Finally its sunny here in NE Pa. from the last 7 days of rain. I mean deluges, downpours, heavy at times and tornadoes. Can't ride in this s#@t.
Does anyone ride in really nasty rainstorms and if so do you put anything in your ears to prevent windblown rain from entering canal and causing ear infections which also are not fun.
Probably more of a rhetorical post since I'm so ornary from not riding my usual 300 miles a month.

HTFU.

One wonder how you take a shower.

The ear question made me laugh...sorry, never heard what you describe.
I love riding in rain, not nasty rainstorms though and I'd avoid tornadoes.

Never had the ear problem. Living in Seattle means you've got to do some rain rides or you just won't get out there.

That said, it rarely rains hard like a thunderstorm so I have little experience with downpours such as that. How about some sort of longer skull cap or such to cover your ears?

I say get out and ride. I rode outside the whole winter in northern Utah and the snow blowing sideways into my ears didn't kill me. More problematic was the sleet pelting my eyes and the sub zero temps. Of course snow goggles helped on the really cold days because there is nothing like tooling along on your bike, blinking, and having your eye lids freeze!

So take your frustration out on the road and get pedaling! Screw the rain.

commuting home yesterday I got caught in two downpours- the 1st one I pulled out 2 newspaper bags and small roll of electric tape- right over the shoes- pull around the cleats so the bag tears there- no more waterlogged feet- a lot of sweat, but much better. fenders on the commuter bike and that's it- I really don't care about the rest of me getting soaked, just hate water in the shoes.

i hate water in my shoes as well. thats probably my least favorite thing abot riding in the rain. i also hate how long it takes my shoes to dry and how long it takes to clean the bike afterwards.

Running in the rain is a pleasant experience even in the high 30s. IMHO

I have only ridden in the rain when I have got caught in it. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. My reason for not wanting to ride in the rain is that drivers around here don't know how to drive in and the accident rate goes way up. So, I don't ride in it for safety concerns.

As for your ear comment, I started riding five year ago with an ear warmer which looks like a head but also covers the ears. I got use to it and now use it all year, even on hot summer days because it also keeps the sweat out of my eyes.

This. I will not ride in the rain. Cycling tends to be fairly dangerous anyway, no need to compound that danger. Visibility is reduced, roads get slick, stuff gets washed into them (mud, sticks, dead leaves...) and drivers easily lose control of their cars. I know there are some hard-dogs out there who ride in all conditions and like to tell people to just HTFU, but to me it's not worth it, especially in Southern California. Last time we had significant rain there were over 300 vehicle accidents in one day in SD county alone (actually that was the mid-afternoon report, not sure what the final number was).

Thanks for the comments. I still won't ride in rain due to the above post of cleaning stuff, drying stuff out, dangerous conditions, etc.
Although just got back from a 26 miler at 18.9mph on a BEAUTIFUL sun filled morning at 77 degrees. Not great though not bad. I gave myself a 7.5 outa 10.

Stuff them with newspapers over night. They'll be dry in the morning.

Riding in the rain sucks - spray up your back and in your face, wet. If you're caught that's one thing, but to intentionally go riding in the rain is not for me. But I live in Colorado and we have lots of sunny days so no real reason to ride in the rain. If I lived in the PNW I find a different form of exercise

I think regular paper towels are better. More absorbent. Swap them out a few times.

I ride my crappy mtn bike on the road when it's nasty out. Better traction & I don't have to clean it.

fenders.

Although I don't like starting in it, we often get caught in those late afternoon pop up FL thunderstorms, sometime brief and refreshing, sometimes a toad strangler. I hate lightning, but there's little you can do to just keep on going. Some of my favorite rides have been in the rain.

As far a drying the shoes -- i just pop out the foot beds and run a fan overnight, ready to go in the morning.

Not on my caad.

Last time I checked, we are all water resistant to a depth of 1 meter.

2 meters not so much.

Not if lying down

What is this rain thing?...

try the newspaper bags and electric tape. I'll then put knit or lycra overshoes on to help keep everything in place. you sweat a lot, but the shoes aren't soaked and they stay clean.

Take up running and surfing. It'll offer you diversity when you can't ride. Oh wait, you can't surf? Seriously, sucks to be you.

I understand and respect the comments about additional hazards from drivers in bad weather. But my experience this winter while riding was that most drivers gave me much more leeway than normal when the weather was bad. Of course I also run a bike with lights and lots of reflective tape in bad weather to help alleviate any problems being seen in such conditions. In my area I truly see no reason not to ride in the rain, just take the necessary precautions and then enjoy the experience.

Theres a reason people have rain bikes

They're on my CAAD.