The Immense Joys of Riding in the Rain

Think of the last time you've driven a car or ridden in a car in the rain. I can bet you that it was a miserable experience. First you got to run out to the car from your house in the rain and see how fast you can get to the car without getting wet. Then once you get in and start driving, you have to try to look through the windshield and try your best to scan traffic conditions. And of course through out the drive you are miserably cold with the heater on, and wishing the rain would stop. Then once you reach your destination (with a sigh of relief) you'll rush in and start your day at work, with an occasional peek outside the window to check whether its still raining outside. In fact the whole atmosphere inside the office is one of gloom. How depressing!

Now that you've had the experience of going through this misery, you probably imagine biking to work to be 10 times worse. Actually it's nothing like it! It's really very pleasurable. let me describe the process.

Every morning when it's raining, I come out of the house with my bike. Then I fill my lungs with fresh air that the rain has cleared and then start my ride. I find it easiest to get into a zen like mood in rainy day especially. The swish as cars come racing by through the rain, the wet buzzing my own tires make and the constant drops of rain that falls one me. Note: I'm in full rain gear so I don't get wet. Sometimes I might stick out my tongue as I'm riding to catch a few drops and it's nice to breathe cool rainy air for a change.

Dealing with cars also gets easier. Since rain is a pretty unusual situation, they give me more room, and they don't lay on their horn as much. They don't splash me because the roads are pretty good in my area and puddles are scarce. One thing I have to do is to keep a grimace through out my commute (although I sometimes allow a grin to peek through now and then) or drivers might splash me to wipe that grin off my face (most drivers like everyone else to share in their misery).

I once read somewhere that once a road biker was doing a pleasure ride in heavy rain and a Lexus pulled up next to him. The driver of the Lexus said: "Hey, mebbe if you worked harder you could afford one of these" and tapped the dashboard of his Lexus. The road cyclist grinned at him and retorted: " well mebbe if you worked harder and rode a bike, you could own one of these," at this point he pulled out his keys which had a key of a BMW attached to it, "and look good"! At this point he rode off into the sunset...

When a cyclist reaches work, he is usually more active than the rest of his coworkers and walks around with a grin on his face. Most of my coworkers comment on my bike and how brave I am etc. but little do they know how much enjoyment I get out of it.

The main difference is that in a car, you try not to get wet, and you have to hurry to the car and back in order to avoid it. Then you get the problem of looking at the world through a glass and it's all grey out there. Plus your senses are all cut off from the rest of the world which leads to misery. As for a cyclist, he expects to get wet, and enjoys it immensely when he does. He is much more alive and aware of his surroundings thus does not feel cut off touch from the world and he isn't as miserable.

Ahhh it's great being a cyclist...


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