Categories: The Rides

Come the Rain

The northwest has just experienced a spell of dry weather over two months long. It’s been enough to make a man sick.

That’s all over now, thank Merckx. Commuting home today, I was caught off guard. No jacket, no gloves– nothing. A few drops hit, heavy and plump like ripe fruit. Then the drops became steady. By my half-way point, I was soaked thru. As I rose out of the saddle for the final climb to my house, I felt the rain accumulate on the tip of my nose and swing off with each pedal stroke.

The roads glistened in the dull light of street lamps, full of rain and empty of riders. They are all gone now– the summer heroes and the chatting groupettos. The roads are mine once more.

The rain hath returned. All hail the rain.

jim

Jim rides a bike a lot and hates people.

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RedRanger says:

Oct 21 2012 at 1:35 pm

@jimmy

@RedRanger Was that when someone dropped a 750ml bottle on the shoot-out?

Haha, those guys are legit. As long as I'm in school, ill never roll with them.

Tucson is actually 3" under average rain fall. On the upside, we are done with 90 degree days for the next few months.
chiasticon says:

Oct 22 2012 at 12:05 pm

i live in northeast ohio. so there's no "rainy season" and it can go from all-out showers to absolutely pleasant in about five minutes time, any day of the year. so sometimes it's easier to forgo a rain ride with the intention of just riding later on, or putting more km's in tomorrow. but sometimes, you just gotta say the hell with it. (incidentally, i've just purchased a road bike that will allow proper full fenders, because i'm sick of trying to kludge some onto my rain/winter bike. quite stoked for that.)

i enjoy the cold much more than the wet. and i have a similar feeling of "finally, i can ride in peace!" when the fairweather riders are in for the winter. and i find much enjoyment out of getting all kitted up for a ride, the first few minutes where you're freezing before you've warmed up, the darkness, scrambling to get home from work and out on the bike quickly to get every last minute of sunshine, not having to take as much water/food/electrolytes, not sweating as much, etc. it's glorious.
chipomarc says:

Oct 22 2012 at 4:59 pm

What it takes to win:
G'rilla says:

Nov 17 2012 at 9:16 pm

"Hopefully the rain will do its work, then we can have nice races in Belgium." - Niels Albert after winning in Plzen, Cyclocross World Cup
mouse says:

Nov 18 2012 at 1:49 am

@Mclennan

The only downer with rain are the douchebags in cars who realise it is more dangerous to drive in the wet so drive faster to get home and out of it. The true beauty of the rain ride is the post ride ritual whose pleasure becomes more intense.
1. Arrive in bike / manspace placing bike on towel.
2. Hot shower (legshave) if necessary.
3. Inform wife of inability to partake of household or child rearing duties
4. Depending on time of day, grab coffee or a single malt
5. Return to bike space, commence cleaning / maintenance routine standing back occasionally to admire ones work.

The older I get the more I prefer rain over headwinds!

Re; Item 3.

Yeah, that'll work for a time...

until you wake up one day with your sack tied around your throat. Good luck with that.