Riding in the rain ASAP

[Slaav]

Forgive the possibly numpty questions but.....

I have owned my bike for 10 weeks now. Have been trying to get out as often as possible and ramping up the miles and trips.

HOWEVER, I have not ridden in any rain at all so far. As I am riding 215 miles in Ireland in 12 days time, I expect to ride in the rain or heavy showers at best.

Planning on heading out tomorrow for 30 miles in the rain but any tips or ideas to make it easy?

Glasses or no?
Have a very lightweight jacket that seems pretty water resistant - Endura Helium from memory
DOnt care about gloves as they will just get wet?
Shorts - just get wet and dry off later?
SOme sort of peaked cap under helmet?

I get hot so over trousers and heavy water proof tops are a non starter!

Over shoes? Again light weight ones for me but worth it?

As above, any pointers or ideas massively appreciated....

 

[Norm]

The temperature is, IMO, more important than the rain. If it's hooning down but 20 degrees, shirt and shorts are fine. If a bit chillier, then a lined jacket with a thin fleece and long polycotton walking trousers can see me down to freezing conditions.

I've never needed overshoes but that's probably because I've never done day-long rides in cold rain.

The worst thing, for me, is a rucksack in the rain, it just gets cold and nasty on the back, no matter what jacket.

Glasses / no glasses is personal preference but, if you need to wear glasses, a peaked cap works pretty well to keep them dry.

Warm and wet is fine, cold and wet is dangerous.

 

[edindave]

I've only been cycling for a year or so but I'll offer my suggestions... having cycled Kinross Sportive in the p155ing rain a couple of weeks ago!

Glasses - yes, for me they're a must cos my contact lenses would play up.
Jacket - I wouldn't bother, but only cos after a couple of hours riding in the rain I'd be soaked with sweat on the inside so 'wet is wet'. I'd just opt for a base layer and a long sleeve jersey.
Shorts - yes just shorts. It's not cold enough to need full leg covering I reckon. (Just my personal opinion though).
Cap under helmet - not sure... I wear a Buff under my helmet to catch the sweat dripping from my brow - maybe similar effect.
Overshoes - yes. I wish I'd had mine in Kinross, I'm sure my feet weight about a kg more each by the end of the ride!

30 miles will only take a couple of hours or so... and skin will dry out... so just go for it and see how you get on.

I find that after a while of cycling in the rain I stop noticing it.

Enjoy yourself

 

[Fab Foodie]

As above. Important to keep warm
Peaked cap (£6 cotton cycle-cap) is ace under a helmet to keep water out of the eyes/glasses.
A Gilet is a good alternative to a full rain jacket
Bare legs and shorts.
Overshoes work fine for a while but eventually the water gets in the tops and into your socks. Proper road shoes have holes in the bottom to let water out.
Don't stop, keep cycling.

 

[benborp]

I find light weight waterproof socks make a long day in the wet far more comfortable. If it's mainly road spray getting your shoes wet then they do a good job of keeping your feet dry or at least dryer for longer. If the rain is absolutely saturating everything then without waterproof tights, leggings or trousers the socks aren't going to keep the water from seeping down to your toes, however the water that does get through stays nice and warm! Some people don't get on with them though and they're a pain to dry in time for the next day.
Higher up - shorts. Higher still - jersey of choice and a light weight waterproof - more to control the wind-chill than the dampness. I find glasses stop my eyes from getting painful and tired in the rain.
Definitely keep moving, I once had a blissful couple of days cycling to the south of France from St Malo in the pouring rain. Then I got caught at roadworks for forty minutes little more than half an hour from my destination. I didn't make it.

 

[mcshroom]

Have you got mudguards on your bike? They make a real difference riding in the rain as you don't get the water spraying up your back or more annoyingly straight at your face from the wheels.

 

[coffeejo]

Have you got mudguards on your bike? They make a real difference riding in the rain as you don't get the water spraying up your back or more annoyingly straight at your face from the wheels.

+1

I get horribly hot and itchy so I invested in a proper waterproof cycling jacket with a high breathability factor thing (too early for technical talk). I grew up in Wales - water resistant is next to useless. Great for a light and short shower. That is it. Take clothes that will dry out quickly and lots of spare socks (wet socks = rubbing and blisters).

 

[Leaway2]

I like to wear overshoes. I can dry/change my clothes but there is nothing worse than wet shoes the next day. (This assumes you need to wear them the next day/have only one pair)

 

[Angelfishsolo]

Re the socks, you can always get Sealskinz but they are a little costly.

As above. Important to keep warm
Peaked cap (£6 cotton cycle-cap) is ace under a helmet to keep water out of the eyes/glasses.
A Gilet is a good alternative to a full rain jacket
Bare legs and shorts.
Overshoes work fine for a while but eventually the water gets in the tops and into your socks. Proper road shoes have holes in the bottom to let water out.
Don't stop, keep cycling.

 

[funnymummy]

I tried commuting in heavy rain wearing full waterproofs - I was wetter inside them than i would have been without!
I now have some nice lightweight clothes, Temprature was mentioned before, as long as i am warm I don't mind getting wet.
I have Sealskinz gloves & socks though for really bad days.

 

[Bman]

As above, temperature is more of a factor. It is surprising how cold rain can sap the heat from you.

That and front mudguards or eye protection. It is impossible to cycle more than 8-12mph with a stream of water spraying in your eyes.

 

[summerdays]

Commuting in the rain is different to being out in it all day ... at the end of the commute you go inside and get changed and dry. Mr Summerdays and myself did the Devon Coast to Coast one year. One of the days torrential rain came down most of the day ... I put my jacket on because I don't like being wet for long periods, Mr Summerdays didn't as he was used to his half hour commute then getting into dry clothes.

Eventually he was getting very cold - I made him change his top and put on the rain jacket and we cycled to the next town to call it a day... in the tourist office they didn't want to serve us as they just wanted him to go and warm up with a hot drink (he was sitting there shivering looking extremely cold). But they got us into the nearest B+B and he was in a shower very shortly afterwards - ok it wasn't the best one for cyclists at the end of a wet day ... everything was cream .. walls, duvet, carpet etc... - she gave us a plastic bag to put all our wet panniers on and did dry our clothes for us.

 

[Banjo]

Decent mudguards help a lot in the rain. You dont just get clean rain on you but all the black greasy polluted water thrown up from the road.

I like overshoes .They wont keep your feet dry if it rains all day but they do keep them warm and clean.

 

[Glover Fan]

Up until yesterday I had never ridden in the rain and to be honest I wasn't looking forward to the day when it would happen.

I had an audax yesterday the 100km South Glos 100. Just before I left my house at 8.30am it was absolutely throwing it down, much to my bemusement, but a couple of months ago I bought a cheap pair of overshoes from Decathlon for just over a tenner, not very thick compared to standard issue overshoes, they did an excellent job of keeping my feet dry and most importantly warm! Luckily yesterday it wasn't particularly cold, so wearing finger gloves was still OK. I had on a cheap showerproof jacket which did the job, but I was glad when the rain stopped as I was probably wetter on the inside just from sweat, not pretty.

The most important bit though was mudguards. I have some Crud Roadracer 2's on my bike that I bought just this week and my god, they were fantastic, riding in the rain was almost as pleasureable as riding in the dry, no spray coming up in my face, my bike was still relatively clean and no rain marks on my back. The worst part of the day was the fact that other people didn't have mudguards and so I just made sure I was well away from other cyclists as I wasn't willing to get dirty when I had bothered investing in mudguards, which at £25 is hardly an expense!!

As for glasses, I actually forgot to pick mine up, but in the rain I think I preferred not having them just for visibility issues, provided you have mudguards you won't get much rain in your face. Later on the day when it was scorching sunshine though I wish I had some because of kamikaze flies.

All in all, provided you take some simple measures i'm not joking cycling in the rain can be as enjoyable and in some ways perversely more enjoyable than riding in the dry. Though concentration levels are a lot higher, especially on the greasy roads like yesterday.

Hope this helps,

Jon.

 

[Slaav]

Thanks to all.

Got dressed up today for teh heavy shpwers and not a drop!

Over heated terribly as the clouds parted and glorious sunshine.... That will teach me to hope for rain





ps - Still no 'wet' miles under my belt!