Out in the rain...

chiark

I've was away on business for the last week, and decided last night that rain or no rain I needed to get out on my bike. The turbo trainer just isn't the same at all.

It was drizzling, but fairly warm, so I decided to MTFU and just went out in bib and short sleeve top.

For some reason, I enjoyed it more than any other ride I've done yet! I managed to push a bit more and add .5mph to my average speed, up my cadence average, and just... enjoy it more.

And the scenery... Wow! Out towards Ilkley / Menston it is just beautiful. I challenge anyone not to think "this isn't a bad place to be".

Legs are whining a little bit this morning, which is good. Will have to push myself a little more.

Only downside is my garmin hrm was massively over-reading a signficant part of the time: My heart rate was reading as between 170-190, even when taking it easy . I've suspected it's been over-reading before, but last night it was just crazy. Any tips on that?

Anyone else enjoy cycling in the rain? Any extras I should do for the bike before putting it away? I've wiped it down to dry it and, that's about all. I'm using a synthetic wet lube on my chain, and that's still on it ...

Daddy2Coull

i love riding in the rain, but without a front guard, the water off the road goes straight in my face, so i wear some safety glasses from work.

i also agree on being able to push harder, i love summer rain

racingcondor

I love riding in the rain too, the 60 miles I rode last Saturday in pouring rain (for the last 3 hours) was the best ride I've had this year by a long way.

A quick wipe down of the brake tracks and pads with some soapy water or a degreaser is most important. I clean a bike each week (of two) so don't worry too much about cleaning up each time I come in from the wet.

rubertoe

I had this converasation with my colleague yesterday - when riding home from work on tuesday - i actually extended my commute home from 12 to 24 miles as i was having so much fun!

Wasnt so much fun on monday though when my rear tyre punctured just as a cloud burst.

Matt the Tester

yea, i love TTing in the rain

Thelittlesthobo

Just put a post up about my rainy ride yesterday. Slightly different perspective to yours. My head is still thumping from the noise

JackPozzi

steady rider wrote:

yea, i love TTing in the rain

I honestly do, both my 10 and 25PBs were set in downpours! Nothing quite like a good drenching to make you push as hard as you can to shorten the amount of time before you reach a towel...

Ezy Rider

i hate cycling in the rain, but cycling into strong headwinds is worse

xcmad

Don't mind it one bit. Many of my favourite rides have been in the wet

bendertherobot

Depends when and why. If it's my into work commute, don't like it so much. But, tonight, to get home, it was magnificent. Standing water, rivers, being soaked by cars, superb stuff. Only worry is where are the potholes!

supertwisted

Rain is neither here nor there this time of year. Come winter though its far less pleasant. Soaked and then chilled in icy winds is pretty grim riding.

Jason82

I like riding in rain when it's warm but not when it's cold. Same with the kayak.

bigpikle

I wont say I like riding in the rain, but enjoy running in the rain for sure, although headed out yesterday for a couple of hours knowing the skies were black. Sure enough it threw it down for about 15 mins again and I got soaked for about the 5th ride in a row, but as it was fairy warm it wasnt too bad.

I always focus on what the car drivers and pedestrians must be thinking when they see you powering on in a terrible downpour 8)

Re your HR over reading - I used to get this a lot when using lyrca/manmade jerseys. You can get a static build up especially if the jersey is open a little and flaps, and it meant I used to see an HR of >200bpm when flying down hills and not pedaling. 2 solutions I found were to switch to a sportwool/merino jersey (never once had the issue when wearing that) or use a baselayer of some kind - merino again is best, but even a well fitted manmade one helped as it reduced any flapping effect. I often still ride in a super thin merino base even in warm weather as it seems to help with temp control anyway.

chiark

Thanks Bigpikle, I'll give the merino a try as I am using 100% manmade fabric jerseys...

Supertwisted, agreed: cycling in the warm in a fairly nice rain is pleasant. Cycling in the cold, damp, dark and miserable is just... miserable.

Littlesthobo, I saw that post... Sounds like a not much fun ride!