Novakane 

Just thought I would share a little story of my ride a few minutes ago...

As my work day was winding down (I work from home) I looked in the fridge and noticed I was nearly out of beer. I looked outside and it was lightly raining, but still warm, so I made sure to put on a baseball cap to keep the rain out of my eyes and set off to the store to re-provision.

I was wearing shorts and a t-shirt and got a little bit wet (not even soaked through) and as I approached the mall I saw people hiding under awnings, afraid to run to their cars. I received so many looks of pity as I passed.

They must be all made of sugar, afraid to melt from a little rain. I would have been wetter and colder had I just stepped out of the shower than I got from my short ride. I never quite did understand the mentality that rain water = bad. I've never really minded the rain or getting soaked by it unless it was the freezing variety.
On a day like today I sometimes say to myself "that looks like a fun rain to go biking in" - and it's not the first time I've decided to go on a not-entirely-necessary bike ride in such weather. I find it refreshing.

Could it be the building-to car-to building isolation from the elements that causes people to react this way, or is that just my smugness interpreting things? .

Robert Foster

Smugness more than likely...;) Just teasing. But people have been trying to stay out of the rain long before cars.

Unbrellas have been standard equipment in London even before Jack the ripper. Some people wearing silk stay out of the rain for a reason.


And remember the odd bit of folk wisdom dispensed by parents to disparage a suitor of their young daughters? " He doesn't have the brains to come in out of the rain."

But if you think about it a late night comedian would have a field day with a picture of a bicyclist riding to the store to get a beer in the rain. They would say the rain was the least of his problems. :lol:

DX-MAN

Nah, they're not made of sugar (yeah, the whole "I'm so sweet, I'll melt" thing) -- they're afraid they're gonna DISSOLVE, being so full of sh**.

(Tell ME to get on the sidewalk, will ya...?)

Dylansbob 

Not car-free at that time, but one of my favorite things when I lived in the midwest was to walk out to the car from a store during a rainstorm. Just walk along, normal speed, head up, oblivious to the downpour. Meanwhile the store exit would be packed with people who would refuse to set foot in the rain and the crosswalk would be 3-4 cars deep of people picking up/dropping off at the door.

Robert Foster

I remember being in Miami Beach and walking along when they had one of those little 5 minute cloud bursts and was surprised when nobody ran for cover. Of course it was hot and humid and people would be no wetter than they would be after a few minutes in the hot sun. And I have stopped at a gas station on a long ride before and poured water over my head and body before continuing on. Ten minutes later I was dry but we don't get much humidity.

But I don't even leave my dog out in the rain to get wet and I know she won't melt.

wahoonc

I think part of the problem is that people have become isolated from the weather, as we moved from an agrarian society to other forms of employment. I still work outside for a living and people think I am nuts because I enjoy the varied weather. I don't always like getting wet, but that is for varied reasons. People are also amazed that I can look at the sky and determine that we x amount of time before we need to pack up and shut down. Actually that one isn't too hard here in the Midwest...those big shelf clouds are a dead giveaway.

Aaron

Novakane 

I see your point, echoed by wahoonc further down, it's not a new thing or limited to car drivers. Although, back in the pre-Ripper days they also had horse drawn carriages which would produce a similar effect of door-to-vehicle-to-door. However, a quick glance at Wikipedia shows that the umbrella in some form goes back to ancient Egypt or earlier.

Keep in mind, this was not a torrential downpour it was just enough rain to wet the roads, by the time they crossed the lot to their cars they may have actually been able to still count how many drops hit them. (Not that anyone would be so inclined...)

My favorite thing of all time is when a sun-shower blows over and people get out of a pool and run inside...

TomT74

Uhh, you went for BEER. How is that not entirely necessary??

Fasteryoufool

I grew up in Oregon, where rain was simply a fact of life for up to nine months of the year. Not a heavy downpour mind you, just a drizzle. But it makes me laugh when people act as if a bit of wet falling from the sky was of some significance.

Novakane 

I was wondering if anyone was going to call me on that.

I was almost out of beer, I still had some, it could have technically waited.

cruzMOKS

I was at a men's church meeting this past spring. I had brought my rain gear and it was pouring down when it was time to leave. I was offered about 5 times for a ride home and I explained patiently each time that the rain didn't bother me and I had adequate rain gear. Each of them responded in disbelief. My friend just looked at me in disgust and left without saying anything.

My cubicle neighbor who has watched me commute to work continued to offer me rides home when its raining until I reasoned with him how long he has watched me do this?

TomT74

I like riding in the rain. Just not in a thunderstorm. A cool shower on a hot muggy day is a real treat sometimes.

cyclokitty 

I like riding in the rain. At least when it's warm outside. I've gone grocery shopping in the rain because when you need supper ingredients, no one is going to congratulate my dry tshirt. The best part of riding in the rain is proving to others that it's perfectly possible to ride on a rainy day. Although, I'm the only one who appreciates it. Oh well.

zephyr

When Albert Einstein was a professor at Princeton University, he and his wife lived in a home adjacent to the campus. Mr Einstein would typically walk from home to class or office, or anywhere else on campus. One day upon setting off to leave home, his wife told him to take a hat because it was starting to rain outside. Mr. Einstein replied, why should I wear a hat with a little bit of rain? The hat will take hours to dry out, my hair will dry out in just a few minutes?

Novakane 

Nothing like a good rain to make you feel alive and refreshed, and nothing like riding a bicycle to do the same - combining them is good for the soul.
Thunderstorms and hail are not as much fun, having ridden through both on the same ride once, I speak from experience. Torrential downpours are also not quite as enjoyable, mainly because your brakes become suggestions to the bicycle and you can't see very far. I've always been concerned of how much myself and my steel bike might act as a lightning rod.

As cyclokitty and others have said, it's personally gratifying to look at something that many people think is crazy to do - such as cycling in the rain - and prove that it's actually not crazy, but entirely achievable and often enjoyable.

cruzMOKS - I used to have coworkers offer me a ride home from work on a rainy day, sometimes after I had already ridden there in the rain in the first place. I always declined and would have to do so several times throughout the day.

Thunderstorms have additional dangers beyond the rain, such as high winds and lightning, but plain old rain? I don't quite understand the fuss.

Novakane 

I will have to remember this story. You can't argue with Einstein, he's the first person most people think of when you say 'genius'.

Robert Foster

That has to be a true story. One look at his picture and you can see he didn't care about his hair.

4000Miles

I don't mind riding in the rain as long as it isn't cold, but I just don't like having soaked socks and shoes. Weird hangup of mine.

Pedaleur

If I didn't ride inthe rain, I'd never leave the house.

I still don't like it, though, and I find no great smugness in it either.

I'm usually pretty good about laughing if off when cars splash water all over me -- mostly because that's how I deal with absurdity.

CitiZen

Rain-o-phobe weighing in here. I'm willing to bet the OP has a close-cropped hair-do. If one drop of rain hits my head, I instantly become this:

DX-MAN

Wow, friends and co-workers offering a ride? You work with some nice people!

The nicest thing I get is, "I hope you get off work before the rain gets here."

But I couldn't care less -- once this year, I got caught without my rain gear, just hung out in the break room for 20 minutes or so. Other than that, I usually wind up carrying the rainsuit for no reason.

SunnyFlorida

Yep, yep, I get that too except I get it when I come out of church sometimes.

"Oh my, look at those clouds. It's gonna come down any minute. Well, pedal fast". CYA next Sunday".

phillyskyline

Oh I know that feeling. I have several coworkers who, on a particularly rainy or cold day, will say "You rode your BIKE today?? I just don't know how you do it." They do this every time, as if I should have learned my lesson the last time I enjoy riding in the rain, as long as it's not torrential rain or very windy. More rain = fewer fair weather cyclists in the bike lane.

HowardBollixter

Yo, Albert! Why wear any clothes at all then? Provocateur, he'll never amount to much.

gerv 

I bet if he were alive today, he'd say String theory was a crock. Poseur!