Riding in the rain

[pfunkallstar]

@Dirt 20115 wrote:

Bluemont underpass was 6″ deep in water this morning. It was fun riding through it.

I misunderestimated the depth of water next to the Independence sinkhole, luckily I was wearing my neoprene diver booties. Everyone loves booties!

[ShawnoftheDread]

New member. I’ve been riding in from Old Town to DC 2-3 days a week since January, but this was my first wet day. I enjoyed it, but think I’m going to need some rain gear and/or fenders.

[ronwalf]

The most disheartening part of riding in the rain is seeing the cake of aluminum dust form on my brakes and wheel (wet weather really seems to grind down the rim quickly). Otherwise, I kinda liked it.

[Dirt]

@ShawnoftheDread 20143 wrote:

New member. I’ve been riding in from Old Town to DC 2-3 days a week since January, but this was my first wet day. I enjoyed it, but think I’m going to need some rain gear and/or fenders.

Fenders are indeed your friend on days like today. I’ve been riding my steel fixie for a while and I’ve got some clip-on fenders for it. I am feeling the need to go back to my old anchor that has REAL fenders with big old mud-flaps and everything on them. I just stay a lot dryer. Keeps the fancy pants bike looking more pretty too.

Welcome to the forum and a belated welcome to the area. I hope you’re enjoying our lovely bicycle infrastructure. I specifically requested and was granted, a mild winter this year knowing that some new people were going to be riding in the area.

[JacquesOfAllTrades]

Yeah, this was my first winter since I started full-time commuting last May, and I feel like I still haven’t biked through a winter yet. (Not that I’m complaining, of course)!

[acc]

I will defer to Dirt on this but I think of rain in two ways.

In the winter I try to figure out how to maintain my core body temperature and keep my fingers dry. Once my hands get cold and start to hurt, squeezing the brakes is like trying to get a cork out of bottle of wine with a cheap corkscrew, or so I’ve heard.

On a day like today, I don’t care what I wear. I’m not going to get cold. I thought about what to wear purely from the perspective of visibility. I didn’t wear glasses or gloves and my shorts were ridiculously short. But it didn’t matter. The less layers, the less I had to hang up later. I did make sure I was lit up like the National Christmas Tree and had on a neon green lightweight windbreaker that felt and looked like loose Saran Wrap.

I like riding in the rain, when it’s warm.

[rcannon100]

Yur gonna get wet. Get a dry bag – forget the fenders or the rain gear – and have fun blasting through the puddles!

[BTW, on a shortish commute like from Ole Town, you should be able to watch the weather radar, and shoot the gaps in the clouds. Map out what bridges you can become a troll under in the unlikely event the sky opens up with buckets]

[Dirt]

@rcannon100 20171 wrote:

Yur gonna get wet. Get a dry bag – forget the fenders or the rain gear – and have fun blasting through the puddles!

[BTW, on a shortish commute like from Ole Town, you should be able to watch the weather radar, and shoot the gaps in the clouds. Map out what bridges you can become a troll under in the unlikely event the sky opens up with buckets]

I seriously love to play in the rain. There’s a lot of validity to what you say and it works great for short rides. It is a recipe for seriously chewed up feet and saddle sores for rides of over an hour or two. I like rain gear and fenders for commuting because it makes it so that the clothes that are under my rain gear stay dry enough that they’re dry and comfy by the time I ride on. Saves on laundry and having to haul wet clothes home.

I do love a good romp in the rain. Definitely a fun time.

[Dirt]

I’ll also add that the Mount Vernon Trail boardwalks are slick as snot when wet. Be careful with them. I’m pretty good at bike handling and I almost decked it today on the MVT coming off of Roosevelt.

[SilverSpring]

Dreading rain, I cycled off into the mist
(with lopsided panniers, to the left I did list)
I joined a growing biker throng
As I pedaled along
Had this nice ride I’d missed, I’d be…upset

[txgoonie]

After two years of commuting by bike, I finally broke down and bought rain pants. This should mean that it’ll never rain again. You’re welcome

[pfunkallstar]

@Dirt 20174 wrote:

I’ll also add that the Mount Vernon Trail boardwalks are slick as snot when wet. Be careful with them. I’m pretty good at bike handling and I almost decked it today on the MVT coming off of Roosevelt.

I’ve broken my thumb at the s-curve and still have a map of Cyprus on my thigh from last winter’s ice.

[consularrider]

Tonight the rain started after I got on the MVT/Custis off Lynn St. I stopped in the Roosevelt Island parking lot and put on my rain cape, so of course it almost immediate stopped as I headed south. I still left it on, just tossing it over my shoulder like a cape for some resistence training, and sure enough, as I got to Hains Point the real rain started as did the thunder and lightning. Then there was lots of fast running water on the W&OD between Shirlington and Patrick Henry this evening. The Carling Springs and Wilson Blvd underpasses were flooded as were all the crossings on the 4MRT. I rode through at Carlin Spings and at the worst it was about six inches deep. Under Wilson, it looked like over a foot, so I took the route over the street instead. I was glad I did because as I got back on the W&OD, I saw some logs, about 9 inches in diameter and maybe six to seven feet long rushing down the run towards the underpass, who knows what was down there. I once hit a submerged branch under there which wasn’t anywhere near as big and lost control of the bike, falling in the water and getting some bruises and scrapes. Of course as soon as I got home the rain stopped.

[DismalScientist]

It looked more flooded at Carlin Springs and Wilson to me. At Carlin Springs, one can take FMR to the parking lot, turn right on Carlin Springs, left on Kensington and over the gravel at the substation. At Wilson, just cross the street. Radar suggests a stationary cell to the west dumping water into Four Mile Run.

[Dirt]

Don’t play in floods. It is bad and dangerous.

[Author]

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