gauvins

Totally agree. A few years ago our daughter couldn't believe that it rained during summer - we typically spend our summers on the Mediterranean basin.

This summer is a bit different as we must stay within a long day's drive from home. So we decided to cycle from our door, a large circle, on the Atlantic seaboard and along the Saint Lawrence River. Great places to cycle, actually. Unfortunately, this year is incredibly wet. At least in Quebec city (things look a bit better to the south)

Our "policy" is to camp, but if it is raining and there are other options, we'll spend the night in a hotel, b&b or such. And so far it has served us well.

I was asking around because I'll have to cover 500kms in four days, on a fixed schedule, to rejoin my wife and kids, dropped in a State park.

I plan to keep riding up to light rain, and wait when it pours.

My focus is on staying warm. Being wet is not a problem. I am now riding in Tevas and wear synthetic clothing that remains reasonably comfortable even when wet. I wear a lightweight waterproof breathable shell (never rain pants, usually shorts, sometimes running tights) and Merino full length gloves to stay warm, removing them if it gets hot. I carry a reusable emergency blanket and probably an umbrella as well (to stop and wait during heavy downpours).

I can easily pack my gear protected from the rain in my tent'vestibule. However, when the weather is really humid, clothes will not dry overnight - eventually nothing will be dry and wet clothes will contaminate the whole pannier.

So I now plan on using two dry bags for clothing. One to keep dry clothes positively dry, and one to store wet clothes and limit the propagation of water inside the pannier.

Anyway. In this part of the world, wet is nothing like a monsoon. Typically just a few millimeters of rain with most of the day overcast and humid. So unpleasant at worst.

Thanks all for your suggestions.

djb

being not too far from where Gauvins is, I can confirm that this spring early summer has been wetter and cooler than other years.

as for keeping warm, it can be surprising how cold you can get riding in rain even at 20-25c or thereabouts. If there is wind, and your legs are all wet, you cool down, mind you this is coming from a skinny guy who gets cold easily.

this is why I prefer rain pants, rain jacket and shoe rain booties, to not be cold--and use all three or variations depending on the conditions. It doesnt bother me to stop and take a minute to take things off or put things on if it means I am comfortable.

our weeks forecast isnt looking that great, so good luck.

waddo

I don't understand about your "night" comment. Don't you have a tent?

jamawani 

Day 1: Half Moon Bay to Pigeon Point

Wednesday May 18, 2005, 20 miles (32 km) - Total so far: 20 miles (32 km)

Arggghhh! Brutal weather to start my trip. Not an especially good omen.
A late, record storm has been pounding the coast with 30+ mph winds and sheets of rain. I struggled to make the 20 miles from Half Moon Bay to Pigeon Point and barely got in before dark - - - soaking wet. I was hugely grumpy with the guy at the desk. He made the mistake of offering some bit of wisdom like, "Sure is awful weather we're having." Here I was standing at the counter - still with my bike helmet on - dripping pools of water on the floor.

<<<<<>>>>>

First day journal of my 2005 trip.
But certainly not the last day of rain.

<<<<<>>>>>

Day 58 - Kutztown to Flemington

Saturday July 30, 2016, 65 miles (105 km) - Total so far: 3,295 miles (5,303 km)

A few heavy drops came down - warning me a minute in advance.
There was a vegetable market by the road and I swung in.
Covered the bike in the tarp and dashed inside as the deluge started.
Two hours of non-stop rain - sheets of rain coming down.

It wouldn’t stop.
People in the store commented about how they hadn’t seen rain like this in years.
And they told me that they really needed the moisture.
Ooooooh - - was I ever forced to hold my tongue.

When it finally slowed - not stopped - rivers were running down the road.
I probably shouldn’t have, but I headed out onto a water-covered roadway.
It was still raining lightly and the road was treacherous.
I was wearing orange and used my rear blinker.

<<<<<>>>>>

11 years later - -
There's just no justice for the wicked.
I am switching careers to become a rainmaker.

gauvins

Yes I do. But after a couple of days in the rain everything gets damp. In particular, I sleep in a down-filled sleeping bag. Which is absolutely great, usually, but terrible when wet. My guess is that I'll stay dry for 2 nights, after which things will become unpleasant.

gauvins

11 years later, you actually remember these events. Isn't that great!

ironwood

I remember a long wet ride down the California Coast, and a rainy week in England. The question was "Are we having fun yet?"

Merino wool is a lifesaver and as a local mountain club says "cotton kills" .

waddo

I live in japan but also lived 20 years in Quebec. Japan is much wetter. About the tent: maybe your tent is not so great, but in any case this is what we try to do in very rainy weather. You pack up everything inside the tent. You have plastic bags for everything inside your panniers. Now, during the day you find some place dry, under a bridge, bus shelter, etc. You hang your tent up and use huge amounts of toilet paper (or sponge?) to dry off your tent. Then you relax, drink a beer, and let the wind do the rest. Finally your tent is pretty dry.

If you tent leaks during the night as it rains, well it's time to get a better tent. But there is no reason that things should gradually get wet if you tent is actually keeping the water out.

Hope this helps.

fietsbob

Irish west Coast, started, last week of february, alternated between camping and Hostels,

camped in pastures and paid campgrounds.. It all worked out.. then I settled on the damp Oregon coast.



...

geoffs

If you need layers to keep warm both groundeffect and icebreaker make merino wool base layers that keep you warm and don't smell like synthetics

Leebo

Got bike fenders? Those help a lot. Rain coat, helmet cover , showers pass are good makers of both.

DropBarFan

I can see how Canadian tourists would like warm dry conditions but OTOH a cooler/damper stretch might still be more comfortable than a lower 48 hot spell.

ironwood

I'd rather ride in the rain than ride in Arizona right now.

KD5NRH

Not just a cyclist issue. One of the things that bugs the crap out of me is the old women in the local news FB groups who will be doing the "we need it, keep on raining" BS when there's water standing in the 200 year flood plain, mudslides along a couple of ridges, and asphalt washing off of streets from the runoff flow rate. Of course, all that doesn't matter to them, since they don't have jobs to get to, and the bingo hall is on high ground.

Tourist in MSN

Last summer after cycling all day for a long rainy day, I could not find the campground I planned to stay at. I saw a building with an HI Hostels flag flying so I stopped in to ask where the campground was. I had been indoors about 30 seconds when I decided to instead ask if they had room for one more. After cycling all day in the rain, I had no desire to camp in it too.

Altair 4

A few years ago, a few of us planned a July trip here in Pennsylvania. We had about 5 hours of rain due to a stalled front. The temperature hovered around 68 degrees F or 20 degrees C. We got cold, really cold, while riding. Being totally unprepared for the amount of rain and the cool weather (the forecast had been sunny and 75/24), we begged a couple of large plastic trash bags from a restaurant where we had stopped to eat. We crafted rain ponchos by carefully tearing the bags to create a head hole and arm holes. These make a huge difference in helping to keep us warm. That made the ride much more pleasant. In fact, I keep a couple of trash bags in my panniers for just such emergency use.

DropBarFan

It can be unpleasantly surprising how easy it is to catch a chill in mid-summer storms. Trash bags are good for emergencies but now if there's possible rain I stash the rain jacket.