I'm not going to enjoy going home...

Jacomus-rides-Gen

It's not so much that I don't like riding in the wet, I very much prefer the dry, but I'm a good wet weather cyclist and it doesn't bother me too much per se.

However, what does bother me greatly is car drivers apparently total disregard for the conditions. Rain brings crosswinds, headwinds, puddles hiding dangerous holes and drains, and turns every bit of metal in the road into a skid-pan waiting to snatch the bike from underneath you, not to mention that your brakes don't work instantly, and when they do it is an exercise in not losing the front wheel due to bad grip.

Are they actually totally and completely unaware of quite how dangerous a bit of rain and wind makes riding a bike, or do they just not care, as long as they get home as fast as when it is dry?

I seriously question whether many people have any idea how fast they can stop in the wet, let alone what it takes to handle a bike in the wet.


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<i>Quote: "25mph is pretty fast when you aren't wearing a car..."</i>

Regulator

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Jacomus-rides-Gen</i>

It's not so much that I don't like riding in the wet, I very much prefer the dry, but I'm a good wet weather cyclist and it doesn't bother me too much per se.

However, what does bother me greatly is car drivers apparently total disregard for the conditions. Rain brings crosswinds, headwinds, puddles hiding dangerous holes and drains, and turns every bit of metal in the road into a skid-pan waiting to snatch the bike from underneath you, not to mention that your brakes don't work instantly, and when they do it is an exercise in not losing the front wheel due to bad grip.

Are they actually totally and completely unaware of quite how dangerous a bit of rain and wind makes riding a bike, <b>or do they just not care, as long as they get home as fast as when it is dry?</b>

I seriously question whether many people have any idea how fast they can stop in the wet, let alone what it takes to handle a bike in the wet.


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<i>Quote: "25mph is pretty fast when you aren't wearing a car..."</i>
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You got it in one Jacobus.

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Bugger elephants - capabari are cuter!

WyS

im sat at my desk in shorts and a tshirt.. chucking it earlier.

seems to have stopped for the moment, but the rain usually waits for me to actually leave the office. i still have another hour left

stompy

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Jacomus-rides-Gen</i>



I seriously question whether many people have any idea how fast they can stop in the wet, let alone what it takes to handle a bike in the wet.


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<i>Quote: "25mph is pretty fast when you aren't wearing a car..."</i>
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I do now. I had a nasty moment on my ride yesterday when I misjudged my approach to a roundabout.

I put the brakes on and started slowing, but not fast enough. Pressed harder and my back wheel locked up and skidded sideways.

Cue comedy 'Whooooaaaaa' from me as I come to a stop just over the white line, now sideways, and unable to get my right foot unclipped fast enough, I went over. I tucked my head in as I fell, and then scrambled up as fast as I could.

I have no illusions - I was very, very lucky.

Not riding today, but I've learned my lesson about brakes (or lack of them) in the wet.

Be careful out there!

Spunky Tupper

No they don't understand Jacomus. That's the basic problem.

It would be great if all motorists had to spend time riding a bike as part of their driver raining, but it isn't likely to happen anytime soon.

So they will continue to be insulated from the environment you find yourself in.

Eat My Dust

Blue skies in NW London!![:D]

SNAPS

Hackbike 6

I dunno bitch bitch bitch.Looks windy this morning though.

rgisme

I generally find that on the open road most motorists do tend to travel a bit slower when it's wet - or at least, when it's raining very hard, but still not as slow as they should do. Around town I have the impression that, for some inexplicable reason, they actually try to speed up! It's almost as if they're in a hurry to get out of the rain, poor things. It's very annoying when that happens because, as you suggest, it raises the stakes of the game significantly. Still, one good thing about disk brakes on a bike is they don't suffer as much in the wet as rim brakes [:)] The only time I've had a front wheel slide was braking on diesel oil!