It’s Raining, It’s Pouring
It's Raining!
Rain on the commute has never really bothered me. In fact I’d go so far as to say I really enjoy riding in it.
As long as I remember to put the Raceblade on the back (check) and have my waterproof jacket (donned) and waterproof overshoes (velcroed) then I’m ready to go. I’ve never been troubled by wet legs, so the 3/4 troos remain and I venture out into the dampness. I’ve written before about how riding in the wet and (usually) cold is a great thing once you reach your destination (with someone who has driven not knowing that joy of climbing into warm and dry clothes and tasting that first coffee of the day). but there’s another aspect I like.
And it’s that no-one else seems to like it. Not just cyclists, who thin out on the streets, but pedestrians who make their way into buses or, more likely given the incresed number on the roads, into their cars. The tailbacks lengthen considerably, and frustration levels multiply. Only this morning the Merc driver who took exception to me being in the cycle reservoir ahead of him, who accelerated past with an exaggerated blip of the throttle, was joyfully (for me) met by a static line of metal less than 100 yards further on. I must look like some kind of maniac when riding in the rain, given the almost permanent fixed grin.
As a by the by, a couple of issues ago our Numbers Game had a figure for the number of times a cyclist gets wet a year commuting. It was presumably a UK average, and meant those times when you get properly soaked, but even so the figure of 12 times seemed frankly absurdly low. Okay, so Edinburgh is likely wetter than London, but we’re not even through March yet, and my count (which I started keeping after reading the stat) now sits at 7. I can’t see April foregoing its traditional showers either… Which is great.
I must admit, after the driest March on record (well, it certainly feels like it….) I really enjoyed my cycling in yesterday’s rain too….. Best time of the year to work too!
Rain gets such a bad press by people who just don’t get it.
I find people seem to drive faster, and perhaps more aggressively as you point out, in the wet. The rain does seem to be a stress factor even for people inside a car. I don’t know if that’s just a perception, because the splash/spray accentuates the sound of the cars, or if it’s actually true.
Goo (he who you sold a frame to), will be happy he loves the rain…
Goo? Who I sold a frame to?
Given that I only started cycle commuting at the beginning of this year, I’ve been pretty glad of the unseasonally dry weather (Glasgow would normally be wetter than London *and* Edinburgh
) to get me through enough days for it to now be an ingrained habit.
Of course, I have begun to remember some of the old cycling habits from when I was younger, not least the memory that rain isn’t your enemy….. wind is.