All wet and soggy

Given the time of year I suppose I should expect my morning ride to be a bit damp occasionally, but this morning I got caught out in a torrential downpour. Fortunately it only lasted 15 minutes or so, unfortunately it left me drenched. So wet in fact I had to empty water out of my shoes when I got home!

Most car drivers don't appreciate why cyclists avoid puddles or riding in the gutter, but the reasons are simple:

• You have no idea what's in the bottom of a puddle
• If you're cycling in the gutter you get the hell of a lot more splash-back when it is wet

Don't know what splash-back is? Well...

Cycling in the Rain

Splash-back refers to all the water thrown up by the front wheel when cycling in wet conditions. The wetter the road, the more water is thrown back at the rider. In my case this morning there was so much water being thrown up from the road it streamed back down my shins and filled my shoes.

I was thinking as I ploughed on through the driving rain some kind of weather proof canopy would have been handy... then I remembered I'd actually seen one such thing:

Wet Proofing

Can't imagine me ever buying one of those somehow, but it is an intriguing idea.

So anyway since I was soaked to the skin I curtailed my ride this morning shortening my route to just under 14 miles instead of the 22 I had originally planned.

Shortened Route