I'm still struggling though the details when it comes to having the proper rain gear. I feel really good about a few things
1. the waterproof pants I have now keeping my dry and breathe well.
2. and a pair of rubbers to slip over my shoes. Both of those are working beautifully.
3. As I said in an earlier post, my ski helmet and goggles work really well in any cold weather, but they also perform nicely in the rain as well.
It's my upper body I can't get figured out. I have two "waterproof" or at least "windproof" coats that just aren't cutting it. They hold up for 5-10 minutes, but after that I begin to get that damp icky feeling on my arms and across my chest where the rain hits most directly.
I'm still trying to work it all out. The picture above is of all my gear drying out in my office. What I may have to do is have a change of clothes in a waterproof bag with me... This is because the more waterproof the gear is, the warmer I get while spinning the pedals along. My innermost layer was pretty wet today.... and I can't tell if it got that way from the outside in, or from the inside out.... geesh!
I have spent the last few days searching the web for good resources on wet weather commuting. Here is a list of useful links I came across.
http://www.thirdwave-websites.com/bike/rain-capes.cfm
http://www.rei.com/expertadvice/articles/commuter+bike+gear.html
http://www.commutebybike.com/2007/10/16/my-rain-gear/
http://www.drivelesssavemore.com/pages/wet-weather-biking-gear
Problem is, I can't decide what to do. I have only about a 3-4 mile commute, so getting totally decked out doesn't make a lot of sense. Similarly, being under-dressed makes for a long day at the office. So, I ran to the hardware store this morning to buy some rubber booties as a start. Then I had second thoughts about them, because I expected them to allow too much water to splash up around my pant-legs. I took them back.
The point of the matter is, the only piece of wet weather and winter gear I am sure of, is my snowboarding helmet with goggles. It keep me warm, it keeps the wind out of my eyes, and my wife thinks its sexy...
No one likes to bike in the rain. Having some of the proper gear can help the process be less miserable, but overall you really have to decide ahead of time that training hard will require some discomfort.
More than anything else, the clothes I am wearing are to help keep me warm. I know I look ridiculous. I have accepted this and continue to go out there. I hope I am visible to motor vehicles. this is the only way I will continue to be able to ride in all types of weather. Here is the video blog post. enjoy!
watch on youtube