>1. Fender safety/practicality... >2. Clothing for wet. I used to get wet on any ride involving rain or post rain, either from the rain seeping in somehow or from my own sweat. Hilltrek's Ventile Cotton Analogy fixed that. Breathes like a cotton shirt (sweat in vapor or liquid form escapes >easily), keeps water and moisture out like a pvc rain coat (moisture doesn't get in). Dry. Happy. Rides. In the wet. Grin. http://www.hilltrek.co.uk
1. Rain falling from the sky >> road lime kicked up by bicycle tires. The former is even kinda pleasant if you're dressed appropriately and it isn't too cold. Fenders are a known practical way to keep the latter off of your body and your bicycle. The folks I know who ride on the road regularly in the rain (and are not barred by rules or racing fashion from doing so) have fenders on their bike. Even clip-on fenders are better than nothing. Stiff fenders, adequate clearance, no mudflap, no knobbies, and even fenderlines all contribute to fender safety, as can break-away stay tabs and/or offset fender eyelets (move the fender eyelet to mid-fork and the fender opens up if a stick gets caught). 2. Clothing for wet--I ride in similar conditions as the good Deacon (low humidity, moderate altitude), and the Cotton Analogy stuff is just too bulky/hot for me if I'm riding (or XC skiing) above about 23degF. I actually prefer double-ventile (less insulation value, just as waterproof, less bulky, less expensive) to it for waterproof applications, and single-ventile for keeping the rain from making you miserable when working harder than your sweat threshold. Admittedly, I sweat heavily, and run warm. For athletic cycling, I carry a race cape (a fancy new GTX one, which nonetheless turns into a boil-in-bag waterproof once the effort level gets high, but it packs to the size of a medium Gala apple) and wear wool. I get wet in extended rain, but stay warm. For general knockabouting, strategy varies depending on whether it is okay to show up damp--In general, adjust effort to minimize the swamp effect, and wear well-vented, breathable clothing (that Ventile; waterproof overgloves if it is cool to cold, and plastic boots in the peri-freezing wet). The wind blast is your frenemy--cooling, but can be the ticket to hypothermia. Best Regards, Will William M. deRosset Fort Collins, CO -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
