Okay rainy day riders, I experienced rain gear failure for the first time. It was pouring rain, basically, and I decided to do my 12 mile commute anyway. Normally my rainy day cycling is on-and-off rain, and is "Seattle style" rain which is mostly of the veggie mister variety. But yesterday's rain was audible on the roof. The real thing. But, hey, I've got rain gear, right? I know how to manage this stuff.
After nearly an hour of riding in the the pouring rain. I discovered:
- My waterproof jacket... isn't. It wasn't a problem because I was wearing a synthetic polar fleece underneath that didn't absorb any water.
- My duckboot uppers leak. That should have been obvious (the uppers are cloth), but I hadn't experienced it before in the on-and-off rain and drizzle of my previous commutes. On this day of downpours, I arrived to work with my feet in sloshing puddles inside of my rubber boots.
- The bottoms of my jeans got soaking wet beneath my rain pants. Yes, well, when I ride, the rain pants ride up a bit due to the cycling motion, and I guess my jeans hems were exposed. They got soaked almost up to my knees by absorbing water over the hour of my commute.
So, how does an ebikemom teach her classes and go to her meetings all sopping wet? Well, fortunately, in my office I just happened to have:
- dry shoes
- dry socks
- a pair of dry slacks
- a towel
- a rain jacket
- radiators!
Yes, I was not a girl scout for nothing! (But, alas, I cannot take credit for the radiators!) My office is in an elderly building which has its perils in case of earthquake (if the big one comes while I'm at work, you'll find me and my seafoam green Pedego buried under many bricks), but has its benefits in the form of an ancient heating system that pumps out heat from radiators all winter. So, I decorated the radiator with all of my wet things, made good use of the towel and some paper towels, and went through my day in my back-up dry things.
By the time I was ready to go home from work, everything was dry and ready to wear home.
SO, the moral of this story is that I need gaters!!! So, I'm looking for some. Basically, I need coverage for my boot tops and jean bottoms under the rain pants. And, I am going to look for a more waterproof jacket. Maybe something made for construction workers. Yellow, with lots of reflective stuff on it. Harbor Freight, here I come! And the second moral is... even if rarely needed, having back-up clothing, etc., at work is a Very Good Idea.
Stay dry, everyone!!