Categories: Belgian AffirmationsDefining MomentsLook Pro

Wet and Wild

We all know this look. And we all love it.

I have been spoiled rotten this summer as I alluded to last week and was evidenced through the flatness of the tires on my Nine Bike. I rode more this summer than I have in recent memory and I rode in the rain exactly one time; @snowgeek wondered if it might rain and I scoffed at the idea because it hadn’t rained in ages. He’d been sailing, as it turns out, and had been paying attention to the weather patterns and knew what was headed our way. It rained so hard that cars were pulling off and waiting it out as water flowed down the tarmac in a mini flash-flood. We kept riding, obviously, basking in the bewildered looks on the drivers faces and knowing they likely understood little of Cycling.

The rains appear to have returned to the Pacific Northwest with some regularity, but the cold has yet to return, which means I’ve had the pleasure of riding in just V-Bibs and my Gabba jersey, the only Castelli product I genuinely love. Something about that jersey makes me feel Pro right down to the ground. My rain gear also includes my Specialized Evade helmet, complete with black reflective tape down the middle. That helmet used to look awful on me, but it looks a bit better with my boss orange Jawbreakers, and the two V-Lion decals I slapped on the sides don’t hurt because everything looks better with a V-Lion on it. It’s fun to wear all that stuff in the rain when it’s still warm enough that not too much of your energies are expended on staying warm.

I love it when it’s rained enough that the road has a layer of water on it; the rain drops paint a beautiful pattern on the wet tarmac as gusts of wind weave bands through it. It’s as though I’m part of a living Jackson Pollock painting with me sketching my own pattern over the others as my wheels cut their furrough through it all, inscribing a perfect V as they do.

My legs are very tan – even for Seattle – and tan guns make the orange grippers on the V-Kit stand out beautifully. Riding with leg warmers in the rain doesn’t provide any visual feedback; riding in wet, bare, tanned guns makes the muscles stand out gloriously. If you’re so fortunate to also catch a sun break while the guns are still gleaming, well, try not to ride off the road as you stare at your own magnificence.

The cold will come, and by March I will wonder at the rider who was so spoiled by sun that he brashly praised the indulgence of riding in the rain.

frank

The founder of Velominati and curator of The Rules, Frank was born in the Dutch colonies of Minnesota. His boundless physical talents are carefully canceled out by his equally boundless enthusiasm for drinking. Coffee, beer, wine, if it’s in a container, he will enjoy it, a lot of it. He currently lives in Seattle. He loves riding in the rain and scheduling visits with the Man with the Hammer just to be reminded of the privilege it is to feel completely depleted. He holds down a technology job the description of which no-one really understands and his interests outside of Cycling and drinking are Cycling and drinking. As devoted aesthete, the only thing more important to him than riding a bike well is looking good doing it. Frank is co-author along with the other Keepers of the Cog of the popular book, The Rules, The Way of the Cycling Disciple and also writes a monthly column for the magazine, Cyclist. He is also currently working on the first follow-up to The Rules, tentatively entitled The Hardmen. Email him directly at rouleur@velominati.com.

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Owen says:

Sep 8 2015 at 1:07 pm

@Teocalli

@DeKerr

@Owen

Seriously though, are you trying to jinx VVhidbey Island?

Jinx? Hardly. A Rule #9 Cogal is long overdue.

Also, (N+1=1 therefore N9=N1)

They can be overrated.

OK OK OK but if it's a rule 9 ride it had better be pouring rain and miserable. No half measures.
Teocalli says:

Sep 8 2015 at 2:12 pm

@Owen

@Teocalli

@DeKerr

@Owen

Seriously though, are you trying to jinx VVhidbey Island?

Jinx? Hardly. A Rule #9 Cogal is long overdue.

Also, (N+1=1 therefore N9=N1)

They can be overrated.

OK OK OK but if it’s a Rule #9 ride it had better be pouring rain and miserable. No half measures.

Ours was. There weren't.
gilly says:

Sep 8 2015 at 2:29 pm

@frank. This is my favourite sentence that you've ever written

"If you’re so fortunate to also catch a sun break while the guns are still gleaming, well, try not to ride off the road as you stare at your own magnificence."
gilly says:

Sep 8 2015 at 2:32 pm

@brett

@piwakawaka

not even a V-Lion can save that helmet…

Spot on. U-G-L-Y, Frank ain’t got no alibi!

How about 2 V Lions?
Puffy says:

Sep 9 2015 at 3:38 pm

@Harminator

Any fool can get caught in the rain.

Making a conscious decision to leave a warm, dry room for a cold, wet cave is what separates us from the masses.

Well said.
wiscot says:

Sep 10 2015 at 5:41 am

Wasn't it Sean Kelly who said something like "the only way you know how cold and wet it is outside is to go out training for five hours then return home knowing how cold and wet it was." Or something to that effect.

Or as the legendary Shug Donald of the Regent CC said with regard to the efficacy of foul weather bike gear, "The only thing that keeps ye dry is the fuckin hoose."
Bianchi Denti says:

Sep 10 2015 at 1:25 pm

@brett

As much as I like riding in the rain (eg Roubaix in the wet is the greatest single ride I’ve ever done or will ever do), I usually avoid it if I can during our winter. It’s been a lean one for me for riding, after KT I was a bit burnt out, but now the warmth is on the way I have a renewed vigour for the bike(s). Sometimes we need to step back to go forwards.

Isn't the lead photo from KT2015?
brett says:

Sep 10 2015 at 7:25 pm

@Bianchi Denti

@brett

As much as I like riding in the rain (eg Roubaix in the wet is the greatest single ride I’ve ever done or will ever do), I usually avoid it if I can during our winter. It’s been a lean one for me for riding, after KT I was a bit burnt out, but now the warmth is on the way I have a renewed vigour for the bike(s). Sometimes we need to step back to go forwards.

Isn’t the lead photo from KT2015?

I do believe that's @Harminator, yes. I was up the road...
Ron says:

Sep 11 2015 at 8:54 am

For anyone preparing for a wet season of riding...just saw that Axiom is making eyelet tabs for mudguards that go on a quick release axle. Awesome idea, why not sooner? Could turn your ex cross race bike into a nice 9 bike. Or an older road bike.

I have one of their quick release-mountable rear racks on my SS commuter, which lacks eyelets. Another awesome idea.
JOE says:

Sep 11 2015 at 5:22 pm

Riding in the rain is solid, character building fun, as is riding in the cold. Riding in the rain and cold is just stupid as discovered recently while climbing up to Paradise on Mt Rainier in lashing rain and thick fog. A short descent before the final ramp was like having ice needle acupuncture while being water boarded. Probably would have sold at least a testicle and a half for a slug of brandy in the bidon if the undercarriage hadn't nearly permanently retracted into the fuselage with cold.