So worried... should I be worried?

[Eden]

And if the worst happens and you do crash in the rain the slickness of a wet road seems to impart less road rash than a dry one. But seriously my only concern riding all winter up here in the rainy NW was having tires tough enough to resist punctures as wet roads seem to allow you to pick up a lot more glass and junk than dry ones - so I was actually riding in effect slicker tires than my summer ones all winter long with no problems. None of my tires have any tread pattens, but the winter ones are made of harder rubber so don't "stick" to the corners as well.
The biggest things are to be careful of any metal - like sewer caps, and painted lines on the road both of which become very slick when wet and slow more than normal for corners. Since its probably a TT crashing seems pretty unlikely on the straight sections.

[KSH]

WOW! You ladies out did all the triathletes on my other message board! Your reponses were great!

Thanks so much! I am going to enjoy being the spectator with my umbrell!

[SadieKate]

Maillotpois lays it out very clearly and succinctly. My very first race was in the rain on the first truly slick road tires. They were made by Avocet and all the bike shops folks asked me before the race for a post race report because no-tread road tires were a new thing. Gave me lots of confidence in them, of course.

Not only was it raining but it was the annual tomato harvest and I had never ridden in the rain. Think racing through tomato sauce. I did fine by doing exactly what MP describes. I fished tailed in one corner but didn't panic and kept pedalling. You weigh so much more than the bike that it will follow the momentum of your body so if you can keep it going straight, the bike will straighten up.

I even survived the jerks who threw broken glass out on the road right in front of me. Never had that happen before or since. Amazing the effort people will put into being obnoxious.

[CR400]

Just to add another voice of agreement to the other ladies. Don't worry about the rain effecting his riding. I did my first Crit last year and halfway through the heavens opened up and it poured for the rest of the race, we're talking you could hardley see where you were going a few times. And no one in the pack had problems with it. The only problem I had was that I didn't know how to draft in the wet and kept drinking that nasty tire wash.