Severe weather warning issued for London

walkingbootweather

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-14622549

Pufftmw

Thanks - will mentally prepare for a soaking in the morning!

Kieran_Burns

Yay! Proper weather!!!

(enjoy it )

clarkey cat

it's not always 25 degrees heat, beautiful women, flat roads and high living all the time here y'know.

Just most of the time.

deptfordmarmoset

Surprising, earlier this evening it really didn't feel like the weather was about to change.

Wrath Rob

I'm so glad I'm off work this week. Hopefully it will have stopped peeing down so I can do a quick run out to the Surrey hills...

tgotb

Just spent 20 mins putting mudguards back on :-)

Koncordski

Yep, mudguards deployed, waterproof found. Bring it! 8)

iPete

Suddenly I want some Shimano MW80 SPDs asap.

tgotb

iPete wrote:

Suddenly I want some Shimano MW80 SPDs asap.

Ah yes, good thinking. Specialized Defrosters now out of the cupboard and ready for action

optimisticbiker

Forecasting HAIL on Thursday...

Sadly I have to take the car to Farnborough on Thursday...

I have only been caught in hail once on the bike, in March 1999 a few km outside Antwerp on my Ostend to Maastricht biking holiday. The stones were 1cm across and it hurt a lot! We had to take cover for an hour in a bus shelter on an otherwise open and deserted road...

EKE_38BPM

Its just started to rain. Not heavy, yet.

thefilbertfox

Managed to dodge the rain this morning, unlike the other cyclist in my office who got a drenching.

roger_merriman

iPete wrote:

Suddenly I want some Shimano MW80 SPDs asap.

Having flats for wet MTBing I just use my walking boots, nice and grippy plus warm and dry.

don't tend to bother for the commute.

iPete

roger merriman wrote:

iPete wrote:

Suddenly I want some Shimano MW80 SPDs asap.

Having flats for wet MTBing I just use my walking boots, nice and grippy plus warm and dry.

don't tend to bother for the commute.

Not much of a walker so happy to splash out, its going to be a long winter this year @ 21 miles each way!

Anyway, no rain when I woke up so didn't bother with any wet gear except guards. Luckily my office has drying cabinets, hopefully have dry shoes for the journey home!

Doesn't look as biblical as I was expecting, maybe later in the week!

Mark Bom

Frankly I'm a bit pi$$ed off!

Wife told me about the weather warning threatening thunder, lightning and torrential rain so didn't ride in. But, apart from a few spits on the car windscreen...nothing!

Its raining now, but nothing scary and I bet it'll be dry when I go home.

Weather reporting this summer has been very hit and miss in my opinion.

notsoblue

Well I got utterly soaked through on the way in this morning. Started out dry, but by the time I got to Putney it was p1ssing it down. Wet kit for the ride home

il_principe

Miserable ride in. Got cut up under a railway bridge, rim scraping kerb, elbow scraping wall = puncture and ripped Rapha jacket/elbow.

Stopped to fix the flat, my usual wiping 'down cloth' isn't in the bag, so filthy hands and grime all over my new shorts. Got underway again, realise tire isn't quite seated properly (doh), stop to sort that which using involves air from my second and last canister. 1 min later on and I can see the still cold Co2 streaming out of a new hole in my tire.

Not enough gas left to inflate the spare tube and can't face using the minipump and getting covered in cr@p again, so walk the last mile to work.

Now gotta go to the shop at lunch for more tubes and Co2. Annoying as I have about 100 of each at home.

Note to self, in future carry at least 3 tubes and gas.

I always seem to puncture when conditions are f*cking miserable. Ultra Gatorskin FAIL.

il_principe

Only positive is that I remembered to bring in a change of kit, so at least will be dry when I set out this evening.

Pufftmw

Got soaked

Kit into server room so will be dry (if cold) for the way home

MonkeyMonster

nto sure how the week is going to be bad too but tomorrows forecast is fine if a little more blustery than normal...

I had had extra shit to bring as well so took the pt... but gym later to vaguely compensate

woodford2barbican

Lost front wheel on white stripes of Zebra crossing, saved it somehow but pedal striked wtih my left shin and now have a bruise.

Looking for sympathy...........

If I get none from you lot, my two little girls will make a fuss of me later.

fatherted

A bit of rain and you all jjump in your cars or use public transport.

or

you get "utterly soaked through" !!???

Mudguards.
OverShoes.
Rainproof jacket like a Montane Featherlite/Velo or Castelli Squadra.
Cycling cap to keep the rain off your glasses ,

Cafewanda

Bottom half was soaked through. Hoping shoes dry out a tad for the homeward journey.

Pufftmw

fatherted wrote:

Mudguards.
OverShoes.
Rainproof jacket like a Montane Featherlite/Velo or Castelli Squadra.
Cycling cap to keep the rain off your glasses ,

Missing the point?
It's only rain & its not cold, whats the problem? No need to get out all your winter water defenders and sweat on the inside as well. Take the soaking, get to work, change to dry stuff - simples

DonDaddyD

My only regret was that I didn't leave earlier.

Tested out the winter gear (baselayer, overshoes and hi-viz pearl Izumi jacket) and immediately overheated.

GatorSkins are OK, but at speed in the wet it's amazing how much more confidence 4Seasons gives.

Need more batteries to power the Fenix. Need new Knog Frog and some reflectives on the back of my bag (which is black) or a new bag.

Funny how a single morning of proper rain makes motorists forget that there are people who cycle. Despite this being the reality nearly every single day prior. Hate how aggressive they get.

fatherted

Pufftmw wrote:

fatherted wrote:

Mudguards.
OverShoes.
Rainproof jacket like a Montane Featherlite/Velo or Castelli Squadra.
Cycling cap to keep the rain off your glasses ,

Missing the point?
It's only rain & its not cold, whats the problem? No need to get out all your winter water defenders and sweat on the inside as well. Take the soaking, get to work, change to dry stuff - simples

What do you mean "missing the point" (???) and "whats the problem (??)

What "winter water defenders" do you mean ?
I carry the overshoes, cap and jacket each day on my commute in my jersey pockets.
Who said anything about sweating on the inside as well ?

So , let me get this right.
When it rains in the morning you take a complete change of cycle clothing ( shoes as well ?? ) to work with you rather than try and keep your jersey and maybe base layer from getting soaked thorugh ?

There are comments about people hvaing to cycle home in "wet gear" because clothing doesn't dry out.
My point is why not wear overshoes and a reasonable technical rain jacket, at least your shoes will have a chance to dry out [1]

[1] Assuming the commute isn't more than 14/15 miles each way.

Greg T

Il Principe wrote:

I always seem to puncture when conditions are f*cking miserable. Ultra Gatorskin FAIL.

Fact.

You are more likely to puncture if

a) you are late
b) it is raining

If you are late and its raining you may as well slash your tyres at home and at least fix them in the dry.

I saw a guy pushing his bike this morning with a flat back tyre.

As a dude he doesn't qualify for the "hello my dear... purrrrrr - can I help?" service and after that it's 50/50 depending on how late I'm running / pretty he is. This morning was not a morning to prove my alpha ness by fixing a guy's bike if he can't be arsed to carry his kit / learn to do it......

Anonymous

Went out in the normal daily summer gear and got soaked. Its all sitting in a crumpled pile in a binliner inside my backpack, possibly start growing something and be warm when I have to put it back in

Tempted by waterproofs now. Not for the ride itself, just so I dont have to get back into wet kit.

Richmond this evening is a no-no

meanredspider

Il Principe wrote:

Note to self, in future carry at least 3 tubes and gas.

I always seem to puncture when conditions are f*cking miserable. Ultra Gatorskin FAIL.

Rule 1: You will always need 1 more tube and cannister than you are carrying...

Disappointed at your Gatorskin fail - my experience with them has been fantastic. They must work well with the type of threats my tyres experience (sharp flints & glass normally). They are better than anything else I've tried.

CycleKat

Slow, rainy ride with compromised vision (wearing contact lenses that aren't the right prescription) and then getting a puncture wasn't great. What was great was this was my first puncture out on the road when I had all the right puncure repair kit and felt like a proper commuter. It's the small things right?