Walking or riding in rain

I live in Portland and grew up here (though I've lived in other areas of the world as well). Rain is just a part of my life. I make myself more comfortable in it by dressing to take into account the rain. That means wearing waterproof breathable clothing and taking care of that clothing (because I don't actually enjoy replacing it on a really frequent basis).

I personally really enjoy riding and walking in the rain. Walking in the rain is relaxing as long as I'm properly dressed and riding in the rain means that I'm probably not going to get too warm. Rain on my glasses is going to be a thing walking or riding my bike. I suspect an umbrella while walking could solve that problem but I don't own one (that's what rain jackets are for).

I will admit that the idea of not riding outside in the rain is silly to me as that would mean not riding outside for the vast majority of the year. I'm sure people from hot places think similar things when I complain about the heat.

I wear a baseball cap and wrap-around clear glasses (nearly clear as the block glare, but not necessarily light), and run. Rain doesn't bother me when I run, I prefer it as so many people decide to not run while it's raining so I am nearly alone. It's just more peaceful for me.

i dress appropriately.
i've run in wisconsin winters, flooding downpours. there is a peace that happens when you are out there alone. almost like it's a meditation

kimmaltsev wrote: »

How do you make walking or riding in rainy weather more bearable or more fun. I personally don't like exercising in the rain. I can do it mostly when it's just drizzling out which don't mind me much. But when it's coming down fast it doesn't really motivate me. How do I get myself in a motivated mood to get out in the rain like that? Any suggestions will help.

The Army ruined both rain and camping for me. If it's raining, I'm training inside. Camping is now a hotel without room service.

I'm sure I could do it if I had to. But currently, I don't have to, so I don't

I like to ride single track in the rain because 99% of the time I will have the trails to myself.

We had a super great summer without any rain (ok, not so great for nature, but I love it!), and I'm dreading the return of the nasty weather. I hate rain, I hate cold, and most of all I hate cold rain and dreary grey skies. I'm such a total summer person. Unfortunately, living in Germany, a summer like the current one is a twice in a lifetime occurrence, if you're lucky. So I'm trying to steel myself for the inevitable.

Winter will be another problem altogether. When I get home at 3.30pm, it'll be almost dark, so all my walking will have to be done on the streets of my neighborhood, not in the woods as I usually do. Not something I enjoy a whole lot, but nothing to be done about it.

I got caught this afternoon in a torrential summer downpour riding home from the beach. Since I sail I should have known better/read the weather better and prepped better. I wear lycra shorts and jersey, but had a cotton tee on as a base layer; my ultralight backpack (nonwaterproof) was holding a beach towel - all this cotton seemed to suck up about 40lbs of water. Warm rain to start, then I chilled.

I did have a full set of 4 blinky lights (2 ea front and rear) plus normal hi-vis accessories (helmet, brassard, gloves, yellow jersey, etc.), so I felt reasonably confident I was seen. I had left both my yellow and clear-lensed goggles at home, but my sunglasses kept out the rain and road spray.

Strangely enough, this idiot pulled alongside me, beeped the horn and waved. I didn't know what was up until I saw it was my wife who was the idiot (NOT! LOL), who rescued me, on her way home from work. We threw the bike in the back of her SUV and a good thing, too - the 4-5 blocks around my house were severely flooded as the rain exceeded the capacity of the system to handle runoff. I would not have been able to go much further, and no shelter. My wife confirmed that my lights made me visible.

Of course, the torrent slackened about 10 minutes after we got home, and the storm passed about 20 minutes later. I would have been smarter to stay put at the beach. And packed some minimal rain gear.

My kit is now drying, maybe through tomorrow (the shoes, especially), so I might miss a day of riding. Re-lubing the chain should only take a few minutes, as well as a waterless wipedown of the frame.

We are likely to get caught out in the weather from time to time while riding; it's part of the activity. Lots of good advice on this thread, but my story above is meant mainly as advice to "be smart."

slimmingsarah_85 wrote: »

I'm weird, but I like to imagine I'm in some dramatic scene from a horror movie where I'm running away from something. Let's face it, all horror movies have three types of "OMG! Something is after me" run scenes: scary building/woods, night or rain.

But, like I said, I'm a bit weird.

See above my story on being caught out in a storm while riding today.

Strangely enough, for a while, I was humming the "Dum-dumdum-dumdum-dumdum" tune from the "Wizard of Oz" where Miss Gulch is bike riding away from the twister.

JetJaguar wrote: »

mjbnj0001 wrote: »

My kit is now drying, maybe through tomorrow (the shoes, especially), so I might miss a day of riding. Re-lubing the chain should only take a few minutes, as well as a waterless wipedown of the frame.

A tip for drying shoes, stuff a couple of wadded up balls of newspaper inside. Change it out about every 20-30 minutes until they start coming out mostly dry. That will help speed up drying by pulling water out from the inside.

(Florida rider checking in, where there is a thunderstorm every afternoon in the summer like clockwork. Welcome to The Sunshine State!)

Thanks for the advice. I'm already trying it; I don't have a lot of newspaper lying around in this online news era. I've got some paper toweling in them now.

I've spent enough time in the Tampa/Clearwater area to know how you guys get hit with some serious rain!

I only walk in the rain when I am with my cousin or boyfriend. A wear rubber boots and a jacket and I am ready to go.

I personally love to run in the rain because it cools me down and makes me feel great. I also have learned not to let bad weather change my plans because I could always have bad weather race day and would have to deal with it so now I train in it.

I don't like riding in the rain, i yry to check the weather and avoid being caught in the downpour, which is often a case here in Florida. Sometimes it's as easy as changing direction of the ride, although i have my preferred routes. I don't like my shoes and my bike getting wet, it's bothering me the most, as strange as it sounds, lol. Problem with bike is that lots of sand will stick to wet chain and drivetrain and make it all gritty, i hate that. Everything else, i learned to deal, it actually does cool you off in a hot day.

icemom011 wrote: »

JetJaguar wrote: »

mjbnj0001 wrote: »

My kit is now drying, maybe through tomorrow (the shoes, especially), so I might miss a day of riding. Re-lubing the chain should only take a few minutes, as well as a waterless wipedown of the frame.

A tip for drying shoes, stuff a couple of wadded up balls of newspaper inside. Change it out about every 20-30 minutes until they start coming out mostly dry. That will help speed up drying by pulling water out from the inside.

(Florida rider checking in, where there is a thunderstorm every afternoon in the summer like clockwork. Welcome to The Sunshine State!)

Since newspaper is so much less common now, paper towels or rags work just as good, change them every so often and it will dry up for next day.

I actually pick up those free newspapers like the Pennysaver mainly for this purpose.

JetJaguar wrote: »

icemom011 wrote: »

JetJaguar wrote: »

mjbnj0001 wrote: »

My kit is now drying, maybe through tomorrow (the shoes, especially), so I might miss a day of riding. Re-lubing the chain should only take a few minutes, as well as a waterless wipedown of the frame.

A tip for drying shoes, stuff a couple of wadded up balls of newspaper inside. Change it out about every 20-30 minutes until they start coming out mostly dry. That will help speed up drying by pulling water out from the inside.

(Florida rider checking in, where there is a thunderstorm every afternoon in the summer like clockwork. Welcome to The Sunshine State!)

Since newspaper is so much less common now, paper towels or rags work just as good, change them every so often and it will dry up for next day.

I actually pick up those free newspapers like the Pennysaver mainly for this purpose.

Paper towels worked pretty well, thanks all for the paper advice reminders. Also took out the removable innersoles to dry faster, and since I have an older house with forced air circulation, I put the shoes near an outlet to let the dry air-conditioned air do its part as well. Wasn't able to wear them the next day (probably could have, but they were somewhat dampish), but yesterday, which was the 2nd day after, they were bone dry. As a further precaution, I'm going to get a new supply of shoe disinfectant/deodorizer so that any micro critters that came with the rain won't grow and stink up the shoes.

I love the rain. My face will be blessed with moisture!