Rainy day training!

If you carry your cell phone, carry it in a plastic bag.

use your everyday or training bike not your $5,000 bike.

buy a wind trainer!

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by MidBunchLurker
buy a wind trainer!

Yup.

I won't ride in the rain for safety reasons. Drivers aren't really looking for people on bikes when it's sunny out. I don't know why that would change when visibility is lessened due to the rain.

I don't know how they drive in Japan, but here in the U.S. they drive like idiots (probably because most people here are). I didn't ride for 5 years while I lived in Atlanta because drivers there are so horrible. Total [censored]. I would have loved to have been a traffic cop there. 😉

I thought I was the only guy around who stood up to vehicle drivers till I read Lance Armstrongs experiences in Texas. Apparently Lance would really have a go at anyone who tried to push him off the road, especially truck drivers.
Over here you get gangs of hooligans who think it's a really cool to ride past you on your bike and scream really loud or shout out your wheel is falling off. Nearly every week I have someone ram into me on the road through carelessness or poor driving skills.
Once a gang of hooligans rode past and decided to play the shouting game. "Hey, your wheels falling off!" When the traffic light changed, I caught up the car and overtook it and then rode right in front slowly so they couldn't pass. They didn't find that quite so funny.
I always ride with my hands on the brakes and analyse every angle of the road. At roundabouts I never assume my left side will be safe as I've had cars just swing past without giving way. One idiot was even driving on the wrong side of the road and screeched his breaks just in time as I swerved to miss him. Even being as careful as I am it's still tough to stay out of harms reach. You know, I seriously thought of riding in clothing that would make me appear like a cop to frighten some of these motorists into better behaviour.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Doctor Morbius
Yup.

I won't ride in the rain for safety reasons. Drivers aren't really looking for people on bikes when it's sunny out. I don't know why that would change when visibility is lessened due to the rain.

I don't know how they drive in Japan, but here in the U.S. they drive like idiots (probably because most people here are). I didn't ride for 5 years while I lived in Atlanta because drivers there are so horrible. Total [censored]. I would have loved to have been a traffic cop there. 😉

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Carrera
I thought I was the only guy around who stood up to vehicle drivers till I read Lance Armstrongs experiences in Texas. Apparently Lance would really have a go at anyone who tried to push him off the road, especially truck drivers.
Over here you get gangs of hooligans who think it's a really cool to ride past you on your bike and scream really loud or shout out your wheel is falling off. Nearly every week I have someone ram into me on the road through carelessness or poor driving skills.
Once a gang of hooligans rode past and decided to play the shouting game. "Hey, your wheels falling off!" When the traffic light changed, I caught up the car and overtook it and then rode right in front slowly so they couldn't pass. They didn't find that quite so funny.
I always ride with my hands on the brakes and analyse every angle of the road. At roundabouts I never assume my left side will be safe as I've had cars just swing past without giving way. One idiot was even driving on the wrong side of the road and screeched his breaks just in time as I swerved to miss him. Even being as careful as I am it's still tough to stay out of harms reach. You know, I seriously thought of riding in clothing that would make me appear like a cop to frighten some of these motorists into better behaviour.

Carrera,

During one of the few rides I had in Atlanta some tool threw an apple at me. Looks like he really whipped it too. If you figure he threw it at 30 MPH and add the speed of his redneck pick-up truck, which was probably 45 MPH, that would have knocked me off the bike!

Just yesterday during one of my daily 2 hour rides I had 4 near misses.

1) Had some idiot rushed past me just to make a right hand turn into his driveway. If I hadn't been on the brakes I would have run right into the back of his car. He just didn't have the patience to have followed me for a few feet.

2) Had some blue haired lady swerve out of her lane into mine so she could dodge a parked car. A parked car for Christ's sakes!! I guess it's OK to aim your car at some guy on a bike in favor of a non-moving vehicle. Especially if you have to sit on a couple of phone books and have coke bottle glasses. People over 70 shouldn't drive.

3) I had another goof pull out of his driveway right past me. He wasn't even looking. I skid about 3 feet to keep from getting run over by him.

4) Also, a woman walked accross the street right in front of me while I was going 17 MPH. She didn't even look. Just like most females she was only thinking about herself. It didn't even dawn on her that she'd done something stupid as she kept on walking. Idiot. I should have run right into her.

Keep in mind that this is in a sleepy little neighborhood. Motorists don't care about bikes. They just aren't thinking about them. Needless to say I ride very defensively. People are [censored].

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by ejglows
It`s Rainy season here in Japan and for the next month and half I expect to be SOAKING wet! WOO HOO! Besides having a rain coat, I think we should list all the Do`s and Dont`s of training / traveling in the rain! Please list ONLY your best suggestions...I will start with someone that SHOULD be `common sense`...WEAR BRIGHT COLORS AND HAVE LIGHTS! Also have a good attitude! The rain builds character....well, at least you have to TRY to believe that...

Ride like the wind,
e

I ride rain and shine, fog, dark, hail...you name it, I'm in it.

Visibility is an issue as Dr. Morbius noted. Yellow is a very notable colour for rain gear and/or pannier covers. I using blinking rear red light on the back of the bike.

Attitude is everything. Don't give yourself those few minutes at the door with your nose pressed up against the glass bemoaning the rain...it only makes the ride miserable. Just make up your mind you're going to ride and do it, regardless of climactic conditions. I know I sound like the Nike commercials but there's a certain truth to it...don't talk about it; don't whine about it. Just do it.

And if you're going to do any amount of wretched weather riding, don't stint on the gear. I spent **too much** money on a pair of waterproof, windproof tights last fall. Turns out, I've worn my money's worth and more from them. It made such a difference in the overall comfort of the daily commute, lending some credibility to the adage "there's no such thing as bad weather; there's only bad gear".

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by ejglows
It`s Rainy season here in Japan and for the next month and half I expect to be SOAKING wet! WOO HOO! Besides having a rain coat, I think we should list all the Do`s and Dont`s of training / traveling in the rain! Please list ONLY your best suggestions...I will start with someone that SHOULD be `common sense`...WEAR BRIGHT COLORS AND HAVE LIGHTS! Also have a good attitude! The rain builds character....well, at least you have to TRY to believe that...

Ride like the wind,
e

I actually enjoy riding and racing in the rain. It is all about your mental attitude. Living in England I get wet quite a few times and learned to grin and bear it. Dont forget to wear glasses it keeps the grit out of your eyes. Good luck mate Moggie😄

Make sure you cross railroad tracks straight on, at 90 degrees!

i agree with Doctor Morbius. its not that i'm anti-rain, but anti idiot motorists who don't look for cyclist, or actually see a cyclist and still drives like a [censored].

~the turtle

There are a few motorists who tend to be polite and careful to allow me some space when I'm riding. I usually wave to thank them if they let me through and show consideration.
Even so there are a lot of idiots out there who detest cyclists because (as Lance Armstrong noted) they feel bikes should be taxed e.t.c.
However, the latest fashion in my area is to simply come out of a junction without bothering to even look at the main road. A motorcyclist I know had that happen to him, slammed his brakes, came off and broke his leg. The motorist had given the impression he was going to whirl out, although he had seen the motorcyclist. Drivers do this on me all the time.
The classic of course is the person who walks out from behind some parked cars right into you. It never happens to me as I look behind the cars as I pass.
Roundabouts are certainly the most dangerous. It's the imbecile who tries to pass you to your left, sweeping into your bike you have to watch. Certainly I'd have been knocked off if I hadn't missed the vehicle by about an inch.
Then there was the idiot in the tractor on a country lane who overtook me with a quarter inch to spare. I was so angry something strange happened (similar to an episode of the hulk series). I was so furious with that tractor driver I actually overtook his vehicle going up the hill and left him behind. No idea how I hit such a speed but stress grants us unusual resiliance.
Actually I was a prize idiot myself last week. I was testing my bike in the dark at work, trying to get my big cog to work. My chain had been coming off so I was watching the chain move onto the ring in pitch dark as I rode down the yard. Next thing I knew I felt hard steel crash into me and I was off. I had ploughed into the works van, cut myself and gotten a hell of a shock. What an idiot! Amazingly there was no damage to my bike although I had various cuts and grazes.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Doctor Morbius
Carrera,

During one of the few rides I had in Atlanta some tool threw an apple at me. Looks like he really whipped it too. If you figure he threw it at 30 MPH and add the speed of his redneck pick-up truck, which was probably 45 MPH, that would have knocked me off the bike!

Just yesterday during one of my daily 2 hour rides I had 4 near misses.

1) Had some idiot rushed past me just to make a right hand turn into his driveway. If I hadn't been on the brakes I would have run right into the back of his car. He just didn't have the patience to have followed me for a few feet.

2) Had some blue haired lady swerve out of her lane into mine so she could dodge a parked car. A parked car for Christ's sakes!! I guess it's OK to aim your car at some guy on a bike in favor of a non-moving vehicle. Especially if you have to sit on a couple of phone books and have coke bottle glasses. People over 70 shouldn't drive.

3) I had another goof pull out of his driveway right past me. He wasn't even looking. I skid about 3 feet to keep from getting run over by him.

4) Also, a woman walked accross the street right in front of me while I was going 17 MPH. She didn't even look. Just like most females she was only thinking about herself. It didn't even dawn on her that she'd done something stupid as she kept on walking. Idiot. I should have run right into her.

Keep in mind that this is in a sleepy little neighborhood. Motorists don't care about bikes. They just aren't thinking about them. Needless to say I ride very defensively. People are [censored].

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Doctor Morbius
<snip>

4) Also, a woman walked accross the street right in front of me while I was going 17 MPH. She didn't even look. Just like most females she was only thinking about herself. It didn't even dawn on her that she'd done something stupid as she kept on walking. Idiot. I should have run right into her.

Keep in mind that this is in a sleepy little neighborhood. Motorists don't care about bikes. They just aren't thinking about them. Needless to say I ride very defensively. People are [censored].

My heavens, how can you possibly stand to live in such uncivilized places among such savage and uncouth people?

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Carrera
. . . in the dark at work, trying to get my big cog to work . . .

Good heavens Carrera! This is a family forum. Children can read this stuff! 😉

The traffic today was much more civilized. The earlier I ride the better it is. It seems that if I wait until later in the afternoon people are getting off work and are all liquored up and [censored] for whatever reasons. Had no problems today.

One of my pet peeves is when you see some tool driving way too fast down the street around a school zone. The neighborhood/subdivision I ride in is nothing but families and children. It's extremely irresponsible to drive like a bat out of hell when some little kid can dart out in the street at any minute chasing a ball or something. Adults are supposed to be responsible and watch over the acts of kids. Instead they are guilty of wreckless endangerment.

Kate, perhaps people are different in Canada, but here in the States it's every person for themselves. There are a lot of selfish people here.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Brunswick_kate
I ride rain and shine, fog, dark, hail...you name it, I'm in it.

Yeah, that's me too. Worked in NC for the year last year and wow, can it rain hard and out of nowhere down there. One ride it started raining so hard visibility dropped to almost nothing and there were rivers of water on the hills. Great stuff though. Was a very memorable ride and the rain can be exhilarating.

I prefer it when I can start and gear up and get 5 miles in before it actually starts. I'll go out when rain is definite but not yet started without a moment's hesitation. For me that's preferable to setting out from the get go in a storm. I like the moments before it starts anyway too. If it goes back to back days raining though, I go out anway. It can be really nice. As others have said, just move the caution bar up a little.

Havent done dark though many sunset rides. Hail. Just missed that once. I'd probably avoid that if possible, but hey, having a helmet you can multipurpose it. 😉 The ride I came back from described above actually had a tornado warning or alert (whichever is lower) unknown to me until afterwards. I can almost say I did that. 😄

In Spain the roads are probably even more dangerous than over here and I'm told it's even worse in France.
However, to be frank, I find the attitude towards cyclists in this part of the U.K. to be problematic. I have never really encountered such outright hostility to my presence on the road. I mean, I deal with people day in day out and find their attitude reasonably respectful while I'm at work or about my affairs. However, as soon as I put on my helmet and get out onto the main road, somehow it's like suddenly becoming a third-rate-citizen. There's this "get out of my way!" mentality the motorists seem to have.
The fact is no vehicle driver should be driving that fast in an inner city that they need to bypass a bike (on his left hand side) on a roundabout. Sure, cyclists shouldn't be on motorways but everybody should drive carefully in inner cities and drive slower for the sake of pedestrians, dogs, old ladies and what have you.
These days I'm paying more and more attention to my own personal safety. I try to predict what a given vehicle driver may or may not do before it happens.
Here are some example of typical incidents:
(1) Drivers who overtake you going under a bridge, or at a roundabout, on your left hand side, sweeping you off the road and hitting your bike (all overtaking by law should be to the right of the individual you pass).
(2) Drivers who overtake and then slow down before you to turn left or right so you have to slam your brakes to avoid crashing into them.
(3) Idiots who honk continually without regard for the fact you're only holding them up at a traffic light because of the need to thread your feet into the toe-straps.
(4)Intoxicated Cro-Magnon types who yell abuse as they pass you in a car. One such Cro-Magnon even threw a half empty can of beer at me through the vehicle window.
I often have the last laugh, leaving thjem way behind in a traffic jam while I speed off on my way in double time.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Doctor Morbius
Good heavens Carrera! This is a family forum. Children can read this stuff! 😉

The traffic today was much more civilized. The earlier I ride the better it is. It seems that if I wait until later in the afternoon people are getting off work and are all liquored up and [censored] for whatever reasons. Had no problems today.

One of my pet peeves is when you see some tool driving way too fast down the street around a school zone. The neighborhood/subdivision I ride in is nothing but families and children. It's extremely irresponsible to drive like a bat out of hell when some little kid can dart out in the street at any minute chasing a ball or something. Adults are supposed to be responsible and watch over the acts of kids. Instead they are guilty of wreckless endangerment.

Kate, perhaps people are different in Canada, but here in the States it's every person for themselves. There are a lot of selfish people here.

Being from Portland, Oregon this is a fairly useful thread. I don't think you could ride for more than about a week without being rained on here, except for maybe in late august.

I'm pretty new to the sport so all my cycling experiences have been here in town, and I'm somewhat suprised by everyone's horror stories wirh regards to cars. I've found drivers here (except for one incident involving some punk teenagers on the way to the beach) to be very aware and respectful of cyclists. Maybe it has to do with the fact that basically every major road has a large well marked bike lane.

My only complaint in fact would be as an automobile driver regarding some of the cyclists. When I'm driving my car I can't stand it when cyclists don't obey traffic laws. Usually it amounts to riding through an empty intersections when the light it red, although I've seen other things as well. It just makes me frusterated a driver cause, for their safety, I have to guess what they are going to do next. As a result when I'm riding my bike around I make sure to follow all the rules, even at times when it might seem a little silly.

Wish all you people who are moaning about wet weather would send some of your cumulonimbus clouds down here.

We have not had decent rainfall for yonks. Our water storage capacity is at the lowest level for decades - about 45%.

Water restrictions are in place and I am prohibited from washing my bikes with a fixed hose!

Veloflash - living in sunny and dry Sydney

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by menglish6

I'm pretty new to the sport so all my cycling experiences have been here in town, and I'm somewhat suprised by everyone's horror stories wirh regards to cars. I've found drivers here (except for one incident involving some punk teenagers on the way to the beach) to be very aware and respectful of cyclists. Maybe it has to do with the fact that basically every major road has a large well marked bike lane.

I'm right there with you. I have really great experiences with drivers so my attitude is coloured with a positive bias. I get about 1 jackass incident per year which I think is great considering I ride daily for 9 months of the year. And this year's leading candidate for "jackass" redeemed himself when he came up to mae about an hour later, stopped his car and *apologized* for having passed too closely to me.

I htink it has a lot to do with how many people cycle. The more cyclists out there, the more non-cycling drivers are used to the concept "share the road". And in my neighbourhood, it a very rare event to be out and *not* see at least one person on a bike within the first kilometre of the journey.

Safety in numbers maybe?

Had a near brush with death just yesterday afternoon. I didn't post last night because I was still pretty upset about it.

Yesterday was a beautiful sunny June day. Went out for a 2.5 hour ride and everything was great. People were nice. Cars were nice. Weather was nice. All was just perfect until the last 5 minutes of my ride.

Some lady backed out of her driveway and nearly ran over me. She backed out too quickly for me to have put on the brakes or to have sped up. All I could do was swerve into the other lane. Had there been any oncoming traffic I would have been toast. Down I would have gone - either onto the hood of an oncoming car or under her rear axle.

Anyway, she decides to pull up next to me to apologize and she did say that "she was sorry for not seeing me" (although I was wearing a bright yellow T-shirt). All I said back to her was, "I could have been a 10 year old kid back there" as I was trying to get the point accross that she was, for all practical purposes, waving a loaded handgun around. When you're on a bike and drivers are neglegent, that car becomes a deadly weapon! Period.

That's when she started cussing me out! :eek: I couldn't believe what I was hearing! I was getting cussed out because some idiot nearly ran over me with her SUV! What a hick. She used the "F" word a few times and so I felt obliged to return the favor. I could hear her cussing me from inside her SUV for about 4 houses away as she drove off. At that point my middle finger emerged pointing upwards in the obligitory salute.

I seriously thought about calling the cops but I doubt if they would do anything. If I were a cop, I would have ticketed her on the spot for wreckless endangerment.

This is the kind of madness I have to deal with on a regular basis. Keep in mind it's much better here than it was in Atlanta. Motorists (and people in general) are much more rude there.