Stay dry on your ride to work
Believe it or not it’s a fact that if you ride your bike to work you have a 97% chance of staying dry. Yet the fear of getting caught in the rain is enough to put a lot of people off. Here are our top tips for arriving at work nice and dry.
Stay dry from the bottom up
It’s not actually the rain falling from the sky that’s the main problem. The worst and dirtiest of the water is generally thrown back up at you from the road. A set of mudguards will keep most of the spray off. Full length, traditional mudguards are the most effective, but there’s a huge range of clip-on guards available from your local bike shop if your bike can’t take full size ones.
Stay dry from the top down
The next thing is to protect yourself from the rain coming from above! Choose waterproofs with the right balance of waterproofing and breathability. Lightweight, highly breathable jackets and overtrousers are great for cycling, especially if you wear the same clothes on your bike and in the workplace.
Take it slow
If you’re cycling in your rain gear, the key to keeping dry and cool is to take it slow. Even with breathable gear, you’ll get hot quickly, so moderate your pace and adopt a ‘faster than walking’ philosophy, resisting the urge to hit the hills hard or sprint away from the traffic lights.
Be prepared
If you’ve got changing facilities at your workplace, it’s often a good idea to take a change of clothes into work. This way, whether you’ve ridden fast and hard, or just got a bit wetter than you planned, you’ll be safe in the knowledge that you can get out of your wet things when you arrive. Some cycle commuters drive in to work on Monday and take a week’s worth of clothes with them to save carrying clothes backwards and forwards.
Keep your gear dry
It’s no use arriving at work nice and dry only to find that the stuff you’ve carried with you is wet. Invest in a good waterproof bag or a stretchy rucksack cover (as in the picture above) to keep your things dry. And if you have to leave your bike outside, how about a saddle cover (or a good old-fashioned carrier bag and elastic band) to ensure a nice dry seat waiting for you when you get back?
