My wife and I were at my 50th HS reunion in Fairbanks and had brought our tandem. We were riding around town and happened upon a guy on an absolutely filthy bike which was making all sorts of squeaky and grating noises. He'd just ridden down from the North Slope, all nasty sorta gravel. He wanted to know where the nearest bike shop was. I happened to know, having had new chain put on the day before. The grit on Fairbanks roads was the worst I've ever seen, and I rode there a lot as a kid - the reason we brought the tandem.

Looks like you were somewhere there's permafrost judging by the tree sizes.

On a long tour, camping, full rain gear is a safety requirement. Every now and then we are caught in a long downpour which we simply cannot get away from. On a recent tour, across Michigan UP, we had steady rain for 60 miles with no place for cover, no services. Yes sweaty at end, but warm, without full gear we would have been hypothermic. The extra weight of lightweight rain pant is nothing in the face of exposure outdoors.

No, not permafrost. It was near the peak at one of the big hills on the Cabot Trail in Highlands National Park, Cape Brenton Island, Nova Scotia. I call them hills, but they were labeled as mountains. I stopped for a photo at one of them, below. I agree that some of the trees at higher elevation there were stunted, similar to permafrost.



There is a lot of tourism literature that talks about how scenic that place is. I was obviously there on a wrong day since I was in the clouds.

Yup, there is a temperature where rain gear stops being a preference and starts being a safety issue.

As I've noted in other threads, I once did a 75 mile group ride at a steady 38° in a absolute downpour. As long as I was riding, I was fine. Nothing waterproof. I had a somewhat shorter ride in a snowstorm, just barely below 32, very dangerous on a bike. Had 2 flats as everything was hidden in the snow, fixed them and went on. Nothing waterproof. But yes, things could get lebensgefährlich as the Germans so succinctly put it. But my wife and I never toured with anything waterproof.

I tried the so-called breathable fabrics, but they aren't breathable enough. I suppose I could slow down to a speed where I didn't overheat, but it's not my style. They also say, "Leben ist lebensgefährlich." I've always toured in times of the year when the weather was mostly quite good. More enjoyable that way, though it does lack those challenges. I grew up in Fairbanks, spent a lot of time outdoors in the winter, down to 65 below, skied across rivers at 12, walking paper route, that kind of thing. So that maybe colors my outlook. That said, most folks in my riding group don't wear waterproofs in the rain.

Those look nice, good price, and I like the mesh. They appear to not have full side zips, just most of the calf, which I think opens enough that you can pull them on and off without removing your shoes, you'll just get a little water and grit inside them. I don't yet have waterproof shoe covers, but I haven't toured in decades, though rainwear does matter for 3 hour rides local (I don't go out in the rain but sometimes get caught in it). I like the idea noted way above about nylon sandals if not too cold, those are also good around camp and walking if you are biking in stiff shoes (my mountain SPDs are still too stiff to comfortably walk in, but that is much better on the pedals).

I like carrying winter tights and some sort of shell pant for added warmth when cold, and rain pant when wet. If it's cold, the small amount of sweat is not a problem and microfleece pants wick well. If it's warm and wet, I usually wear rain pants over just nylon shorts or swim trunks. Even if not needed on the road, both fleece and shell pants are nice for lounging around in camp where you are not doing high exertion and may get cold. Hat, I either have a thin windstopper microfleece inside the helmet or a shower cap on the outside, or both if it is cold. The fleece pants and hat can also be an additional layer when sleeping, if I am carrying a lighter sleeping bag. A system.

I always wear glasses for object and UV protection, bright or dark, dry or wet.

Sure, and maybe you have a high metabolism that provides more heat. I would ask you, did you end at a nice dry room? We can handle much more if we know at the end of the day a warm room is waiting. We have biked through blizzards knowing that. Again, the additional weight of lightweight rain pants is nothing in the face of ones well-being on tour.

This is all about one's personal style. I do enjoy moving the bike when I ride. I seldom putt along. And yes, my wife and I enjoy being safe and comfortable, so I always have an alternate indoor ride end. We're not wilderness tourers. We get enough of that on multi-day backpacks in the mountains. Day after day of rain and nowhere to dry off wears on one after a while. We'll put up with it if we have to but I'd rather not go looking for it. So we've usually toured in areas which had grocery stores here and there and thus also motels. When we toured in less populated areas, we did it in good weather. We also disliked weighing the bike down with several days' food.

We've never gone looking for bad weather either backpacking or cycling. Circumnavigating Iceland is not on our to-do list. I would never recommend that folks go touring where it might snow. Waking up in the morning with 4" of snow on the fly is manageable when hiking, not so much cycling. I'm not taking a position as a tough guy. I do what has to be done if I have to, but my preference is to plan to stay safe and not push it. Things happen. I always put extra days in any hiking or touring schedule. I call that just being smart.

Personally, I don't think cycling through a blizzard is a particularly good idea.

I might also mention that when we toured we were not a terrifically strong tandem team, for one thing being well over 60. So I was very careful of the weight we would have aboard. We wound up with about 44 lbs. total, including everything except the bare bicycle but not including water. We had no extra room anywhere but in a small rucksack, carried for temporary provisioning. And we had a great time, no problems. We did pack up wet after camping a few times, but no problem there either.

In Arizona?

Sorry Carbon, too much on my part....
I do not intend too belittle people enjoying the outside. You and many here know much about getting outside and experiencing nature. I do feel that nature can throw things expected, and so be prepared.

Note that the average winter snowfall in Flagstaff is double that of Pittsburgh.

Yes, but we were in Sonoita....we were prepared.

I putt along, but I was born a low wattage rider. Every lab test you can run for oxygen carrying capacity has me well below the normal range.

It is all personal preference. Although I was not circumnutating, I had a great time in Iceland. Although, this was a rather miserable day. And yes, slept in a tent at the end of this day.



And since this thread is on rain pants, make sure your rain pants are long enough to cover the tops of your shoe covers.





You mentioned backpacking, when it is warm I do not want rain pants either. A poncho is great for such things, as you can control how much ventilation you have. Photo from two months ago when I was backpacking on Isle Royale. But, a poncho above tree line where you have no shelter from the wind might not be the best choice either.

I reckon there are some bike tourers who have not yet experienced riding in rain when they got miserably cold from not having rain gear or not enough rain gear, and then there are those who have and learn from it and do not have a big urge to repeat the experience.

I guess everyone needs to figure out what rain gear works for them personally and the riding/camping/temperature etc etc etc specifics , and go forward from there.

I'm completely in the camp of not fretting at all about the space and weight of carrying full rain gear, knowing I'm not going to get all chilled and miserable if the conditions go that way,--- and they can, and do, and will.

It sounds like you've worked out your preferences for shorter/local rides, so I guess it boils down to whether or not you can start each day of an extended tour with dry gear? If you're staying in hotels (or can stay in a hotel on particularly bad rain days) and can dry your gear, then your current approach can work.

If you're camping, the worse case scenario is not being able to dry your gear and then putting on wet gear for another rainy day. If the morning is cool and you're not warmed up, that can be a chilly morning.

I find getting wet is not a problem, being cold is not a problem (within reason), but wet and cold is most decidedly a problem.

I see rain gear more as a layer to keep me warm when I’m inevitably wet rather than something to keep me dry.

Raingear is definitely a useful component in keeping warm in a cold rain/snow. In those situations, I find the extremities (at least as important).

The photo below was taken in April this year. I did a ride from Alamogordo to Lubbock. The first day, I got a motel in Ruidoso and dropped a rental car in Alamogordo. This let me drop a rental car in Alamogordo and cycle without gear back over Apache Summit. It was 52F in Alamogordo starting out, 48F in Ruidoso finishing and in between 30F with ~2" of wet snow on the west side climbing up. I had tights (no rain pants) and was getting a wet spray from cars but hands (with mittens) and feet (with wool socks) were colder overall. I was happy to go down from the pass to gradual warming and within ~5 miles no more snow along the way. A few days later I was riding in temperatures in the mid 80s.
Photo below was leaving Prudhoe Bay. Temperatures just around freezing with snow. This time it was rain pants and booties as well as mittens and wool socks. Again the extremities as much of a limiter. I was somewhat better off, though that evening after stopping had to quickly get into a sleeping bag to get warm again.

Yeah, if were riding back from Prudhoe bay I'd be equipped just like you. Fortunately, I never had the urge to do this kind of thing. I'd rather be climbing in the sun in Yosemite. Different strokes . . . On our first long hike together, 13 days and 103 miles in the Cascades, I went in with 75 lbs. and my wife with 50. Again fortunately I was only 38 years old. That was a long time ago, before the modern gear we use now existed. It rained of course and also froze but we were equipped for it.

Didn't know that but no surprise, Flagstaff being at 7000 feet elevation same as Grand Canyon south rim, typically losing 5 degrees F temp per 1000 feet of elevation, so Phoenix in the 90s is Flagstaff and GC south in the 60s, and 90s at the bottom of the canyon. But also greatly reduced snow in the northern states. The traditional ice skating race on frozen Dutch canals has only been held 3 times in the last 50 years, last in 1997, and since then held on a frozen lake in Austria, due to effects of climate change in the Netherlands.

Just a heads up but Showers Pass has many of their jackets and pants on end of year sale. I just picked up a new rain jacket for touring at a significant discount and it is excellent. My current Showers Pass jacket has been a faithful companion for 15 years but has finally seen its better days and was in need of replacement. Anyway, Now back to your regular scheduled programming.

There are several spots where (on a clear day) you can look over the edge of the hill and see whales in the sea a thousand feet below you.

I recently picked up the Showers Pass rain paints at REI. I've only ridden them once but have walked 5 miles with a steep climb carrying 25 pounds several times in rain. Nice design. Works both on and off the bike. Really well thought out leg zips to just under the knee. Velcro to adjust to both bike and hiking boots. The zipper doesn't affect the velcro setting. You can unzip and pull them up over your thighs to spend time indoors and ventilate without taking them off. Made to take suspenders. Do plan ahead. Reaching into your pants pockets to get wallet and keys is for me with wet hands, just barely possible.

On the big picture, for touring I'd take the approach I've used on bike tours and sailing across the Atlantic. Success is being warm enough to function well in the coldest and wettest situation I am going to see wearing everything soaking wet.

I've always found that getting the nicest and lightest ones means that you'll actually wear them, so best to buy nice ones!