Have I taken leave of my senses?.

[SkipdiverJohn]

Normally I'm strictly a fair weather cyclist. I don't commute by bike, I don't do snow & ice, I don't do rain, and I don't ride if it's very windy. However, recently it's been so hot & scorching during the day I've ridden much less than normal, so I felt the urge to go out and clock up a few miles. So yesterday I found myself tinkering with one of my old Raleighs, a decent 501 framed MTB made in1991. Do tyre swap & inset Dr Sludge puncture resistant tyre liners. Mess around with saddle height. Go for road test. In the horrible gusty winds. Saddle OK but bars felt too low, so raise bars and go out for another road test. Come back and tinker with gears and brake adjustment. Yet another road test. By that time my legs were knackered by the headwinds so put bike away and went out on foot for a beer.
Come this morning I look out and its raining. Stuck head out and thought "it's not really that heavy though, it'll probably stop soon". Gets old Raleigh out again. Still not happy with rear brake, so next thing I'm standing in the garden, in the rain, in shorts and polo shirt, with tools in my hands. By the time I was happy with the brake I was pretty wet, so I thought "sod it, might as well go for a ride now anyway" Off I went and the lack of other people getting in the way made it more enjoyable than normal despite me being soaked by then and my shirt sticking to my back. Got talking to a woman on a gravel path who was wearing waterproofs and was told I was "completely bonkers to be out riding a bike in this weather". She probably had a point given my bedraggled state. Rain then started to clear and by the time I got home I had sort of half dried out and was smiling and feeling pretty pleased with the ride and the fact the bike felt well sorted. Very odd behaviour for me, voluntarily going out in the wet, and tinkering in the wet, when I could have just put it off for a better day!

 

[Crackle]

Often, not always, rides in adversity are the most memorable or the most pleasing. Of course they're not always memorable for the right reasons but they can be.

 

[Heltor Chasca]

@SkipdiverJohn earlier today.

 

[palinurus]

I tried that CC metric century / month thing a few years back. Only ride I can remember today was the one when I went out and it was sleating, I forgot my overshoes and my feet went numb and I gave up a few miles short and ultimately failed because it was the end of the month.

 

[marshmella]

@SkipdiverJohn earlier today.

View attachment 421567 View attachment 421568

Those overshoes might catch on

 

[Nonethewiser]

Well, I can see where you are coming from here. I'm also usually very much a fair weather cyclist but after being unable to get out during the week due to having to deal with various amounts of shoot I was gagging to get a few miles in. Yesterday morning was normally weather that I would avoid being windy and wet but I just thought sod it and went out for a quick ride - came back a little wet and wind blown but enjoyed it nevertheless. I should've waited until later in the day as the weather improved greatly, ho hum!

 

[13 rider]

I've been out in the rain today it was lovely and refreshing made a nice change from the heat . As long as you can keep warm getting wet is not an issue . Cold winter get rain is another thing all together

 

[Heltor Chasca]

Those overshoes might catch on

Hah! Very good. I got it if nobody else did. Very dry.

(That’s a double cymbal crash to me though)

 

[Alan O]

Normally I'm strictly a fair weather cyclist. I don't commute by bike, I don't do snow & ice, I don't do rain, and I don't ride if it's very windy. However, recently it's been so hot & scorching during the day I've ridden much less than normal, so I felt the urge to go out and clock up a few miles. So yesterday I found myself tinkering with one of my old Raleighs, a decent 501 framed MTB made in1991. Do tyre swap & inset Dr Sludge puncture resistant tyre liners. Mess around with saddle height. Go for road test. In the horrible gusty winds. Saddle OK but bars felt too low, so raise bars and go out for another road test. Come back and tinker with gears and brake adjustment. Yet another road test. By that time my legs were knackered by the headwinds so put bike away and went out on foot for a beer.
Come this morning I look out and its raining. Stuck head out and thought "it's not really that heavy though, it'll probably stop soon". Gets old Raleigh out again. Still not happy with rear brake, so next thing I'm standing in the garden, in the rain, in shorts and polo shirt, with tools in my hands. By the time I was happy with the brake I was pretty wet, so I thought "sod it, might as well go for a ride now anyway" Off I went and the lack of other people getting in the way made it more enjoyable than normal despite me being soaked by then and my shirt sticking to my back. Got talking to a woman on a gravel path who was wearing waterproofs and was told I was "completely bonkers to be out riding a bike in this weather". She probably had a point given my bedraggled state. Rain then started to clear and by the time I got home I had sort of half dried out and was smiling and feeling pretty pleased with the ride and the fact the bike felt well sorted. Very odd behaviour for me, voluntarily going out in the wet, and tinkering in the wet, when I could have just put it off for a better day!

I love going out on my MTB when it's warm and drizzly (and not windy) - I hate the rain when it's cold or windy. I typically come back caked in my, mind, and have to hose the bike down before it sets hard.