This morning's commute and other commuting stories

Something something could have bunny hopped / would have seemed faster but tortoise would catch up later something.

Did a 50 mile round trip from Staines-Mile End-Staines straight through central yesterday and didn't take enough food. Bonked HARD a couple of miles from home. Woke up feeling pretty stiff as a result and decided to ride this morning to get some blood through my legs. Argh, it was HELL!

fuck me! what a grotty morning! persistent rain and 30mph headwind gusts defeated my re-proofed waterproof within about 10 minutes.
then as an additional kick in the balls, i went to get my bike to ride home at lunch to find a flat front and a nice shard of glass sticking through my tyre.
at least it was dry on the way home!

anyone got a real world recommendation of a thin-ish waterproof that can withstand 1hr of rain? does such a thing even exist?

Rapha rain jacket works, but it can be a sweaty experience if it’s even mildly, umm, mild :(

Gore bike jacket also does this...

I've been enjoying my LFGSS aqua jacket on drizzly commutes in

(Cycling specific) Poncho.

Needs to be combined with full length guards too ofc

Endura MTR shell jacket was spot on for me this AM. It's not super thin, but properly waterproof and decently breathable. YMMV, obvs.

Also recommend a poncho; mine (Agu Grant) saved most of me from the wet today; grim though, both ways.

shakedry is magic, i have ridden 4+ hrs in rain with that on

But if you wear a backpack you will ruin it so ignore amey

ah, never backpack, I have invested in pannier technology

Having been without a decent cycling jacket for some time I recently overcompensated and bought two, having concluded that there is no one jacket that will do everything, especially if the weather some of the time is extremely wet and warm-ish.

The Gore Shakedry is probably the more versatile of the two - and it will definitely withstand an hour of heavy rain. Having said that, it will dump that rain onto your legs. It’s properly long at the back too. It’s windproof but doesn’t have much insulating ability which makes it more useful for me as it’s tolerable in warm weather and you can layer up if needed. And it’s packable.

The other purchase was a Rapha Classic Gore-Tex. I like this one too, less of a roadie fit, pockets, probably a better winter jacket for commutes and day rides. It’s pretty warm though, probably too warm for anything above 12 degrees or so, less if working hard. Thing about it is, though, I am unconvinced by its DWR coating. Not long after I got it, a put a couple of grubby marks on one arm, brushing up past a parked van I think. It’s a not-quite hi-viz orange. I very carefully sluiced the worst of it off, and gave the remaining patches the very lightest of rubs with very dilute, very mild clothes soap, cold water. Despite this care, I can see that those areas do not shed water any more. So the DWR is extremely non-durable, and my plan henceforth is never to wash this jacket until it’s near the end of its time. For now at least, it will also definitely withstand an hour of heavy rain.

If I had to have one, probably the Shakedry. But sometimes it’s good to have capacious back pockets, and to throw on a jacket that is warm enough by itself with just a base layer under it.

thanks for the suggestions, plenty of options for me to look into.
and apologies for derailing the commute thread with clothing chatter.
should probably have asked in the winter clothing one.
fingers crossed for a dry ride tomorrow

Beautiful Yorkshire weather for the first cycle commute to a new client, much better than a train though 🌧

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Very nice ^

Ponchos - I saw someone using one for the first time in years today, quite possibly the Agu one linked to above. Seemed to fit quite tidily really, not too much of an air dam, and completely covered the legs.

Dreamboat.

Did we all enjoy the rain, wind, dark, standing water and couldn’t care less because they’re in the dry drivers?
That was properly shit tonight

luckily managed to dodge the rain today!
I did lose my zen on the way in this morning when a total bellend close passed me at speed only to take a right a few metres up the road.
funny how these impatient pricks have the time to stop and wind the window down to shout abuse, taking more time than if they just waited until it was safe to pass in the first place.

Loved it. Particularly enjoyed the torrential rain that stopped almost immediately once I'd got to work and then picked up again just before I left.

I was resigned to being soaked and lo it came to pass, what I was amazed by was the number of people who ride but with no waterproofs gloves mudguards etc - can never worn out if a lot of them even realise how easy fitting guards for example would be, and what a difference they'd make 🤷🏼‍♂️

It's those with practical bikes, practical tyres, panniers etc, and then no mudguards that baffle me. People are strange.

Exactly!

Didn't mind it, except for the fun of trying to gauge breaking distances when using long drop rim brakes

Did we all enjoy the rain, wind, dark, standing water and couldn’t care less because they’re in the dry drivers?

That was properly shit tonight

Since september I've had to drop my lad off at preschool in the car 3 days a week and all I can say is it's objectively worse than cycling. There's always traffic and I'm always second guessing which route is going to be quicker. Even in the rain and wind (which i got on tuesday for my ride in) riding a bike is just much, much better.