my first ride in rain!

[maryellen]

set out this morning for a 62 mile charity ride . . . on the way to the start, I began to have second thoughts--the drizzle, the wind. As it turned out, it rained most of the ride, but I was ok. Interesting sensations: rain dripping down my tights, my shoes, socks, and feet completely soaked. But I survived, had fun, and don't need to be scared of rain anymore. I do need to clean my bike tho, the poor baby is filthy.

[jobob]

excellent :cool:

I rode in a downpour once, and I kind of enjoyed it in a perverse sort of way, once I was soaked I went with the flow, so to speak. Most of my clothing dried out very quickly once the rain stopped, so that was good.

You probably figured out that you had to be careful about braking, and to give yourself lots of extra room to stop . :eek:

Don't forget to re-lube the chain after you clean off your bike.

Welcome to the wet rat club ;)

[edited to add]: times like this it is very good to have a screaming day glo-neon yellow jacket or vest, not so much for rain repellence, but just so you can be seen !

[pedalfaster]

Riding in the rain has it's own bizarre appeal. Mostly it just makes me feel... tough. Like the pros :D

Hi-viz yellow apparel is good. Also remember to pack arm warmers (you'll chill more quickly when wet) and a blinky. I have at least one blinky on my road bike at all times for getting caught in the rain/fog/dark. Recently I put a tiny LED red blinking light in one of my rear helmet vents as well.

Watch out for paint and metal (grates and manhole covers). These become very slippery when wet. Feather your brakes to shed water and grime off of the rims before you need to stop. If you do crash in the rain, its not so bad. You just kind of slide around :p