A couple of years ago we had 35 days of rain on a 90 day tour. Good rain gear and layer management worked for us, but it did push my enjoyment treshold. I prefer synthetics to wool. Wool will keep you warm when it is wet, but it is wet, and slow to dry. Also shrinks in a dryer. I also prefer a couple of light layers rather than one heavy one. That seems to wick the moisture away from the body better. I have long ago given up on trying to keep my feet dry, but fenders help minimize the spray.

On cold mornings I often wear my rain jacket as a wind breaker and it works well. Not to many fabrics breathe well when the outside surface is soaking wet. Breathablity works on a vapor pressure differential and when the fabric surface is wetter on the outside than on the inside it isn't going to let moisture escape. However, if the outer surface is kept treated so water beads up and runs off it will work better.

Showers Pass Jacket(Touring) with REI pants. Pit zips and a back vent help some. As was mentioned above, a helmet cover is a good option.
http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...c7370370b0.jpg

Showers Pass Jacket (Elite) with REI pants. The only place we could keep the camera dry was under bridges:) I've also used REI's brand rain jacket and it worked well.
http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...DSCN7812-1.jpg

The coldest and wettest I have been at the same time was a couple of weeks ago. We did a long weekend tour to test out a new bike. I did not put fenders on it because I was not sure if I was going to keep it. That was a mistake. The last day we had 50 miles to get home and the temps dropped to about 48F, was windy and it just poured for most of the day's ride. I had all of the above on, but it was still cold when we stopped for a break. One more layer under the rain jacket would have helped. However, knowing a hot shower is waiting at the end of the day makes it a little more bearable. It was in the high 70's the previous day.

Sometimes I think it is better to admit defeat and just seek shelter!
http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...3ec7d50af4.jpg

I'm chuckling at the seat cover. I think it might have met its match!

Can't we extend that to the Thorn owners club? We have two...

On our travels last year, I collected five or six shower caps to keep in reserve. I really like the clear ones because I can use my helmet light underneath if needed.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned is that good waterproof gear is as essential in camp as on the bike, especially when the weather is miserable, and services are a bit away from the campsite. I don't see any point in giving up on sight-seeing if it's raining, if I have good gear with me.

Just going back to the jackets I have... the MEC ones are quite heavy-duty in the fabric, but they are surprisingly comfortable in a range of conditions up to around 15 deg C. I used the first one I ever had for every type of riding -- commuting, touring and randonneuring -- and virtually lived in it, even picking fruit (as in earning money from picking). I stopped using it after about five years because the fabric lost its waterproofness on the sleeves in particular.

I like the Ground Effects Stormtrooper, but the fabric is thinner than the MEC one, and while I used it a lot while touring last year, it didn't seem to have the thermal benefits of the MEC jackets -- and we did a fair bit of cold-weather riding in the UK and North America. IOW, it felt colder in cool to cold weather and probably required one more layer than I would have worn with the MECs. But it did pack down better and the "whale tail" was slightly longer.

Those Club Tours look like beautiful bicycles!

LOL. Apologies to the OP for hijacking his thread. The guy at Thorn who prepared my Nomad for me said his favourite of all their bikes was the Raven Sport Tour.

LOL. I'm a Thorn owner, too.

I've got to say, a cape is the only thing for me in heavy rain. I've worn various breathable fabrics, and all have failed, but not a cape. Mine's carradice, heavier than the nylon kind, with a tie on the inside to keep it in place. The beauty of it, I find, is that with the open bottom, air can circulate as you ride and pull the warm, sweaty air out. If going slow, say on a climb, I give it a bit of a billow, or throw the front up over a shoulder for a minute or two, and this clears the sweaty air. Combined with fenders and gaitors, I've stayed dry in day long rain.

I've only used a cape a couple of times, but my impression was that it acted as a sail in the wind. If that could be overcome it would be a pretty appealing idea.

How do you deal with the front of the cape? For me, it captures all the wind, even if there is no head wind. The nature of riding makes wind and the front seems to capture the wind to act like a bad head wind whatever way I turn.

Now this is important and makes the claims for breathability by those making expensive fabrics a nonsense. The vapour pressure differential needed for this to work is way beyond that found in a "waterproof" jacket.

While I like the idea of a cape and have a couple, they can be dodgy when used in traffic-heavy conditions. The gust created by the passing at speed of a heavy lorry can suck you into the road.

thanks!

The first time I used the cape in heavy rain during the commute, I had to commute far from work to a meeting and it felt like I had head winds everywhere I turned. I got to the meeting and was SOAKED with sweat.

I have a Brooks cape in the wardrobe, too. I haven't worn it yet and its been there for 18 months or longer. If and when I start commuting again over relatively short distances, I might use it. And I may experiment with it on shorter rides. But wind is something that is a fact of life in places where I have lived.

We rode a day trip with a French couple when we were on a tour. We experieced really heavy rains. We broke out our rain gear, and they pulled out their capes. We experienced some pretty fierce winds before we got to the train station. the first thing they talked about when we got under cover was about our jackets and pants. I don't think they are using capes today.

These folks were very experienced cycle tourists, but they had never tried a good jacket and pants.

I have spent considerable time watching what happens with water thrown up by the front wheel (riding at night, in the rain or on wet roads, on randonnee's). Depending on the speed, the reverse rooster tail can get quite voluminous and high enough to come back into the lap as well as the legs of the rider. This, even with fenders/mudguards. I can't see a cape preventing that, whereas a good jacket and pair of waterproof trousers can.