Training in the Rain



Do you train in the rain?

  • Yes

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • No

    Votes: 242 100.0%

  • Total voters
    242
When I lived in Wales, my family seriously believed my uncle would bring the rain with him. He'd drive over to Towyn from Staffordshire and, sure enough, it would rain. You could be enjoying lots of sun and a big black cloud would appear - sign my uncle had crossed the border. At one point it got so absurd that my family would practically beg him to stay in Staffordshire and keep the rain over there with him. I shared that with a friend and he reckoned my family most be nuts. Fancy believing such rubbish (though I confess it was a strange coincidence).
Sometimes I think I share my uncle's luck. I only have to get my bike out of the garage and it acts like a kind of rain dance. It never seems to rain when I'm shut in at work but as soon as I get my bike out, it'll set off.


ric_stern/RST said:
what do you expect -- you (presumably) live in Manchester. it always rains there. don't argue; i know, i use to live there!
 
Carrera said:
When I lived in Wales, my family seriously believed my uncle would bring the rain with him. He'd drive over to Towyn from Staffordshire and, sure enough, it would rain. You could be enjoying lots of sun and a big black cloud would appear - sign my uncle had crossed the border. At one point it got so absurd that my family would practically beg him to stay in Staffordshire and keep the rain over there with him. I shared that with a friend and he reckoned my family most be nuts. Fancy believing such rubbish (though I confess it was a strange coincidence).
Sometimes I think I share my uncle's luck. I only have to get my bike out of the garage and it acts like a kind of rain dance. It never seems to rain when I'm shut in at work but as soon as I get my bike out, it'll set off.
Another issue with biking in the rain is spray. Y'all know that tires spray water to the sides and back. It takes energy to move this water, and you are the folks that provide the energy to pump this water.

After a 30 mile ride in the rain, how many kilograms of water have you sprayed into the face of the guy behind you? How much energy did this consume? And how much has this energy cost reduced your velocity?
 
Carrera said:
When I lived in Wales, my family seriously believed my uncle would bring the rain with him. He'd drive over to Towyn from Staffordshire and, sure enough, it would rain. You could be enjoying lots of sun and a big black cloud would appear - sign my uncle had crossed the border. At one point it got so absurd that my family would practically beg him to stay in Staffordshire and keep the rain over there with him. I shared that with a friend and he reckoned my family most be nuts. Fancy believing such rubbish (though I confess it was a strange coincidence).
Sometimes I think I share my uncle's luck. I only have to get my bike out of the garage and it acts like a kind of rain dance. It never seems to rain when I'm shut in at work but as soon as I get my bike out, it'll set off.

you or your uncle haven't been in wigan for the last few week have you, if the answer is yes ******** where you came from it was nice here....lol
 
JCK said:
Another issue with biking in the rain is spray. Y'all know that tires spray water to the sides and back. It takes energy to move this water, and you are the folks that provide the energy to pump this water.

After a 30 mile ride in the rain, how many kilograms of water have you sprayed into the face of the guy behind you? How much energy did this consume? And how much has this energy cost reduced your velocity?
does it matter, question is was it fun, if the answer is no then i guess there was no point in doing it.

if the body uses 60% of its energy through heat loss and 30% moving water which do you think is going to be the best day to ride on. i'm sure your ride getting slowed down isn't anything to do with the water on the road. maybe other elements... psycological eg braking fears,
 
closesupport said:
does it matter, question is was it fun, if the answer is no then i guess there was no point in doing it.

if the body uses 60% of its energy through heat loss and 30% moving water which do you think is going to be the best day to ride on. i'm sure your ride getting slowed down isn't anything to do with the water on the road. maybe other elements... psycological eg braking fears,

I can empathise with you and Carrara and Ric : the rain this "summer" has been dreadful throughout the British and Irish isles.

I still go out in it but given that we get enough rain during our winter, I do find it quite disheartening to be having to put on overshoes in July when I go for a spin.

In the winter I have no problem with wearing a rain jacket etc - it's winter, the weathers supposed to be bad - but having to do the same during the summer months, well that's a bit much.
Over here in the west of Ireland, it's been raining constantly.
I blame my grandmother - she was born and raised in Bolton (just outside Manchester), she brought the Manchester weather with her, I reckon !
 
Put it this way. A friend was going out to walk his dog. It was bright and sunny and he saw me wheeling my bike out of the garage.
"Wish I'd taken an umbrella with me now", he remarked.
"Why's that?", I asked.
"Well, if you're going out on your bike it's a sure sign it will rain", he said.


closesupport said:
you or your uncle haven't been in wigan for the last few week have you, if the answer is yes ******** where you came from it was nice here....lol
 
To be honest it's been so bad this year I'm thinking about migrating again. Thank goodness I got away with it today. Just been for a ride and it didn't rain for once.


limerickman said:
I can empathise with you and Carrara and Ric : the rain this "summer" has been dreadful throughout the British and Irish isles.

I still go out in it but given that we get enough rain during our winter, I do find it quite disheartening to be having to put on overshoes in July when I go for a spin.

In the winter I have no problem with wearing a rain jacket etc - it's winter, the weathers supposed to be bad - but having to do the same during the summer months, well that's a bit much.
Over here in the west of Ireland, it's been raining constantly.
I blame my grandmother - she was born and raised in Bolton (just outside Manchester), she brought the Manchester weather with her, I reckon !
 
What's the difference wet, dry, hot, cold or windy. If I'm not training then a competitor is.:D

Although, now I'm training on getting fat.:eek:
 
I have just started riding and am contemplating going out in the rain. Someone earlier mentioned putting vaseline on your legs. What is the purpose of this? It just seems to me it will make everything more uncomfortable (ie slimy) and the drying off/cleaning up process that much more tedious. Is there a particular benefit to doing this?
 
abauza said:
What's the difference wet, dry, hot, cold or windy. If I'm not training then a competitor is.:D

Although, now I'm training on getting fat.:eek:
well i had a mad ride this morning to work, got up late 4.47am set off at 51am and was in work clocking on for 5.03am average speed of i don't know but over 4.5 miles left me pretty knacked! so today i don't ride, ithink i considered stopping at 1 set of traffic lights, don't think i did though, slowed a little to judge it for safety. i recall on a number of occassions 'Ohhh come on legs, don't fail me now' surprizing what you can achieve on a mtb and a final written warning for lates and attendance.

so if anyone feels like doing a calculation! would that be average 27mph, since i have walking time to clock machine?

how do you work out average speed, ? please leave the formula so i don't have to ask again :D
 
juf2m said:
I have just started riding and am contemplating going out in the rain. Someone earlier mentioned putting vaseline on your legs. What is the purpose of this? It just seems to me it will make everything more uncomfortable (ie slimy) and the drying off/cleaning up process that much more tedious. Is there a particular benefit to doing this?
makes it easier to whipe the **** off, but personally i preafre deepheat, then a small skimming of vas over the top! makes your legs cosy and warm, or you could wear tights.... i prefare shorts in the rain however :)

its good on your rimms aswell, after you been out in the rain, again cleaning up purposes, no scrubbing or jetwashes required.
 
Oh, I see. Thanks! :)

That is the only problem I can see with cycling...it's such a production number to get ready and then put everything away!! Runners just put on their shoes and go.


I also have a question about thunderstorms. Is it indeed dangerous to ride in a thunderstorm? Is there an actual chance of getting hit by lightening being so low down and with rubber tires?

We are going to have a storm today...I am trying to decide between riding, going to the gym or staying home in a hot bath cramming for my driver's knowledge test tomorrow! :D
 
juf2m said:
I also have a question about thunderstorms. Is it indeed dangerous to ride in a thunderstorm? Is there an actual chance of getting hit by lightening being so low down and with rubber tires?

Rubber tires have nothing to do with it. A couple of mm of rubber is not going to stop a lightning bolt that just punched through a couple of miles of air.

FWIW, the reason you're relatively safe in a car is that the metal of the body and passenger compartment act as a faraday cage. As cars start to be made of composites more and more, this will become less true.

Dean
 
Live in Wales, would never ride if i didn't do it in the rain. Although in the deepest, darkest pits of winter the turbo looks so much more appealing.
 
DocLobster said:
Live in Wales, would never ride if i didn't do it in the rain. Although in the deepest, darkest pits of winter the turbo looks so much more appealing.
the turbo might look appealing in wet weather, but why not try to think of the real advantages of MTB in the rain, 1 softer landings, more opertunities to perfect your landing skills and moving dismounts, all that lovely cool refreshing rain to keep you cool, all that mud you can get laced in from head to toe 'mtb is great, just like playing in the mud its almost like being a kid all over again' then best of all that warm shower to remove the mud, plus a nice long deserved hot soak in the bath.

then that reason that we all avoid the rain, most of all cleaning, tuning and oiling our bikes. now you tell me that ain't the real reason.

i live in greater manchester, i see proably as much rain and bad weather as you taffy.
 
Interesting thread. Guess am just a wimp <grin>. Well I figure I can get a better training ride in on the rollers when weather is bad than outside in heavy rain. Generally I just the doppler radar and if it looks good I ride. If I do get wet no biggie, but I'd rather forgo the slick road for a tough roller ride in bad weather.
 
I am a cyclist.

I live in between the Lake District and the Pennines in the Northwest of England.

I, therefore, ride in rain.

Alot.
 
In the past, I didn't train in the rain, but I got caught in a shoe soaking heavy rain once. And I got caught in light rains twice. The reason I didn't bike in the rain is that I wasn't waterproof, and that the bike gets messy.

Well, I just bought a great Bellweather rain jacket, a rain cap that goes underneath a helmet, rain pants, and I will buy a rain / thermal shoe booties soon. All I need now is a rain proof backpack.

Now I think, if I don't get wet with all that gear on -- I guess I can now bike and train in the rain. The only problem is handling a bike in the rain -- cornering & stopping might be slippery.

It give me the hope that weather won't be a factor on when I ride, except when it's real windy.
 
JTE83 said:
In the past, I didn't train in the rain, but I got caught in a shoe soaking heavy rain once. And I got caught in light rains twice. The reason I didn't bike in the rain is that I wasn't waterproof, and that the bike gets messy.

Well, I just bought a great Bellweather rain jacket, a rain cap that goes underneath a helmet, rain pants, and I will buy a rain / thermal shoe booties soon. All I need now is a rain proof backpack.

Now I think, if I don't get wet with all that gear on -- I guess I can now bike and train in the rain. The only problem is handling a bike in the rain -- cornering & stopping might be slippery.

It give me the hope that weather won't be a factor on when I ride, except when it's real windy.
if find that vaseline on the wheel rimms and other metal parts i'e brake eaies the job of cleaning once you have dryed it off a little, i often ride in the rain, but it doesn't stop me wearing shorts and top, as long as you can have a red hot soak as soon as you get in, whilst allowing the bike to dry off slightly. i usually get to feel okey! laminate flooring is a gret idea, since you can let the bike drip freely on it :D
 
Personally, I gain alot of satisfaction from riding in poor weather, albeit often only when I have arrived back home and am dry and warm again. I think this comes from knowing that I've exhausted my vast arsenal of excuses for not going out and am taking my commitment to training alot more seriously!

I dislike cycling in the wind considerably more and it's taken alot more effort to overcome this particular "obstacle" and go out on the bike, particularly when it's a 20 m.p.h + headwind for 10 miles and an equally strong and evil crosswind for twice that distance...not good!

Re: risks of riding in the rain - well, if you're a driver, just think about how you react to driving when its wet; employ a little caution and you'll be fine.
 

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