A One Minute Guide To How To Ride Your Bike In The Rain
Written by Boston Biker on Aug 15When I tell people that I ride my bike every day, a lot of people ask “What do you do when it rains?!” The short answer is, “you get wet” but the slightly longer answer is “with the right gear, its no problem.”
So because it is raining, and because I saw many happy riders today, here is a one minute guide for riding your bike in the rain:
Fenders, use them.
Helmet, strapped on.
Rain coat, rain paints, check.
Change of socks and shoes and/or rain booties and/or water proof shoes, yes please.
Lights, turn them on.
Metal plates, road markings, and manhole covers, these bad boys get extra slippery in the rain be advised.
Give yourself longer time to stop, wet wheels means your brakes work slower.
SLOW DOWN!
Water proof bag to put your work clothes in, good idea.
Take turns slowly, and don’t lean into them too hard, this will keep you rubber side down.
Thats it! It’s really not that hard.
Following this simple guide you should be able to ride your bike in any amount of rain and still arrive at your destination happy and unscathed. Simply walk in to where you are going, take off your rain gear, swap your socks (or better yet take off your rain booties), and you are ready for a day slaving away in your cubicle…better yet just keep riding.
Add to Reddit. Posted in education, fun | 11 Comments »
By Charlie
on Aug 15, 2012 | Reply
YES! I love it when I bike to work in the pouring rain, pull off my rain jacket and rain pants to unveil my totally dry business clothes I’m wearing underneath and just stroll into the office. Knowing I cycle a lot, my coworkers always ask with a slight smirk “Did you bike today?” Why yes I did! Thanks for asking!
By William Furr
on Aug 15, 2012 | Reply
Yup, biking in the rain is really not that hard. The most annoying thing to me is the road grime that gets all over my bike, shoes, and bag.
By Boston Biker
on Aug 15, 2012 | Reply
@william full fenders with a mud flap, keeps the grime off your shoes and bag at least and will keep most of it off your bike.
By yourstruly
on Aug 15, 2012 | Reply
I think fondly of a day last summer, on a morning when the rain was coming down sideways: I showed up at work with my bike, peeled off wet layer, changed into my dry shoes, settled in comfortably. Coworkers showed up later, nearly soaked through, all complaining about “This was only the walk from the car!!!” plus traffic delays.
Those are the days when I love my bike the most.
By glasswipers
on Aug 16, 2012 | Reply
Question: I did this last year and was mostly happy with the experience. Do you guys have any tips for people who wear glasses and can’t have contacts?
By Jimbo
on Aug 16, 2012 | Reply
glasswipers – I wear glasses while riding and use a cycling cap (the ones with a short visor). Since it’s designed to fit under a helmet the visor sits directly over and close to my eyes shielding the lenses. They stay dry unless the rain is blowing sideways which isn’t often. I have a pace cotton hat with me at all times for just this purpose.
By gear
on Aug 16, 2012 | Reply
I find that disc brakes stop in the rain as efficiently as they do dry. Full fenders and a nice long mud flap on the front fender will stop all road grime.
By Andres
on Aug 17, 2012 | Reply
I’ve had my contact knocked lose by rain. Losing depth perception in the middle of a ride _sucks_. Enjoy your glasses, they’re actually better in the rain than contacts (imo).
By DKB
on Aug 17, 2012 | Reply
Anyone have a clue where to get long rainpants? There never seem to be long ones, just fat ones.
By Boston Biker
on Aug 17, 2012 | Reply
@dkb patagonia, ems, and other shops like that usually have a good selection. I rock the patagonia ones, and have never had any problems, I have a bad case of the tall and skinny and they fit fine.
By Rebecca Albrecht
on Aug 28, 2012 | Reply
Or you could just use an umbrella as did our tenant who has recently arrived from Beijing. She was not interested in fenders. She said the road wasn’t muddy and she dried out soon enough.