Rode in the rain the other day, and I LOVED IT!

[Budrick320]

Yeah comming back from Austin one Saturday morning I was caught totally by surprise. Medium sized rain and intensity for about the last 25 miles of the 75 mile ride, in a t-shirt. I know, I know, dumb me. It was an experience.

[veeref]

Dude, you live in Portland, Oregon!  A rainsuit is a must have.

Trust me (uh oh, he said, "trust me"), riding in the rain is a joy seldom experienced by the riding masses, only the few looking for the added challange to learn to be better, smoother riders, and faster when the season changes, while everybody else is trying to remove the cobwebs from their summer dreams, riding on old, now cracked and hardening tires, that's when you - the seasoned rider - emerges as the one who all must catch (up to).
You truely know, when you ride in the rain, the solitude the Ride offers, the isolation through thousands of tiny raindrops, that seperate your body from the steel cocoons around you.  And, you know the comraderie, of others that share your passion, as you ride through the city streets, in the early morn, and the dark nights.  And, the dependabilty, of those who ride with you, in the rain, through the dark mountain passes, on the same twisty, treacherous roads that you all follow summer-long, knowing that the person in front of you, or behind you, has got the same determination, to get home, in one piece, as you do, and the same shaZam!-eating grin you do, as all the cagers look on in mis-placed sympathy, because they can't see you smile.

Scrach:

Dude, that's so true!  For the 45 minutes I rode each way, I only saw one other rider and we both waved at each other.  It definitely was a great experience.  My neighbors totally thought I was crazy.  I'll have to get that FogCity insert you mentioned, hopefully for the $30 it'll be worth it.

As far as gear, I was wearing a Joe Rocket Meteor 4.0 Jacket and J/R Revolution Pants.  I was completely dry at my destination.  Probably the only thing that bothered me was I didn't have any waterproof boots. I guess those are next on my list.

[scratch]

I thought that was beautifly writen, Scratch.

Thanks.

Boots: TourMaster has some zip-ups, much easier to put on then the old pull-overs.  One-piece rubber pull-over boots are hard to find, and hard to fault, they are by far the most rain-proof, but you can't get them too big or you'll hang up on your controls.  Rain Totes used to make an excellent pair, mine have a hole half way up (14 years old, I still have my originals, but they're too small now), but the pant leg of my rainsuit covers that.  14 years is a long time, so they last.

[porsche4786]

I've got some alpinestars i think they are smx with gortex.

[Kerry]

OK, so maybe I could have gone a size smaller on the FroggToggs.  But hey - at least I'm visible!



(From Day 7 of my 2002 Trip to British Columbia.)