28th
Rainy Day Retail Research
It’s rainy today, but the precipitation paused for me to get to work. I’ve bean caught in too many summer showers to count this season, and sometimes it’s so refreshing — nearly cathartic — to be in the rural middle of nowhere with nobody around and to dismount a bicycle for a prance about in a sudden downpour that would make my shower head jealous.
But in the autumn and winter, cold rain is not cool at all. I’ve gotten by for two years without so much as a slicker, so it’s about time I did some homework and got prepared for rainy commutes.
The University of Washington’s Commuter Services page has a good overview of tips for biking in the rain, the most useful of which to me is the advice on the cycling rain shell.
The kids in the Pacific Northwest probably know something about rain, and after they told me what I might want to look for, Wheel and Sprocket, a bike shop out of Wisconsin, educated me on rain apparel features and concerns.
That said, I’m not even sure it’s worth it for me to go for the higher-priced rain shells or pants (especially as I don’t even have a heavy coat!) because heaven knows as soon as I do, it won’t rain for months.
