I awoke Sunday morning to the sound of the driving rain on the windows, buffeted by gusts of wind. I got up, made myself a double espresso, and called to the dogs for their walk. Smackimus, the mutt who embodies Rule #5 in everything he does, came bounding down the stairs. Beene, the lummoxy Great Dane, followed quite a distance behind, yawning and smacking her lips. I opened the front door and the three of us headed outside. I made my way down the stairs and zipped up my jacket as both dogs followed. Smackimus slowed noticeably as we left the shelter of the front porch and stepped into the rain, and Beene stopped altogether.
After using all my skills of persuasion, I managed to get both the dogs to do their business, but it was a minimum-commitment operation; both dogs did what they needed to do and bolted back up the steps to the shelter of the front porch.
A great day for a ride, obviously.
We are a sick lot, those of us who find more pleasure in riding in bad weather than in good. I have decided, however, to remove my fenders from the Rain Bike, as they do tend to detract from the considerable pleasure of feeling the spray from the road coat your body in Rule #9; the fenders definitely diminish the indulgence in the rain, and, generally, the volume of Suck that the weather is dispensing on your person. Fenders or not, the ride still merited camera-phone self-portraits, Dan O-style.
Oh, and – Merckx help us all – I think Rule #9 might actually be a Garbage Song.
[dmalbum path=”/velominati.com/content/Photo Galleries/frank@velominati.com/Only Happy When it Rains/”/]
I know as well as any of you that I've been checked out lately, kind…
Peter Sagan has undergone quite the transformation over the years; starting as a brash and…
The Women's road race has to be my favorite one-day road race after Paris-Roubaix and…
Holy fuckballs. I've never been this late ever on a VSP. I mean, I've missed…
This week we are currently in is the most boring week of the year. After…
I have memories of my life before Cycling, but as the years wear slowly on…
View Comments
Frank, I suppose living in seattle means you must ride in rain or not at all. I for one hate rain. I tolerate it in riding in summers, and just clean the equipement and relube everything after wet rides but hate cold rain, which not only requires the same love and attention but requires not only the double shot before but at least a quad shot afterward to thaw me out.
I love the EV2 there. I remember the 'big-one' stem in flame' yellow was also the hot item, mentioning stems. & I came so close to buying one too, but for my love of Pantani and at the highest recommendation of my dear friend and LBS owner, I went w/the entire celeste version of the Boron steel w/full carbon fork. She is a beauty, and fall/winter worker.
Photo #2 made my fuckin' day. That looks like an enjoyably grueling wind in the road.
Frank - cool shots. Thanks for the link and props. Shooting yourself while riding is kind of a goof, but can produce some cool pictures.
Fenders can look a little lame, but after using 'em here in the good ol' Pacific Northwet - hard to ride without 'em - especially for commuting. I still however have no problem getting the fender-less road bike filthy at times in the rain.
Interesting point with the "thumbs above the bars" comment. Even though I mountain bike quite a bit, catch myself doing the same thing - carry over from road riding and sure way to bite the dust - when mountain biking.
As usual - fun post - great blog.
Wondering if those fenders will stay off after 5 more months of rain when it's not 64° and raining but 47° and raining.
Nice shots! I need to buy a cheapie digital camera for using while riding. No way am I going to hold out my iphone only to drop it.
I must confess, I am a little but of a rain weenie. When I *have* to ride in it, like when it rains in the middle of a ride, or when my car was in the shop and I commuted by bike for two weeks, it's fine. But I have a hard time motivating myself to start a ride when it is raining.
I do have raceblades I can slap on, but I lack any waterproof clothing, sans a jacket, which it is still too warm for here in Portland.
I guess part of trying to "harden the fuck up" is riding without all that crap!
It's good that you went out yesterday and not this morning. It was absolutely wretched.
To be specific: sunny, clear, mostly dry roads. I went all the way around Mercer Island and only saw two or three cars. I had to pour a bucket of water on my head to get that feeling of riding in the rain. There was quite a lot of wind, though.
You would have hated it.
I hate to say it, Le Frank, but your town merits fenders, 5 and 9 or no 5 and 9. While your town has its brand of fenders, however, my town has its own.
Also, for the love of Merckx, tell me there is some Sierra Nevada Tumbler in that bidon!
What I meant to say about fenders...:
Fucking fail.
Fenders - no problem with them. I used to, but they're pretty essential if you want to avoid an hour of cleaning/lubing every night after commuting 2hrs in the rain.
The Rainbike: Trek 1400. Sks Raceblade guards, with a home made section poking out from the front brake. Open pro 32h ceramic rims.
Does anyone else find that fenders greatly reduce the braking power? I've got a theory about them dropping more crap onto the rims (instead of spraying out).