# first (deliberate) commute in rain



## Christine (Jul 23, 2005)

Rode to work yesterday, but it was raining and windy last night, so I begrudgingly left the bike at work and carried my panniers home on the train. Bah humbug.

Today, decided I'd ride home, but it was raining all day. But I didn't want to leave the bike at work all weekend (though I could.) Hemmed and hawed after clocking out b/c my cube-neighbor said that it was "pouring out, even more than yesterday!" 

Figured I couldn't always use rain as an excuse, that I should at least give it a shot and bail out on the subway if needed. "Other commuters ride in rain all the time, it's obviously do-able," I said, and they wished me luck.

Not only is it raining tonight, it's a bit chilly (56F or so) and verrrrry windy, 20+mph. Oh well, so I get wet! Puddles filled my shoes by the time I was on the bridge going into Brooklyn, and the wind made riding a bit unstable, also hard to breathe at times. 

When I stopped to adjust the backpack, I was shocked at how *dizzy* I was, like I could've easily fallen over. This was how it felt at every stop. Never experienced that before, except maybe during a mtb race when I'm pushing to finish. This wasn't even halfway, though! 

I was a bit concerned about trees and debris from the wind, and drivers were pulling over into the bike lane more than usual (dropping people off closer to their buildings.) One car nearly hit me less than a mile from home- it rolled to a stop, and as I rode in front of it, kept going for some strange reason- I had the headlamp on. They stopped just short of pushing me down.  

But I made it in nearly my usual time, maybe five minutes slower. Coming out of the shower I noticed my feet and shins got _really_ itchy all of a sudden, and started turning blotchy-pink; apparently this is hypothermia/frostbite-related. Didn't feel awfully cold as I rode, but the exposed shins and the cold water in the shoes affected the skin just enough. Luckily the flare-up calmed down after a few minutes.

Glad I finally sucked it up and managed a stormy commute, though I'll be happier once my shoes and panniers dry out, with hopefully minimal damage to all the equipment! :thumbsup:

Current weather:

New York, NY

Friday 9:00 PM

Light Rain Showers

51°F | °C

Precipitation: 100%

Humidity: 92%

Wind: 22 mph


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## MMsRepBike (Apr 1, 2014)

Well done.

The rain makes things really hard, I try to avoid it. Makes an awful mess of things too.


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## Christine (Jul 23, 2005)

Thanks! It's fun to have added challenges, but I'm worried that my stuff won't ever dry out. My shoes have been coated in wet mud, and survived just fine, though, so I'm hoping this won't be any different.

Glad we have a dehumidifier in the basement, which has been cranked up to 11 with the shoes propped up against it.


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## Opus51569 (Jul 21, 2009)

Good work. Along with the clothes, the bike might need a little drying TLC as well. The few times I've ridden in the rain, I found that I was pretty miserable until I was completely soaked. Then, oddly, it didn't matter so much anymore. Once you're fully saturated, you're not going to get any wetter


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## Marc (Jan 23, 2005)

What kind of bike? Last year I made a resolution to ride in/back every day of the year-and I broke when it got wet out. Result was from January to April I didn't ride much at all which has wrecked my mileage goals. Why did I break down? I hated being cold and wet and having to clean up afterwards. Also being in the Great Plains I know all about miserable winds.

So I said no more.

1st thing. Get fenders, if you have them-your feet are wet either because they don't reach close enough to the ground or it is such a downpour that nothing will keep you dry. I'm betting you don't have them based on your shoes being covered in muck 

2nd thing. Keep a wind shell gilet or jacket and arm warmers in the bottom of your go bag for when it is forecast to be cold

Most water in light-to-medium-showers that causes your shoes to slosh (I hate that feeling more than anything in the world), isn't from falling from the sky, it is from your spray from the front wheel. The close to the ground the flaps are the less to no road spray there is. You can also get shoe covers, which also are small enough to fit in your go bag

The biggest mental drag of riding in wet is spending an hour cleaning your bike and relubing and cleaning, least for me. With fenders, I spend at most 2-5 minutes cleaning beyond my usual ritual. That includes riding the standing water and mud-and BTW I have a partially white bike. Noe how close those fenders come to the ground. Even if you have close fitting caliper brakes and larger road tires like I do you can still mod fenders to fit-which is what I did. For perspective compare the shiney photos of a clean bike on a sunny day posted above with this photo which was taken prior to any cleaning immediately following a 90 minute 20 mile commute in driving rain through standing puddles and road mud/grime. If it looks unbelievably clean considering, that is because that was the first time I commuted with that fender set and when I got home I was shocked at how little cleaning I had to do.

Now? Riding in rain is like playing in the rain when a kid. Just fun and another adventure. Just pack extra bits in your go bag to be prepared for the cold.

EDIT: Congrats on HTFU'ing and riding


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## wgscott (Jul 14, 2013)

Living and commuting (by necessity) every day by bike in Cambridge, UK for 3.5 years convinced me never again to ride my bike in the rain if I can possibly avoid it.


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## Christine (Jul 23, 2005)

Rode my Mercier Kilo TT track bike/now singlespeed (freewheel w/brakes.) It’s by no means a cushy ride, can get jarring when slamming into unexpected potholes, but it’s nimble and stealthy.

I was worried about the skinny tires on wet pavement, but traction was surprisingly fine, just had to slow down a bit coming down off the bridges.

I think there was spray coming off the back, which is odd b/c I have a rack and panniers that I thought would serve the function of a rear fender. Not sure though, any splash marks would’ve been washed off anyway. Today was one of those downpours where nothing would help! 

My shoes are a suede-like material, so I’m shocked that they’ve survived previous deluges. I would’ve LOVED some way to keep them dry. The puddles weren’t as noticeable on the flat sections, but on the climbs, uuggghhh. The old, baggy, cotton running socks didn’t help matters. 

My jacket is good for coverage, but breathable- I read somewhere that breathable/windproof is better than waterproof, due to the sweat factor in cold weather. The jacket seemed to work fine. The gloves got full of water and squishy- next time I’d go with full-fingered gloves. And leg warmers might’ve helped, though I did roll up the pant cuffs- had I left them down, might’ve offered some protection. I wasn’t thinking that mid-50F would be “cold,” though with the rain and wind thrown in the mix, it’s officially cold.

It is frustrating that the ride itself is easier than dealing with the soaking wet aftermath! Tomorrow I’ll have to clean the bike/chain, wash clothes and backpack, rinse/dry the panniers…..


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## Christine (Jul 23, 2005)

Opus51569 said:


> The few times I've ridden in the rain, I found that I was pretty miserable until I was completely soaked. Then, oddly, it didn't matter so much anymore. Once you're fully saturated, you're not going to get any wetter


That's just it. Before the ride, I tell myself, okay, this will be a 1-1/2hr sufferfest, basically. Like getting the flu or a migraine headache, the only way out is _through! _ You just accept a certain level of discomfort and know it'll be over eventually.

Kept telling myself, the subway is always nearby, I have that option.....but what fun is that? I'd *still* be soaked to the bone, but standing in a crowded train car, still miserable. If I'm already soaking wet, might as well keep riding until something craps out.

'course I realize the train would eliminate the dangers of debris and such, but that's a gamble even in better conditions. I did worry about falling tree limbs......though we've had enough strong winds that the trees should be sufficiently pruned by now.


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## Christine (Jul 23, 2005)

wgscott said:


> Living and commuting (by necessity) every day by bike in Cambridge, UK for 3.5 years convinced me never again to ride my bike in the rain if I can possibly avoid it.


Knowing that people do this regardless of weather is what motivated me. I have to stop wimping out. But I can see where it's ridiculous to do so when there are other options.

What annoys me is that I'm still paying full price for my monthly train tickets. I'd have to ride nearly every day to pay less for the train tickets....


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## Marc (Jan 23, 2005)

Christine said:


> Rode my Mercier Kilo TT track bike/now singlespeed (freewheel w/brakes.) It’s by no means a cushy ride, can get jarring when slamming into unexpected potholes, but it’s nimble and stealthy.
> 
> I was worried about the skinny tires on wet pavement, but traction was surprisingly fine, just had to slow down a bit coming down off the bridges.
> 
> ...


Yea if it an angry downpour, you're going to get wet. But...spray off the back wheel will give you a mess to clean up, spray off the front will make you very wet and give you a really dirty mess to clean up. A good fender job and your bike will come out of a downpour mostly looking like it came out a car wash. Most bikes you can mod (see this post I did on The Other Bike Forum about it)

I've taken to following the Kerry Irons lube/clean method. When starting with a clean chain. 

1) Pro-Link every roller , spin backwards. Like you always should Let dry over night and the lube seep into the rollers overnight. 
2) Papertowel away the excess on the outside of the chain the next morning. 
3) Ride the day's riding. 
4) Get home, run the chain through a paper-towel to get the grime off
5) Restart at step #1

Doing this daily (AKA after every ride if you're a commuter nut), keeps the chain clean and well lubed...and you almost never have to pull out chain cleaning tools or specific degreasers. Takes a max of a few minutes per day. It works because Pro-Link is by volume mostly a solvent (AKA degreaser), and you're continually flushing the grime out-the solvent evaporates leaving lube. The longer you put off your cleaning regime, the more aggressive your cleaning's got to be and a minute or two once a day becomes a half-hour or more every big storm.


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## Christine (Jul 23, 2005)

Thanks! I'll have to show the fender photos to John. Apparently, the tires are too close to the frame to install them. 

Doing some laundry now, there was quite a bit of dirt on the panniers and the back of my jacket. Everything was soaked, including stuff inside the panniers, but I figured that would happen based on product reviews. Backpack items were damp but not soaked completely.


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## bigrider (Jun 27, 2002)

Yeah, if you are going to commute rain or shine, you gotta have fenders, and preferably full fenders. I would even put a flap on the front fender. If you don't, the spray from the tfront tire hits your down tube and goes on both legs and your shoes. 

To dry your shoes, stuff them with newspaper, and change out a few times.

Waterproof jackets will make you sweat so it is usually only beneficial in cold wet weather.


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## Christine (Jul 23, 2005)

Ah so if fenders are a must-have, and my current bike can't fit them, I must therefore get a new bike for rain purposes :idea:

My dream commuter bike would also have different sets of wheels waiting on the side, so I can swap them out as needed. Studded for snow, slick for daily use, knobby for training.....


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## Marc (Jan 23, 2005)

Christine said:


> Ah so if fenders are a must-have, and my current bike can't fit them, I must therefore get a new bike for rain purposes :idea:
> 
> My dream commuter bike would also have different sets of wheels waiting on the side, so I can swap them out as needed. Studded for snow, slick for daily use, knobby for training.....


This is a good N+1 excuse, OTOH as I linked to BikeForums earlier-most bikes can be modified to take retrofitted fenders. The SKS-Longboard River City Bikes fender mod, that I've done, is well documented and so frequently done that RCB has their brackets mass-produced.


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## Christine (Jul 23, 2005)

Marc said:


> This is a good N+1 excuse, and blahblahblah.


My thoughts exactly. I'll start shopping for a new bike now


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## chickenpoodle (Sep 27, 2015)

https://www.ridepdw.com/goods/fenders/origami-fender-front
https://www.ridepdw.com/goods/fenders/origami-fender-rear

the langster that I use for a commuter lacks all provisions to mount real fenders, so I've gone to trying, using, various alternatives. the PDW origami set that I linked above was the best one that I've used.

the front fender did not function nearly as well as I would of wished, so I stopped using it. it also interferes with external shifter cables, but since you ride a SS, it won't be an issue for you.

the rear fender however is absolutely splendid, and nothing from the back wheel makes it past it. it leaves a bit of a mess of the rear brake set, but you'll get around to cleaning it anyway during your post-wet commute cleaning.

the mounting of the fender is a bit finicky to set up right, but once you get it on, it'll stay put for a long time. just be sure to wrap something around your intended mount spot to ensure a good grip. a few layers of excess tennis/badminton overgrip served this purpose really well.

if you can muster up the energy to at least do a quick two minute wipe down of your bike after you arrive at your destination, the overall cleaning later on is so much quicker.

as for the wet-feet problem, I just pull the shoe covers from my bag and throw them on before I head out. a proper shoe cover will do wonders in preventing early-onset misery from rainy commutes, because when your feet feels wet and miserable, you feel miserable. even if every other part of you is dry!

I don't know, maybe i'm a glutton for punishment but I love commuting in the rain... I've been doing it for years, and I still enjoy it, haha



Christine said:


> Ah so if fenders are a must-have, and my current bike can't fit them, I must therefore get a new bike for rain purposes :idea:


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## Christine (Jul 23, 2005)

Funny, I kinda had fun too, despite all the challenges! Or maybe *because* of them? It feels like an accomplishment, and it's nice to know I don't always need to bail on account of weather.


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## love4himies (Jun 12, 2012)

Christine said:


> Funny, I kinda had fun too, despite all the challenges! Or maybe *because* of them? It feels like an accomplishment, and it's nice to know I don't always need to bail on account of weather.


I feel the same way. Doing something outside in bad weather is kind of an adrenaline kick for me.

I don't know if it's psychological, but I find it a lot harder to ride in the rain. Like Opus said, once you are soaked, it doesn't seem to matter anymore that you are wet.


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## Christine (Jul 23, 2005)

It was definitely harder to ride, at times the wind had me at a near standstill (which must've looked comical), and it was harder to see. Yet all the increased distractions made the ride feel shorter than it was.


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## ttk5180 (Nov 21, 2013)

I commute 4-5 times a week from Northern NJ to the Midtown East area of the City pretty much year round. My beater is a steel Bianchi Castro Valley with full fenders, and set up with mixed bag of components - basically a Frankenbike. The bike weighs in at 27 lbs and it's a pig going up hills, etc. 

I highly recommend getting the fenders like someone else had mentioned earlier and getting wider and durable tires. I currently have 25mm Conti Gatorskins but will convert to 32mm Gatorhardshells or Gatorskins in the next month so that I can run lower pressure and to get a little extra traction.

There's very little you can do to keep dry especially when it's coming down but the aforementioned will certainly help lessen the misery in terms of comfort. I ride out from the Bushwick area most weekends and I know first hand how crappy some of the roads can be, so getting wider and very durable tires will help lessen punctures for sure.


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