riding4life162

So I am a former Soldier and We have a saying, "If it aint raining, it aint training". I just wanted to see how many of you still ride and train in the rain. A major reason I'm asking is cause I would like to know what types of things to you look out for, pay special attention to ect. Whether its bike related (maintenance), road related, vehicle, visibility ect.

1nterceptor

I wear clear eye protection(Tifosi sunglasses w/ multiple lenses)
in light rain, for heavy rain; you may want to use a cap of some
sort if your helmet doesn't have a visor.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9-Kv...hannel&list=UL

caloso

I try to avoid riding in the first rain after a long dry spell. Drivers seem to forget everything they knew about driving in the rain and all the oil that's dripped into the asphalt will rise to the surface.

Other things to avoid: leaves, lane markings, Bott's dots, and rail crossings.

Get a decent set of full fenders. Even if you don't have frame and fork bosses, you can McGuyver it with P-clips and zip ties. Other stuff: cycling cap under the helmet and Rain-X on the glasses. Booties are nice but you can get away with plastic shopping bags and duct tape. And a wool jersey for when it's cool and wet.

When you get home, try to (gently) hose off all the crap in your drive train. No pressure washers as you don't want to force water into hubs or your bottom bracket.

I'm sure our PNW and British Isles brethren can chime in with more....

jsutkeepspining

i ride in the rain all the time during the spring and fall. i dont mind it really, i just need to be dressed well so i dont freeze.

Thirstyman

not under 40f and I usually will shift my training schedule if I anticipate bad weather. That said, if at all possible, do not ride on metal when it is wet.

JoelS

I ride in the rain. Full fenders are your friend! They help keep the feet dry. After that, you'll be wet. Accept it. Rain rides can be a lot of fun. Especially with some good company.

umcade

Avoid paint on the road if you can, it gets slippery. I usually wear my regular kit with a wind/wet resistant vest. My usual kit includes wool arm warmers so those stay warm, and the lycra leg warmers dry very quickly (and don't get as wet because they are under you). I prefer to have booties on, wet feet suck. I don't tend to use fenders, I own some designed for road bikes but they take a while to put on.

Bob Dopolina 

Around here rain is an inevitability certain times of year so if you are training, it will be raining.

The trick is to know when the rain is about to turn torrential and to get to high ground. I've been caught in some serious percipitation where flash floods took out buildings, roads washed out or, at the very least sink holes lurked under water making serious crashes a real possibility.

Other than that I'd take rain over blistering sun any day.

mkadam68

+1 Maybe it's a California thing.

If I don't have to ride in the rain, I don't. Especially if it's below 50F. Unfortunately, our rainy season seems to coincide with cooler morning temps, effectively hurting my commuting.

If I may add, you may want to clean & lube your chain/gears as soon as possible. They can rust if you leave them coated with the stuff from the rain. In the summer (dry months), I can get away with clean/lubing 1/2-4 weeks. In rainy months, I'll clean/lube about 1/week or more.

Be prepared to quickly dry out your shoes unless you like that smell of mildew. And you'll get it anyway. I stuff shoes with newspaper and put a desk fan on them. Then change the newspaper every 20-mins or so. The wetter they got, the more newspaper changes I do.

sstang13

Good answer...livin' up to your name.

To OP: people say riding in the rain makes you feel like a boss, I would have to agree I don't do it too much now since I have no rain gear whatsoever, but when I get some, I'll be riding rain or shine.

pdedes

Fenders, flashies, rain jacket, etc.

riding4life162

GREAT Info gang!!! So how often do you pull bearings and re-grease them? I wash and wax my bike every Sunday anyways so I'm covered there. I may start doing the bearings monthly.

Cookiemonsta

I live in Holland, so you have to accept some (chance of) rain or you can only train for a few weeks in midsummer. That said, I try to avoid it by checking the online 3 hour forecasts, and have been pretty successful in doing this (they are almost 100% accurate in my experience).

I dont mind a little rain but heavy rain just takes the fun out of it for me. In those situations I reschedule the ride or use rollers.

zacster

I always take the train in the rain. That's the big advantage of riding in NYC, there's always a subway nearby when it starts to rain.

mkadam68

I don't. With sealed bearings, the only thing I do is wipe down around & in my bottom bracket maybe 1-2/month. I've never repacked the sealed ones. Wheel hubs? Just the outside.

DaveWC

When I do ride in the rain, which I try to avoid, I watch the traction for the first 10 minutes of rainfall. That's when the oil seeps out onto the road and is the slipperiest. After that it tends to wash away or the puddles reduce its ability to make you slip. Especially watch corners during that time.

saratoga

Like others have said, watch out for the painted lines which can be like ice when wet. RR tracks and drawbridge grates are also bad.

It isn't riding in the rain that sucks, it's cleaning everything and drying your shoes when you're done that sucks.

seypat

I did a century in April that was supposed to be around 75 degrees and sunny. Instead, a storm blew in the night before and it was 50 degrees, steady to heavy rain and high winds. The race organizers ended up closing the 100 mile course and diverting those riders to the 62 mile course because of really high winds predicted to start around noon. Here's what I learned:

Whatever bike you have with full fenders is better than your 15k top level carbon racer in these conditions. No pace lines in these conditions because of roostertails.
Even with fenders the front wheel throws water on your shoes/feet. The water runs down your leg and seeps into your shoes somehow. So you must find a way to keep them dry. I was wringing out lots of water from my socks and shoes at every rest station. Wool socks really help in the cold and rain.
A waterproof jacket with a hood is really important. You can pull the hood over your helmet and tighten it up so your head does not get wet. If no hood, then the water seeps in around the collar area and you still get soaked no matter how good the jacket is.
Loose mountain biking shorts seem to give a slight umbrella effect and the extra layer provides some warmth.
Cycling gloves are useless. Go to Walmart, Lowes, your choice, etc. and get some gloves for handling liquids so your hands will stay dry. If it not cold you can use latex gloves. They are great to have on board anyway in case you run into mechanical problems you can keep you hands from getting dirty.
Some form of eye protection is needed to keep the spray out of your eyes.

Friction and wet skin do not mix. So it is very important to keep your body's moving and connected to the bicycle(hands/fingers) parts dry. If not that wet skin becomes raw and will peel right off.

zacster

As for really riding in the rain, I really do avoid it, my comment above really does hold. If I'm really training I'd rather just get on the trainer inside and do a hard workout than get myself and my bike soaked. If I'm outside already I'll just head home.

The last time I got caught in the rain in NYC was on the 5 boro bike tour when I was riding with my daughter. She was being a trooper, but the rain started coming down a little steadier. When I proposed we hop on the nearest subway, which also happened to be our line, she jumped at the chance.

Syncmaster

These are great if you're going to be riding a lot in the rain with your road bike. Made for very tight clearances and roadies in particular:

Namji

I've hear this only happens in CA specifically in Los Angeles area... apparently it hardly ever rains there and people forget how to drive in the rain lol...

With that said I ride in the rain all time.. Just make sure that you wipe your chain from all the crap it collects.

waterrockets 

I ride in any weather (including -5F snow when I lived in CO -- though that was more commuting than training).

In the rain, I like Crud RoadRacers and lights. I'll often train in a neighborhood loop instead of out on the open roads if it's raining hard. No capes or other special clothing. If it's cold, I just layer the knit stuff.

Myosmith

Fenders and slightly wider tires with a bit of tread (even my 40s are so narrow there is no chance of hydroplaning). The wider tires with some tread are more for the occassional muck or sandy/gravel spots you may have to cross than for clean solid pavement. I second having a visor of some sort. I wear a cycling cap with a bill under my helmet for both sun and rain control.

Shoe covers or some other way of keeping your feet dry is important on longer rides as riding with wet socks is a good way to get blisters and friction sores. If it is raining enough to get your shorts wet, you should probably consider some Glide or chamois cream if you don't already use it. Prevents diaper rash and chaffing.

I've got a LG vinyl rain jacket and helmet cover for really rainy weather, nothing fancy but good ventilation under the arms. Still gets hot and traps sweat in humid weather, so I have to decide which way I'm going to get wetter, riding in the rain or sweating under my rain jacket. I like my touring bike for wet weather so I often throw a dry jersey and socks in a small waterproof stuff sack on the rear rack so I can stow my rain gear and put on some dry clothes when the sun comes out.

Namji

Sweet! We are neighbors... I live in Guttenberg, NJ..

Seattle Forrest

I'd only have a few months with the bike if I didn't.

People have given you lots of good advice already, so I'll just chime in with this: remember there's a hot shower and dry clothes at home.