Great day for a cycle

Gavin

No seriously, I had a great cycle through town. Not sure why, but I like cycling in the rain. Helps to keep one cool perhaps and go faster on empty stretches.

Also, cycling past all the people stuck in cars is highly enjoyable.

This is much the same comment as my previous post on wet weather. I may be laboring the point somewhat.

seamus

Sometimes I like the rain, sometimes I don't. I don't enjoy it when the rain is continually spraying in my face. I do enjoy it when I'm on the way home and dripping wet and warm.

Today was not a day for it. I could either go in, in shorts and jersey and get completely drenched. Or I could wear raingear and end up completely soaked with sweat.

I got the bus instead I had to do the above twice last week and I just wasn't in the mood for it today.

It'd be great if I didn't wear glasses. But yes, I do enjoy cycling in the rain.

Chips Lovell

Was going to bring the bike to work this morning with the intention of going for a spin afterwards. Took one look out the window this morning and forgot about it.

irishmotorist

I usually don't mind it too much, but today with the volume of rain, rain/sweat started getting into my right eye about 15 mins from work. That makes for an unpleasant time

blorg

I commute on the bike irrespective. Wouldn't go out for a spin in this though (will be going swimming instead, took that up thanks to the rain.) Have to go out to Tallaght after work though to drop back a wetsuit (might be an opportunity to try it out )

hunnymonster

Daily disposable contacts have changed my view on cycling in the wet. I don't mind commuting in the wet but I'm not mad on a long cycle with any amount of descenting in the wet and rain. I'm just a wimp really!

DirkVoodoo

I left my wet gear in here ages ago, so I hope I can be forgiven for taking the easy way out and driving in today

It actually took me twice as long, I got a lot of road rage and the radio stations that promised "non-stop hits" gave me nothing but ads and annoying presenters rabbiting on about their weekends.

Bike all the way from now on, rain is a small price to pay for that freedom.

RobAMerc

Today was the first time I ever got sore eyes from the rain drops pelting me in the eyeballs
The only other part of me that was uncomfortable was my feet, but thats my fault, I forgot I bought overshoes ! :mad:

What a tool!

not looking forward to pulling on the gear for the way home though !

Gavin

Yeah I brought spare shorts, socks and jersey for the way home. Pulling on damp clothes is unpleasant.

Which reminds me, I better shove paper into my shoes

RobAMerc

Verb wrote: »

Which reminds me, I better shove paper into my shoes

Thank you

TinyExplosions

Overshoes kept my feet dry, rain made my a**e all wet. Didn't mind cycling in today, except for the yo yo that pulled over into the cycle lane in front of me without indicating and stopped to let his wife out -nearly gave him a heart attack when I rapped on his window to point out his lack of driving skills.

To me, it was the wrong side of nice for cycling in, but not too bad

fish-head

I'm not working today so I'm just relaxing! I've no qualms about going in the rain though. Riding a bike is always better than getting a bus..

Need to pay far more attention to drains and grates though. Sheesh. Not so much on my fixed gear but had a few near misses last Friday on my road bike.

Danbo!

It always takes that little bit of extra effort to get on the bike in this weather, and this morning was no exception. Got destroyed within about 15 metres of my house. But i did ditch the backpack over the weekend for a brand new courier style bag, must say its the business. Once in work and fully changed I was glad i took the bike and will be until about 4.40 when i have to put on my soaking runners.

blorg

I commute in (SPD) sandals, honestly they work great in the rain (as long as it is warm, obviously) - don't really get wet like shoes/socks and dry out really quick. Overshoes work well in the winter and keep my shoes entirely dry.

Bicyclegadabout

Normally I *love* cycling in the rain. Not today though. There was an inexplicable cold Easterly wind for one thing.
Also, on wet days I'll wear the cycling shoes because they don't soak up water and they dry out quickly. Normally I'd have a change of shoes in the office.
But today, I wore my sponge-like Vans. And since this is my last day in this job, I brought my dry work shoes home on Friday. So I'm gonna be sitting here in these soaking runners all day. I'm freezing and it's ruining what should be a wonderful last day on the job.

Damn this rain to hell!

Gavin

blorg wrote: »

I commute in (SPD) sandals, honestly they work great in the rain (as long as it is warm, obviously) - don't really get wet like shoes/socks and dry out really quick. Overshoes work well in the winter and keep my shoes entirely dry.

Penniless (centless) at the moment, but wotcha recommend?
Saw these on wiggle
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/Cycle/7/Shimano_SD65_Sandals/5360020450/

Although overshoes would be cheaper and I'll need them anyway come the cold weather.

ROK ON

Commuting in the rain is fine, actually enjoyable. It can help to go a lot faster (or else it feels a lot faster). Long distance in rain is not as enjoayable.
However would prefer bad rain and no wind to a sunny day and a head wind 10 times out of 10.

RedTea

Don't mind this kind of weather as long a i can keep dry. My commute isn't that long so i dont end up a ball of sweat at the end of it even when wrapped up.

I got some overshoes a while back but was a bit disappointed with them - they're fine in light rain but if there's a downpour your feet still get wet. Days like today i use them to keep the plastic bags in place.

these are the ones I got
http://www.edirectory.co.uk/pf/880/mia/d/lusso+max+repel+overshoes+2008/pid/31758846

wouldn't recommend they if your looking to keep your feet dry in all weather.

RDM_83

Deeply regreting the fact that I bought Argos panniers today, I bought them knowing they weren't waterproof but not knowing my inability to remember that fact terrible sinking feeling when I opened them and realised that have a choice of soaking tracky's or wet jeans and shirt.

thank god for oven in lab, at least I'l have dry clothes to cycle home in the rain in again this evening :-|

bopbuddy

if don't have to worry about your style of footware at work i would suggest a pair of gore tex hiking shoes/boots they can loook quite cool and they'll keep the rain out unless your cycling in a monsoon for a couple of hours before work

Turbulent Bill

I had decided to cycle before I opened the curtains this morning, which was probably the way to go. Any indecision and I might have gone for the car keys... I shower when I get to work anyway, so getting wet from rain or sweat doesn't make a difference.

The long sleeve wicking t-shirts and shorts are essential though, should be dry by this evening. My runners are a different story, so it might be time for the overshoes.

blorg

Verb wrote: »

Penniless (centless) at the moment, but wotcha recommend?
Saw these on wiggle
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/Cycle/7/Shimano_SD65_Sandals/5360020450/

Although overshoes would be cheaper and I'll need them anyway come the cold weather.

They are the ones I have and they're great, even better than the SD60s I had before (sole seems stiffer, with better power transfer, but they are still decent to walk in.)

Chain Reaction have them cheaper (£47.99) (although I note if you buy something else small that sticks your order over £50 you will get them for £44.48 from Wiggle.)

@RDM_83- use a bin liner inside the panniers, this keeps everything perfectly dry.

lukester

I don't mind commuting in the rain, but don't enjoy long spins in weather like this.

Do the folks here who take to the hills on a regular basis just skip it on really wet days? Bought one of those clip on mud guard things for the road bike, ugly as sin but kept the crud off my back last week, riding up past Glencree. The rain made the last hour pretty miserable, especially descending down Edmondstown road...in the dark (a miscalculation on my part). :rolleyes:

blorg

We generally go out anyway if we have something scheduled- recently the rain has been patchy and you do dry off when it stops.

If the rain gets really heavy we may wait under a tree until it abates.

FrankGrimes

I actually love cycling in the rain, seems I can never feel any reward for doing a cycle unless there's a bit of hardship involved and most people generally regard rain as hardship so it fits the bill. Though I have a shower at the end of it and a change of clothes so getting wet isn't actually much of a hassle. Wind though, that's the invisible enemy and there's no sense of reward after overcoming the wind cos ya can't visualise what you've overcome. To be honest, as has been alluded to here, most of it is mental.

I cycle in shorts no matter how wet or cold it is - after 5 minutes I can't get wetter and have warmed up but don't get overly warm due to leggings. I did a 60km spin in south county Sligo yesterday (which is long for me) and was happy with the time of 2hr:08mins given the splitting rain for much of the journey, but in hindsight I'd say the rain motivated me more than it slowed me.

Have to say I was initially guilty about forking out for a load of cycling gear while planning to get back cycling, but yesterday I was really feeling the benefit of the comfortable cycling shorts, the great hi-vis jacket which is highly wind&water proof but still pretty breathable, the gloves etc. and I realised this morning that I'm very comfortable on the bike (besides some saddle troubles) and that's definitely help limit the amount of times I make an excuse and wimp out of cycling - so the outlay was well worth it.

I do hate the runners getting soaked though, so am intrigued by the idea of these overshoes but have no idea what to expect or look for. Any suggestions from this lot here?

TinyExplosions

FrankGrimes wrote: »

I do hate the runners getting soaked though, so am intrigued by the idea of these overshoes but have no idea what to expect or look for. Any suggestions from this lot here?

BBB waterflex -I got mine in Joe Daly's (as did Blorg I think), and I'm more than happy with them -haven't got wet shoes in them yet!

lukester

Interesting..I need to invest in some proper breathable wet gear. My waterproof jacket is not and is pretty uncomfortable after a while. Do you all have mudguards on your road bikes or do you let the crud fly?

TinyExplosions

lukester wrote: »

Interesting..I need to invest in some proper breathable wet gear. My waterproof jacket is not and is pretty uncomfortable after a while. Do you all have mudguards on your road bikes or do you let the crud fly?

I just let it fly and dirty me up -then change when I get to work, or home. WIll use the clip ons if it's wet out and I'm going to the shops or similar

ROK ON

Overshoes are a must. Cycling wet is no problem, but wet feet is a killer for me. Real morale downer. While preparing for ring of kerry got a bad soak, and had to wring out my socks 3 times. Depressing. Bought overshoes (€25 in cyclogical - can't remember make). Worn just twice, but a great investment.

Kinetic^

Today was grand. I was kind of dreading getting out there when I saw it was pishing from the heavans. Once I have a dry pair of clothes for work and a spare pair of shorts I can wear home then I don't mind what sort of conditions are there.

Enduro

My top tip for footwear to handle the wet weather... either Shimano MT90s or Shimano MT70s. They are essentially goretex hillwalking boots and shoes respectively, that can be fitted with MTB cleats, and I've found them great for keeping out the cold and wet, even mountainbiking in the middle of winter. They are also quite comfortable to walk in, as they have vibram soles. Overshoes wear out in no time mountainbiking... those boots last forever. I also find I can wear the MT90s as casual boots, even in work, as long as I'm not in a suit!

From the look of the rainfall radar on met.ie there's trouble-a-brewin' again today (for Dublin).

Thomas_S_Hunterson

Myth wrote: »

From the look of the rainfall radar on met.ie there's trouble-a-brewin' again today (for Dublin).

Balls:mad:

I just cycled in in the lashing rain and I'd really rather it be dry on the way home. My dry socks even got wet in my bag.

seamus

Wasn't too bad this morning. Got my ass/back soaked from the spray, but other than that it didn't actually rain while I was going in, as far as I could tell.

Yeah yesterday was worse. I did find it annoying to be stuck behind someone without a rear mudguard on the canal though (so much spray!).

rp

Enduro wrote: »

Shimano MT90s ... those boots last forever

When "forever" is about 5 years (the neoprene cuff on mine has detached), but they are great boots (as are the NorthWave equivalent), just don't expect too much of them: water will get past the cuff in deluges like the last couple of days, especially if your sock protrudes out of the boot - the rain wicks down it.
Short socks help. In winter, wearing tights that overlap the boot is very effective. But this week is sandal weather.

Lilphich

Well after reading this post yesterday. I got inspired to ride even though is was lashing down.

Managed to get a flat 5 mins in of my commute. :rolleyes:

Gavin

Lilphich wrote: »

Well after reading this post yesterday. I got inspired to ride even though is was lashing down.

Managed to get a flat 5 mins in of my commute. :rolleyes:

haha oh dear, that's pretty unfortunate. One of my fears is getting a flat in the freezing cold with numb fingers. At least in this weather you know you are going to get soaked one way or the other, so pausing to change a tube isn't too bad. Not fun though.

seamus

It's worth noting that risk of punctures increases in the wet, so do your best to avoid broken glass and so forth when it's pissing rain.

Something to do with the rubber or something. I remember reading a good article about car tyres, which showed a car tyre grinding broken glass into dust when bone dry, but getting viciously penetrated when soaking wet.