CityCyclingEdinburgh was launched on the 27th of October 2009 as "an experiment".
IT’S TRUE!
CCE is 15years old!
Well done to ALL posters
It soon became useful and entertaining. There are regular posters, people who add useful info occasionally and plenty more who drop by to watch. That's fine. If you want to add news/comments it's easy to register and become a member.
RULES No personal insults. No swearing.
Anybody else out there enjoy cycling in the rain?
I don't know why but as long as it isn't too windy and I'm reasonably wrapped up against the elements then I find cycling in the rain a therapeutic experience - more so when I'm on my way home after a day at the office.
So much so that I wrote on it a few years aback!
http://www.citycycling.co.uk/issue16/issue16page19.html
All of the reasons there still hold true today.
Perfect! My sentiments exactly.
One of the best things about getting the dry clothes on is that the fresh socks at work live on a radiator so they are soooooo warm.
I used to be a courier (these days I should say "messenger") in Glasgow where - if memory serves - it rained *all* the time. I quickly discovered that it was easier to get wet and dry out again than it was to stay dry in the first place, and that philosophy - if I can call it that - has served me well ever since. You just need to keep moving, that's all.
My one gripe as a myopic cyclist is that glasses are a serious liability in the rain. Someone should invent some kind of small, flexible lens that can be placed right on the eyeball and... oh, wait a minute.
Hang on, I've thought of another gripe! Rain and surface dirt combine to form an efficient abrasive paste which gravitates towards the interface 'twixt brake block and rim. The resulting grinding sound send a shiver down my spine as the rim wears thinner and I anticipate the moment when it separates, the tyre blows out and I go over the bars and land in an undignified heap. In a puddle.
Safe to say I have mixed feelings on cycling dans la pluie...
Zut alors!
Yep, that grinding noise is a bit of a pain, and the rain is one of the main reasons I ride wearing contacts.
All the above said, I do still prefer riding in the dry, but...
Cycled home in the wet today.
Took slightly over an hour.
It's only a problem when it's really really heavy, and windy too.
I cycled in the rain yesterday in the mistaken belief that waterproofs kept you dry. Condensation meant I arrived wet at my destination. On the way home it was downhill all the way and got home dry :)
ps anyone know where I can get extra long waterproof trousers? I had a wet ring round my trousers which stuck out of the waterprooofs.
I have a dutch bike with hub gears and brakes, with an enclosed chain, which work great in the rain (with no grinding noise). I'm happier cycling home in the rain than to the office, as I can get a shower when I get home. I'm now prepared to store my phone and GPS such that they won't get wet in the rain. I don't bother with waterproofs as I'll just get wet anyway.
I took 5 separate journeys yesterday and it rained each time. I prefer cycling when it is dry. Swimming in a warm wet place can be therapeutic but generally with swimming I do not try to avoid getting wet.
AndyW - yes it is the cheap sauna effect, sweating inside waterproofs, helps shift the pounds too. I would suggest that you are a tall person with long legs, me too. The Altura overtrousers that I have do have an extension which even when down the legs are not long enough for me, but then I do have a 36" inside leg. The last pair of waterproofs before these were a pair of Freestyle, pertext fabric trousers, and were long enough, which I purchased in London but would suggest that you can probably still get them online as I am not aware of any Edinburgh shops that sell Freestyle outdoor clothing. Overshoes also help stop the water running down your overtrousers and straight into your shoes, lovely.
Today I rode my two errands in sleety rain, dressed in a great wool coat and scarf, hauling a custom built trailer.
On any Friday our county (Marin, Calif) is one giant traffic jam. In the rain, make that double.
And unlike on my bike, I can't squeeze between stuck cars.
Still, when it got to be too cold, I just reminded myself that this is ordinary Scottish weather and like any reasonable person, I would be able to warm up at the very end of my four hour errand run, which included two hours of sitting still in a cold room.
This is what I think of as training for UK cycling.
The reason I had the trailer was to haul a damaged ancient Raleigh from the bike shop, where its problems were too great to be addressed (the mechanic said: "this bike is not worth salvaging"). And like a perverse pit-bull owner, decided that poor, nearly unscratched thing deserved to live.
Upon arriving home, I noticed several bad areas of scraped paint on frame fenders since i'd improperly loaded it in the trailer...good thing I never adpted a kid.
My favourite rain cycling trick is to leave on my pajamas under my waterproofs, (especially if I am just coming home again after a nursery run). Most indulgent, and not too warm!
As long as it's not overly cold (when my fingers go numb) or overly windy (when my eyes get shotblasted by icy particles) cycling in the rain is no big deal to me. I used to put on waterproof trousers for the heavy rain; like Liz, I had those pertex Freestyle trousers too, but they weren't long enough to cover my ankles. I find that Endura tights and wicking socks are better for the rain, since they work more like a wet suit than a drysuit. I'm not sure where my waterproof trousers are now, even if I wanted to use them!
During the summer festival and the now tropical downpours of warm rain we get these past few years I have been known to cycle with no tshirt under the high vis sleeveless vest... tempted to break out the shower gel at haymarket lights as they keep you waiting so long and save the shower at work... festival goers would probably reckon it was a stunt for a show anyway...
The instant I started commuting with disc brakes, I stopped caring too much if it rained!
As I already change at either end it's no big deal if I get wet myself... in fact, the novelty of riding in a really crazy deluge can be rather cool.
I'm with arellcat, some fuzzy backed tights keep the wind off and if they get wet the trapped air just keeps the water warm.
Still, cold toes though!
I bought some waterproof shorts earlier in the year but have given up on them; all that happens is the rain runs down the shorts and soaks any tights on underneath, which then gets your socks and shoes soaked by capilliary action, even if I had waterproof booties.
For the rain, ice, wind and sleet I recently got an early Christmas present off my folks in the form of some Protective bibtights that seem to be 2-ply with a nice fleecy inner and work wonders at keeping the rain out and keeping you warm if they get a bit damp.
Unless it's raining heavily or tending towards zero, I usually cycle in some cheapo, baggy shorts as I like having pockets handy for stashing gloves, keys, mobile in and I feel like less of a pillock if I have to wander into a shop or something. I find I don't notice if my lower legs get cold, my thighs only get cold if the shorts get soaked and some neoprene booties keep my feet toastie.
I've got a real problem with my hands though, good windproof / waterproof gloves and some good merino wool liners (from my hillwalking wardrobe) struggle to keep shooting pains out. Play through the pain I guess!
I don't have far (couple of miles) to go and need to wear officy clothes,
full waterproofs, overshoes and a buff round the forehead to stop the rain getting in my eyes. winter
summer - shorts t-shirt change
havn't missed a days commuting in over 10 years - stubborn i guess,
it's like hillwalking in the rain , you see the lichens etc that you don't see on a fine day and it hones up certain skills you didn'y know you needed.
i take a perverse pleasure in being one of the few bikes at work in winter versus the 30 or so in fair weather
"i take a perverse pleasure in being one of the few bikes at work in winter versus the 30 or so in fair weather" Don't we all??!!
Why "perverse"?!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perverse
"Perversion is a concept describing those types of human behavior that are perceived to be a serious deviation from what is considered to be orthodox or normal"
Most folk think you are a weirdo cycling in the crazy weather, I often meet cyclists in the changing room at work who have opted to work who shake their heads at me and call me a "nutter"
Yeah but that's them being perverse.
not if I am in the minority according to the definition of perverse...
peverse as in the occasional one upmanship to the fair weather commuters, when really I should just enjoy the cycle :)
I just cycle any weather as it beats walking in the bad weather and getting just as wet/cold and is cheaper than opting for the bus...
anything is better than the bus LOL
This one with post from America from JP ans some of the old guard or similar one that amuses only me about whether sealskinz socks are ethical. As my first post?
You must log in to post.
Cycling in Edinburgh Flickr group
Video embedded using Easy Video Embed plugin
posts