Biking in the rain?

I have always avoided riding the bike in the rain. Biking is always in my mind something to be done on a sunny beautiful day. Yet I'll do everything else in the rain... maybe not renting a kayak though. :) Anyways, why avoid it? I do live in one of the rain capitals of the country so eliminating biking in rainy weather seems a little unreasonable if you want to be able to ride a lot in the summer and have your ass not fall off (butt soreness seems to be my main problem in long bike rides).

So last weekend it was not so nice out but when Ryan suggested going out for I ride in rainy weather I agreed.

Let me tell you - I'd rate biking in the rain on a scale of 1-10 (horrible to very fun) as about a three. Not so fun. Wet and cold. I would have fared better if my pants were waterproof and more importantly if I had full gloves - my fingers froze off fairly fast.

Yet we lucked out and the rain stopped shortly into the ride (and we were happy we didn't turn around about 10 minutes in... we were about to but the pride factor was too high). And then it was very nice - not too cold or hot. Clothes all dried up. And trying out a new bike route!

I'd never seem Seattle from this perspective before - from the north through all of the shipping docks that are north of the city. It is an odd view! Sorry for the not so beautiful photo - I took the waterproof camera on the ride because I was too afraid to get the others wet. It is great to bike along the water. Only problem is when you get to downtown and the tourist traps and ferry... too many people. Too much braking. And for somebody who is not yet too comfortable with their pedal foot clips... not so fun.

But biking in the rain does not seem so scary to me anymore. :) In spirit of getting ready for the summer, I am ready for more!