Well, I left the house and I knew it was going to be warmer and windy. So I dressed in as I would for the weather and about 3 miles into my 11 mile commute, it started down pouring. I couldnt see with my glasses on so I took those off and within 2 minutes, I was soaked. The wind I can handle, the cold isnt too bad yet the rain... well it was fun!

I do have a few questions:

1- I use clear safety glasses and I couldnt see when I was riding. Is that typical?
2- The glasses also fogged up... is that typical too? (problem solved taking them off but it was annoying to have water in my eyes)
3- Do you all get soaked in the rain when riding or does it come down to the clothes still? Or do you just live with the fact that you will be soaked?
4- Do you go home in wet or damp clothes? Do you bring another pair or riding clothes with you? Normally I would think riding in the same clothes would be ok going home but I am a little nervous for today. The winds will be 40 mph at cold... down to the 30's.
5- Anyone trying to dry their clothes at work? Since I would in a kitchen, I attempted to dry my gloves off in the stove at a real low temp. Worked ok. I just hung up the rest.

Any tips, suggestiones, tricks of the trade?

Thanks!

I have prescription glasses and I've seen a lot of other people say that they can't see in glasses when it's raining, but I've never found it to be an issue. I mean, it definitely makes it harder to see but I've never felt it dangerously so.

I have problems with my glasses fogging usually only when it's cold, and when I stop. Usually motion unfogs them. I've tried various sprays, etc. but haven't found anything that seems to make any difference so far.

I live with the fact that I'm going to get soaked; although I do wear a jacket when I know it's going to rain. I also just bought some O2 rain pants and tried them out this week. I think they helped some, but I would give them mixed reviews at this point.

I hang all my commute clothes up at work and even when I've ridden in a steady rain I've never had a problem with stuff not being dry by the time I go home.

This exactly. If you pay attention to the drops on the lenses, you won't be able to see beyond them and will get frustrated. I ignore the drops and keep my attention on the road and have no real problem. It's not an optical problem, but a mental one. Keep your focus (both optical and mental) beyond the lens--in other words, concentrate on what you can see instead of what you can't--and you'll do all right.

Same here. The tighter or closer the fit, and the bigger the lens, the easier they fog. You need moving air behind the lens to keep it clear.

I haven't ridden in really cold rainy weather so I can't say in that situation, but I'm fine with mostly getting wet. I will wear a jacket that is at least water resistant and I usually wear MTB shorts in those cases too as the material tends to repel water buildup. I don't bother with my regular sunglasses.

I always keep a spare set of clothes at work, but usually I can fan dry my stuff by the return commute. (I have a small USB fan at my desk.) Stuff newspapers in your shoes to help them dry out.

Unless you have a very short commute, nothing will keep you bone dry. You get wet either from the rain or from the trapped sweat.

I cycle in cycling wear and work in work wear. Makes this a non-issue. My stuff dries out while I work. I keep extra socks in my locker and have been known to carry a second set of cycling shoes in my pannier for the ride home.

I Like my j&g helmet cover, works well. Usually I just take off my safety glasses in the rain. Showers pass jackets are great. I use those cheap rubber covered gloves you can buy at the big box stores for like $ 8.00. Waterproof and provide good grip on wet bars. REI version of goretex rain pants. Awesome with zipps on the sides. If you tip your helmet, with visor on low over your eyes, it keeps some of the rain off the face and eyes.

tsl: Refering to the fog on glasses, how/why do ski goggles work better you think?

I commute in cycling clothes, which will dry during the day if I hang them up when I get to work. I carry work clothes with me in my seatbag and keep a stash of clothes at work as well, so I take a shower and dress after I get to work.

Like others, I've yet to find a perfect solution for fogging eyeglasses. The problem is worse when it's colder and more humid outside. One thing that helps is to move my glasses away from eyes and onto the bridge of my nose when I get caught at traffic lights; usually that prevents or minimizes fogging. The fogging generally is not a problem while I'm moving.

I have tried applying anti-fogging solutions to my glasses with minimal success. What seems to work better than most is to rub a small dab of liquid dishwashing soap onto the lenses and then polish the lenses clear with a lens cloth. That works pretty well as long as your eyeglasses don't get wet, but rain (obviously) will wash off the soap, so it really only helps in cold dry weather.

I have one tip, A helmet with a visor on it or a cycling cap with a brim under your helmet can act as a bit of an overhang and protect your eyes from direct hits in the rain if you keep your head down a bit. Then I just take the glasses (not Rx) off. I find it easier to see than trying to look through the drops.

Sorry, I don't know a thing about ski goggles. I've never felt the need.

I don't wear prescription glasses so I don't wear glasses when riding in the rain so I'll leave that to those in the know.

Regarding 3-5

Here is my clothing list from another thread just yesterday, probably the same w eather system you encountered:

That said, I do sometimes have to dry stuff or I need dry clothes when I get to work. I keep an emergency supply of clothes at work, which includes: socks, another pair of gloves, undershirts, and a regular pair of pants (my work attire is casual but I do have "nice clothes" I leave at work all the time so, if need be I could change into those)

Toughest things to keep dry are hands and feet. The gore tex shoe covers work really well and the gore tex mitten liners are good for about 20 minutes and then the hands start to get wet- I think because they are gripping the bars, which causes some absorption of the moisture on the bars.

Having a set of gloves at work for the ride home and then trading them with a dry pair the next day helps but I've been thinking of getting one of these:

https://www.google.com/products/catal...ed=0CGMQ8gIwAA

Not a regular commuter but I've had my share of soakings on the bike.

I wear polarised sunglasses when riding during the day. When it rains hard they tend to get water on them which makes them harder to see through. When it's humid and I'm working hard they steam up very soon after I stop. Put the two together and I might as well be cycling with my eyes closed.

If I'm expecting rain I'll wear a waterproof, which has the advantage that it's also windproof. The downside is that when faced with a headwind it feels like it acts as a giant sail because the wind can't just blow through it, but when it's wet and windy it means that from my waist up I'm dry. It also means I tend to sweat more inside it

Cycling in wet clothes isn't a lot of fun. I don't use anything waterproof from the waist down, but if I were committed to cycling to and from work every day (i.e. I didn't have the option to look out of the window and decide not to ride at all) I most likely would. In the summer getting soaked isn't too much of a problem because when the sun comes out you dry off again. In the winter the combination of very wet and cold winds can be very nasty, so I'd say the waterproof is the way to go.

The time I got the wettest on the bike was a ride that ended at a friend's place. I took my shirt off in their bathroom and wrung it out into the bath. I had to put it back on because I didn't have any spare clothes with me, so I wrapped myself in a towel they lent me to dry off as best I could. When I rode home it was still raining very hard, but by then my wife (who had spent the afternoon with his wife) was around and had my waterproof cycling jacket so I didn't get any wetter on the way home.

For good measure the waterproof is hi-vis yellow, and in the rain anything that aids visibility is a good thing.

I keep my glasses clean by rinsing under a tap, dabbing a tiny bit of detergent on my hand and gently rubbing under water. I dab it clean with tissue.
If you rub glass with dust on the surface, it acts like sandpaper. Even a special optical cloth can scratch if there is dust.
Small micro scratches formed by rubbing in dust or using a coarse cloth are far more destructive than a single deeper scratch.
Clean lenses and a peak on your helmet will keep the worst of the water at bay.

I dry my gloves on a special desktop glove dryer that my employer placed next to my computer screen.
Carry some waterproof pants and jacket and use them.
I use waterproof Sealskinz socks but you have to put these on before you leave the door. Only in a really heavy downpour would I stop to put the socks on.

The best solutions I've found for water splattered and fogged up glasses/goggles are as follows: Wear a baseball cap or golf visor for downpour and fenders for upsplash. For fogging drill four 1/8" holes in an arc approx 1/4" from the top of each lense.

The goggles I use are from Home Depot and cost 5.00US. For deep winter I've got a pair of ski goggles which are designed w/air space between one's face and the lense surface thereby resisting fogging. They work really well.

My rain gear consists of a complete set of J&G Clothing jacket, pants and helmet cover. They're supposed to be waterproof/breathable, but one has a choice between getting wet from sweat or rain. https://www.bicycleclothing.com All my shoe covers are waterproof as I've brushed them w/Thompson's watersealer. Designed for concrete...fine for cloth.

And yes, I keep a complete extra set of cycling base-layer clothes for wet weather. Though it's rare to have to ride both legs of one's commute in rain it does happen upon occasion and that's why I keep a stash of cycling clothes at work.

I hang up all my commuting clothes and have a small heater obtained from Wally World set on fairly low. Brought in my own hangers and rack found at a thriftstore. The rack had rollers. Cut the legs w/a hacksaw, filed the ends of the tubes and used duct-tape as padding. Being fortunate in that I've got a free closet just off my work area I can keep my bike and clothing in there. If anything drips it's not a hazzard and I can dry it up w/paper towells. My bike is always dried completely before I roll it into the closet.

Have 2 sets of plug in warmers for drying gloves/mittens and socks. They work on a convection system...very effective.

Been doing this for 25 years in February starting out in Chicago, so they're aren't too many situations not faced. Also, have toured extensively which gives one alot of survival ideas as well.

Mostly, I hope some of this is applicable to your situation. All the best.

I keep a baseball hat in my bag for such occasions. The I wear the hat under my helmet, brim of hat keeps the rain off of my glasses. Mine are also safety glasses from home depot, but they do wrap and don't fog up. In the summer I love to ride in the rain. When it gets in the 50's I bring a rain jacket to keep my core warm. I bring a set of clothes to work, my panniers are waterproof. 12.5 mile ride, I'm going to be wet anyway. For cold weather gloves I take the liner out of my ski gloves and wear my bike glove in them. Waterproof and warm.

you could also RainX you glasses

It's not so bad to ride in to work on a rainy day, it's finding a way to dry the wet stuff before the ride home! I teach, and I will put my stuff on the blower when kids aren't around.

I get out the Cycle Rain Cape and the Sou-Wester,
.. and rain trousers are a given around here..

straight down and legs stay dry, but the storms usually Blow in..
Pacific Ocean shore is 10 miles to the west.