Hooray Bikes

Jul 10, 2006 By Randy Policar Posted in The Archives Tagged with Commute by Bike

For the most part of last week I wasn’t able to ride my bike due to the bad weather. I felt sluggish and wasn’t motivated to do anything the whole time. What made it worse is that I had to fill up on gas, get a new emission, and state inspection sticker. Which came with a small fee of $115 that I had to fork over. Though humid, today turned out to be nice so I was able to ride my bike. I felt energized and ready to take on anything that the day had to dish out. Commuting by bike to work helps me stay healthy, have a clear mind, and save a few dollars on gas money. HOORAY BIKES!

0 thoughts on “Hooray Bikes”

Nick says:

July 10, 2006 at 4:16 pm

Just bike in the rain!

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Moe says:

July 10, 2006 at 8:47 pm

I’ve just got back on the bike after a couple of weeks of resting my knee. This time I rode my road bike to work, man, I couldn’t quit smiling.

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Randy Policar says:

July 10, 2006 at 9:40 pm

Thunder storms and lightning showers are not my ideal riding conditions.

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Nick says:

July 10, 2006 at 11:10 pm

Several weeks ago I had an errand to run in the city. As I rode across the bridge, I saw dark clouds welling over Manhattan. I like biking in the rain, but hate having shoes filled with water, so I have a pair of neoprene booties that fit over my Pumas. I wasn’t expecting rain and had just a quick errand to run, so I didn’t bother bringing them, and didn’t bother attaching my front fender.

As I exited the bridge and started across town on 60th Ave, the clouds opened up and the rain came down hard. This was flash flood stuff: epic rain. It didn’t take long until everything I was wearing was soaked through, but the rain kept coming, with flashes of lightning and thunder cracking and booming overhead. The streets turned into rivers. Traffic slowed to a crawl, but I kept up my usual pace, even through puddles so deep that my shoes dragged through water with my pedals at even, and my bottom bracket has at least a foot of clearance. As I got to the bike path on the west side, the rain started to let up to a regular rain shower.

I got to my destination soaked, naturally, but there all the same. I took a different route home, heading up 1st Ave to the bridge, with the rain still coming down. Traffic was hairy on 1st, which lead to a few close calls – nothing too out of the ordinary. By the time I got home, the rain had stopped and the streets had drained. I hung my clothes to dry, put my shoes by the fan, and took a shower to wash off the road grit. It’s not the only time I’ve ridden in heavy rain, not by a long shot, but this was the heaviest.

The only reasonable argument I’ve heard against biking in the rain is from people who wear glasses and lose visibility when the rain hits their lenses. Apart from that, why are so many people turned off to biking in the rain? What’s so bad about getting wet?

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Moe says:

July 10, 2006 at 11:21 pm

Southern Californians can’t drive for s_t on the rain, my wife advices for me to drive to work instead of riding. Can’t argue with the wife….

I’ve ridden a Metric Century in the rain, to be truthful, it was not fun.

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Lani says:

July 11, 2006 at 1:55 am

Nick,
Quite a journey you had. I haven’t ridden in the rain, but I don’t think I would want to. It’s just preference. Just like some would rather use a raincoat vs an umbrella.

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Jay says:

July 11, 2006 at 6:44 am

Nick, your story is inspiring and I agree with you. My bike trip is only 15 minutes each way and you’d be surprised the few times I’ve been caught in the rain let alone an epic thunderstorm. Thunderstorms don’t scare me as long as I’m not biking out in the middle of the prairie where I am the tallest object around for miles. I also ride in snow, there is nothing like making the first set of tracks down the bike path in 6 inches of freshly fallen snow. I think it is funny how we’ll do all sorts of other sports in the rain and snow..i.e. football, skiing, running..etc. But somehow when it comes to riding a bike people get all weenie about it. I think it has more to do with peer pressure. People won’t get made fun of too much if they bike in nice weather when traffic is a mess and gas prices are high. But when you go biking in the rain, thunderstorms, and snow, people start to question your sanity. It takes people a while to get used to seeing you bike in the snow. When I first started biking my co-workers first coulodn’t believe I had ridden all the way to work (only 5 miles). Then when it rained they questioned my sanity by saying things like, “Don’t you know enough to get out of the rain?”. They eventually got used to me riding is all kinds of summer weather, then when the weather turned cold and I biked in when it was between 30 and 40 degress they again started questioning my sanity, but again they got used to it. Then when I biked it at 6 below zero, people just shook their heads and didn’t say a word. Now they are used to me biking in whatever weather northern Indiana can throw at me and I don’t have to endure their insanity comments. I know they are just jealous that they don’t have the guts to do it themselves.

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Varroa says:

July 11, 2006 at 7:47 am

I grew up and use to live in Vancouver BC and rain is a part of life. If you didn’t bike in the rain then you would never get to bike at all! I now live in Ottawa Ontario and people think I am nuts when I ride in the rain. I just say “What is wrong with riding in the rain?”. Usually they just shake their head and walk away. A good set of fenders, a rain coat or vest and some waterproof booties is all you need (unless it is 90 degrees in which case you just ride in your shorts and shirt and get wet!).

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