3 BIG rides 9 days apart.... possible?

[Pedal Wench]

Nut-you'll be fine- hatch!

I saw both approaches - there were people at the start just wearing their jerseys, a few girls in sleeveless jerseys, and one in a strappy tank. It was raining so hard that I was soaked through by the time I got suited up and walked from my car to the start line, so I know they were soaked too. The two girls in sleeveless jerseys (matching, with matching PINK shorts, by the way, who both admired my PINK helmet and bike!) seemed fine later on. I would have been too cold. I found that if I stopped at the rest stops for too long, I started to get chilled, even though it wasn't very cold. I wasn't sure if I would have been better off without my wet (soaked through) water-resistant jacket. I was thinking that booties might have helped, but the amount of water dripping down my legs to my socks would have soaked everything through too. So, unless you have a way of securing things so that water can't get in at all, I think dealing with the squishiness in your shoes is inevitable.

Two observations - many, many people pinned their ride numbers to their jackets. Their 'formally' waterproof jackets. Now they've got four pinholes in their waterproof jackets. What were they thinking??? My jacket was water-resistant, and it didn't work at all, but it kept in a little bit of warmth. It would have been fine in a shower. I doubt anything would have kept all the water out - it would have dripped under a jacket from my head. Maybe a hooded jacket under my helmet. I saw some guy with a jacket that had a really long flap that might have kept his shorts and saddle dry - if anyone knows of a jacket like that, let me know. The water dripping down my shorts, between me and my chamois was not a pleasant feeling.

Other observation - my seatpost bag is NOT waterproof. (Jannd brand) Everything inside was very, very soggy. So, keep whatever must stay dry in a ziploc.

Edit: re: sunglasses. I just bought a pair of Cygnus style sunglasses from Performance. THey have a bit of a wrap around design, and I'm thrilled with them. The wrap design kept rain from blowing into my eyes when I had to turn my head to look behind me - I'm sure other glasses would have let the rain blow in (when i was going downhill) They fit pretty close to the edge of my helmet, so that wasn't an issue. I wish I had a bike cap under my helmet though - I think the brim might have helped a bit to keep the rain off my face, but with the helmet and glasses, it wasn't bad.