can still be mysterious sometimes.

andy

A big surprise for me was the first time I cycled in the rain and found out it was pleasant.

But I can't deny that it's often infuriatingly messy.

What do you do when you get to work dripping wet? (assume no showers)

First of all, you really have to have fenders. Most of the water you encounter in a ride in the rain comes off the tires -- and it arrives full of oil, grit, and mud. It is good for neither your bike nor your clothes.

I use an L. L. Bean "Stowaway" Gor-tex raincoat to keep off the rain from above. I have a pair of Nashbar rain pants also, but I only use these for downpours or temperatures below-5 C.

My bike has a very upright riding position, so the topcoat provides about the same coverage I would have if I were walking.

Paul

Luckily I had an employer that let me hang up sopping clothes wherever I could in a file room; then I'd turn on a fan to help dry them out. Sometimes it was hopeless and I'd just end up taking them back home in a plastic bag at the end of the day.

I kept spare clothes in my desk for just such cases, and they came in handy more than once.

That's understandable for starting out. Once you get into it, rain is just another day. In warm weather I don't even put on rain gear though I always make sure my gear stays dry. I only put on rain gear as the weather gets cooler and hypothermia becomes a possibility. I use my headlight and blinkies anytime it is overcast and visibiity may be compromised.
Regards,
Raymond

OK, I just bought some cheap mountain bike fenders. So tomorrow, rain or shine, I'll be out there.

Actually, this morning I had a little chain of thought like this:

1. It is wet out.
2. My legs will get wet.
3. My shoes will get wet.
4. I should have some biking shoes.
5. I should get some real biking shoes with cleats
5a. I will need to get clipless pedals.
6. I'd feel silly with nice pedals on my current bike.
7. I need a new bike.

When I hit that point, I shut down that part of my brain. Sometimes the brain talks me in to doing things that the wallet can't keep up with. As I was looking for fenders, I also looked at shoes and pedals. I found some close-out shoes from last year that were around $60-70(US), and I've heard nothing but good things about the eggbeater pedals. So maybe that will be my next big purchase. Along with parts for the fixed gear I'm trying to put together. Oh yeah, and saving for a bike tour. And rent. And . . .

andy

What are cleats for bicycles?

I just pretend I am swimming.

Sometimes, I pretend I'm in a muddy pond!

Other times, I just "chicken out."

Rain is really no big deal. The fenders will keep the dirty water off you. The rain itself is clean water , the kind you find under a shower.
A California rainfal is not likely to be cold, so it will just stop you sweating on the ride. Dress yourself in synthetics which handle water well, and and a breathable waterproof you wont even notice when you are wet.

Cleats: metal fitting which bolts onto the sole of a sport-cycling shoe. The pedal has a spring loaded catch to trap the cleat. It is called a clipless pedal system, because previously, cyclists bolted toe clips(cages) to their pedals with leather straps.
Toe clips are still widely used because you can ride in any footwear, but for racing and fast riding, everyone uses clipless.

When the rain comes here in a month or two I'll be using my personal drying room to get my gear dry.

In our office building we have a room full of the big airconditioning equipment that feeds the office. It gets pretty blowy in there.

I strung up a rope and use it to hang out my wet clothes once I get to work. By the time I'm about to head home everything is nice and dry. (Ready to go out and get soaked again.)

I rode today. It rained earlier, but not during my ride, so the streets were wet. The fenders worked pretty well. I think I need to adjust the rear one a little bit, but for the most part things were good. We'll see what the ride home has in store.

andy

Congratulations Andy,

I got sick, got moved to a new department, and a got huge amount of work after my first commuting ride. When I can breath without coughing, I plan to be out there again.

As a newbie who has continued, you are an inspiration to me.

Kevin S.

Andy,

I love riding in the rain. Now, the wind, that's a different matter!

Yep!

Do you ride with wider road tires in the rain?

Commuters need Goldilocks tyres; not to wide, not too narrow.
I use the same set all year round, and expect rain at any time.

For 700C I reckon 25 to 32 mm width is suitable. For 26"mtbs, a 1.25" to 1.75" should be sufficient.

I ride 700cx28mm and find it a good balance of speed, comfort and reliability.

Hey Brennser,

The morning's temperature in DC was a bit lower than 30 F -- 19.9 F (-6.7 C), to be exact. Wind chills were -6 F (-21 C). That's why it seemed brisk!

The pavement was so dry that I decided to try the Washington Boulevard and Route 50 trails. As in your area, they had been used as repositories for plowed show in spots. There were a few 30 foot stretches of glare ice, but they were mostly dry and clear. I had to walk the bike around a few 5 foot mounds, but they were otherwise passable. It was good to arrive at work without the 10 minute penalty of my detour out Columbia and Walter Reed, and I enjoyed the adventure.



Paul

Rain... My hubby and I just got our Trek 7500's this past weekend, Somehow he made the quantam leap that this meant a commitment of some sort and this morning half-asleep I made my first of many puny juants to work in a slightly cold, drippy world. I was awake when I got here for the first time in a long time :-) Now it is dumping bucket loads, with an 80% chance for rain the rest of the day. I put my jacket on just thinking about it, Brrrrrr!

Years ago, I rode a bike all the time as I had lost my only car after loosing my job. I spent a year on that bike. It was a much-too-big for me mountain bike (no fenders) and the thing I remember about going to work on rainy daze was spending the day with a lovely mud stripe running from my seat to the back of my neck <grin>, ah! the good ol days!

Cheers!
Mikie

I just count on getting soaked and dirty.

I don't chicken out of rain, I actually prefer riding in rain to any other conditions. However, I have chickened out of dense bushfire smoke on occasions, and last year I wished I'd chickened out of that @#$*ing dust storm.

aturley,

I just went on a nice long ride down in the Monterey, Pacific Grove, Carmel area saturday. I must say, you probably have one of the ugliest commutes around I loved every minute of my ride there, the sights are simply amazing.

I like riding in the rain because I'll miss the rain during the vast majority of the year when there is no threat of rain whatsoever.

Rain has absolutely no bearing on whether/when I ride.

It takes me 1hr 40mins to get to work so rain can be a BIG deal.
If it is only a light shower and I can see the hills in the distance I will ride. If I can't see the hills then I chicken out. The roads in the hills aren't very safe during good weather, and much more dangerous in the rain and fog. I only ride an MTB during winter and leave the road bike indoors.

My main problem is that I wear prescription glasses and I can't see a thing if I take them off when they get fogged up. Also a lot of drivers don't like to put their head lights on, so are very hard to pick out for oncoming cars as they pass me. I am worried that their will be a head on collision, while someone passes me and can't see a car coming the other way.

If there is thick fog put your lights on! Please.

CHEERS.

Mark

OK, this I don't understand. I've ridden the mountains of the Gold Coast hinterland (some > 1,000m) in rain and not really considered it dangerous. What gives in the Adelaide hills?