Riding in the Rain

So today was my first time experiencing rainfall during a ride! I was out with the Brampton Cycle Club for the usual Saturday ride, but unfortunately Mother Nature had something else in mind. 23 km into the ride the first few flashes of lightning were seen. We pulled over (about 12 of us) and those who had rain jackets with them threw them on. The rest of us just looked at the clouds and contemplated the fact we were going to get wet:) We turned around to head home and sure enough the rain came!

We slowed down a bit as the road started to get wet, but we soldiered on...we had to get back to our cars! The worst part about riding in the rain with a group is that when you're near the back of the group, the spray from all the other bikes hits you which isn't so fun. When you're at the front of the group, although you may be leading the group into the wind, there's no additional spray from anyone and it's awesome. We made it back safety with no wipeouts:)

Lessons learned from this ride are to acquire more cycling clothing (most notably a weather proof jacket), to slow down in rainy conditions and to take full advantage of a hot shower to clean off all the dirt and sand at the earliest availability! One idea I thought of before the ride was to throw my cell phone into a ziplock bag...turned out to be a smart idea!

Sarah