Saturday, September 12

Frankenbike Does Rain On Purpose

I try to avoid riding in the rain in North Texas. When I lived in Seattle, I often rode in the rain, but down here, it tends to make lightning when it rains, and I'm not a maniac.

However, I got a used trunk bag for Frankenbike yesterday, I have the fenders mounted, and today, was one of those "not real heavy but steady" rains that don't have sky-to-ground electricity. So we went out, initially intending to go to the gym, but diverting instead to a Starbucks run. The Tom Thumb Starbucks on Harwood has a great overhang, allowing relaxed consumption of the coffee while watching the precipitation.

It's been 30 years since I last went riding in the rain on purpose. Sweet.

It's different riding in the rain in North Texas than in Seattle. Around here, the rain is warm, the kind of rain you ride in tends to not be windy, and it's quite pleasant to ride wet as long as one's feet stay dry. In Seattle, hypothermia makes it necessary to stay a lot drier.

The trunk kept everything perfectly dry, despite the puddling evident in the picture. That would not have occurred had I had more stuff aboard beyond my gym clothes and U lock. Now I'm thinking that even if I don't get to use it all that often, riding in the rain is so fun that getting proper rain gear might be worth the expense. Dry feet, of course, are the first priority around these parts...

4 comments:

Rat Trap Press said...

I'm not too comfortable with lightning (I went to high school with a kid that was struck on three separate occasions).

I really wanted to ride today but I don't have any fenders.

Big Oak said...

I've gotten rained on a few times on the way to work or on the way home over the past two weeks. One benefit to riding in the rain is that the rain washed much of the crud off of my bike!

RTP - I guess that kid didn't hear the expression "lightning never strikes in the same place twice". All kidding aside, I hope he is OK.

RANTWICK said...

Maniac here, and I love riding in the rain. I have constructed my riding and clothes changing routines such that I just go ahead and get soaked whenever I like, because I love it. I have full fenders on my everyday commuter(s) and as far as my body goes, I just don't care in summer, and wear some pretty spiffy cycling rain wear in winter with layers under. I hate big plastic truly-keep-you-dry stuff, by the way.

Steve A said...

For maniac, RTP, and others interested in electricity, I'll have to figure out how to scan the HH100 lightning & tornado brochure. FWIW a pregnant lady near my house died a few weeks back from a lightning strike. The news said she was an organ donor but they couldn't use any organs because they'd been too badly damaged. Powerful stuff.

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