By Lowrah
April showers bring May flowers,
but jeepers creepers, where are my street sweepers?
During Grease Rag recently our go around topic was “favorite songs about rain,” because of the constant drizzle to downpour rain over the past two weeks. Two weeks!
What do you do when it rains, and the temperatures are in the mid-thirties to mid-forties? I think this is one of the toughest seasons to dress for, especially when most of us don’t have the gear for cold rain and sleet, because these conditions are relatively short lived here.
The sun is threatening to stick around for awhile, so I thought I’d share, in no particular order, some of my strategies for getting around in these showers and storms.
1.(Because people ask me this all the time..) THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS TRULY BREATHABLE RAIN GEAR- Seriously, if you have a line on something that I can sweat into without getting sweaty, that also keeps the rain out, email me immediately!
2. Gore-tex and cordura are amazing at keeping me dry!
3. Wool is all I wear under my rain gear- even when it gets damp it keeps me warm
4. A hat with a brim does wonders for keeping heavy rain and sleet out of your eyes
5. I never use a helmet cover, just a wool cap and my regular vented helmet that I wear all season
6. I got “weatherproof” gloves at Fleet Farm, one size larger with a wool liner glove, and that works for my hands, although I have also heard of rubber dishwashing gloves over your cycling gloves
7. I have a fan under my desk and work that helps me dry my things for the ride home, and a drying rack with a heater vent under it at home
8. I have waterproof shoes ($$$) but booties ($) that slip over your clipless shoes also work. Rainboots are not my style on a bike, but they are made for rain!
9. If your shoes get wet, crumple up newspaper and stuff them. Remove the crumples and replace them with dry crumples, and repeat until your shoes are dry! (It doesn’t take that long!)
10. It’s not a bad idea, if you don’t have great rain gear, to pack a plastic bag with an extra pair of clothes for your destination, at the very least an extra sweater, pair of dry gloves, and…
11. Always pack a pair of extra socks- dry feet are happy feet!
12. Protect your electronics by putting them in a sturdy plastic bag before putting them in your jacket pocket or bag, just in case!
13. Cover your leather saddle with a grocery bag
14. Don’t be that bike! Lube your chain after getting drenched, or you’ll be followed by a flock of squawking birds…