poncho

[badger]

so I was at MEC, which is our equivalent of REI, and noticed a riding poncho. I'm really curious if this works well or if it's just for the occasional shower while pootling to the farmer's market? I did really like the ease of putting it on/off, and if I still had a dog I'd get it.

I'd imagine there's going to be a lot of flapping going on. Anyone have any experience with it?

much like this (http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524442629029&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302699139) but specifically for cycling with reflective strips.

[out_spokin']

My experience is that even with a cycling-specific rain jacket that was too big for me, if I got up any kind of speed, especially on a long downhill, it was a big flappy balloon. Loud and not real comfortable, but the worst part was when the shoulders got ballooned up it would interfere with my side/rear vision. That was when I realized cyclists wore skin-tight stuff for a reason.

If you're just biking around for errands, especially in warmer temps, a cape might be nice. I was curious and found a helpful thread here (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=21768).

[Melalvai]

http://www.yehudamoon.com/images/strips/2008-02-02.gif

[badger]

yeah, figured as much!! I'll wait til I have a dog again and get a cape for walking.

[Jaclyn]

I wanted to love the rain poncho idea. They are popular in the UK and elsewhere. I used mine twice - the first time it did keep me dry in the rain but slowed my down by what seemed like half speed. So although dry, it took me forever.

The second time I used it to be a giant pumpkin (added some decorations) for a Halloween costume ride.

You get the idea!

On the plus side, it made me extremely visible in the rain with its bright orange color.