I get the sentiment, but a raincoat isn’t enough on its own. Sure, if you’ve got a 5 minute commute, you can get there quickly and spend minimal time in the rain.
A 20 minute commute in the pissing rain and you will be arriving soaked from head to toe. Not ideal for most. Yeh if you can shower at work then great, but then you’ve still got wet clothes you need to dry.
I’m very lucky that I have a 5 minute ride to work, all downhill, so unless the weather is biblical, I don’t really have an excuse for taking the car.
As someone who lives in Belgium where it is more rainy than the UK apparently, you just need 120€ of good biking gear (maybe 150 now with inflation)
I have some cheap Columbia rain pants, some cheap rain covers for shoes, a decent marmot raincoat, and a very cheap cover for my helmet. I bike 40-45 minutes each way to work.
I arrive to work dryer like that when it is very rainy, especially my feet, than when I have to park in a parking garage and walk 10-15 minutes. With an umbrella and raincoat.
I mean, it definitely isn’t fun at all biking in that, but unless it is really a downpour, it is not crazy.
Yeah. It’s impracticable for many jobs but it would be a shame to reject cycling out of hand because of potential weather issues.
I just wear bike shorts and jersey whatever the weather. I have work pants and shirt that I change into in the restrooms at work. There’s no shower. I have wet wipes and a little hand towel.
It’s pretty rare that it’s raining heavily enough for long enough that I can’t get to work between downpours.
By far the most important thing is mud gards on your wheels.
As I said, it’s not for everyone but I suspect that it’s not actually prohibitive for most people.
Yeah exactly, try bicycling to work in the summer along the US gulf coast. You’ll either arrive at the office dead from heat stroke or soaking wet from sweat.
Sure, automobile-focused city planning is a problem, but let’s not pretend bicycles are a universal answer for all locales.
I get the sentiment, but a raincoat isn’t enough on its own. Sure, if you’ve got a 5 minute commute, you can get there quickly and spend minimal time in the rain.
A 20 minute commute in the pissing rain and you will be arriving soaked from head to toe. Not ideal for most. Yeh if you can shower at work then great, but then you’ve still got wet clothes you need to dry.
I’m very lucky that I have a 5 minute ride to work, all downhill, so unless the weather is biblical, I don’t really have an excuse for taking the car.
As someone who lives in Belgium where it is more rainy than the UK apparently, you just need 120€ of good biking gear (maybe 150 now with inflation)
I have some cheap Columbia rain pants, some cheap rain covers for shoes, a decent marmot raincoat, and a very cheap cover for my helmet. I bike 40-45 minutes each way to work.
I arrive to work dryer like that when it is very rainy, especially my feet, than when I have to park in a parking garage and walk 10-15 minutes. With an umbrella and raincoat.
I mean, it definitely isn’t fun at all biking in that, but unless it is really a downpour, it is not crazy.
That ride home though.
sounds like a great workout to destress from the day followed up with a nice shower at home
Yeah…
Yeah. It’s impracticable for many jobs but it would be a shame to reject cycling out of hand because of potential weather issues.
I just wear bike shorts and jersey whatever the weather. I have work pants and shirt that I change into in the restrooms at work. There’s no shower. I have wet wipes and a little hand towel.
It’s pretty rare that it’s raining heavily enough for long enough that I can’t get to work between downpours.
By far the most important thing is mud gards on your wheels.
As I said, it’s not for everyone but I suspect that it’s not actually prohibitive for most people.
In The Nederlands people bike to school, which can be a bike ride of more than an hour away.
A raincote is not enough, but a rainsuit will do the job.
My issue with biking to work is the sweat …
Yeah exactly, try bicycling to work in the summer along the US gulf coast. You’ll either arrive at the office dead from heat stroke or soaking wet from sweat.
Sure, automobile-focused city planning is a problem, but let’s not pretend bicycles are a universal answer for all locales.