Biking in Bad Weather

With the right gear, a cold, rainy day bike can be transformed from bleh to yay

When you wake up in the morning with every intention of biking, but look out the window and see that it’s raining outside, do you think, “Ugh, I’m not biking in that!” ? Well you’re not alone. When I first started bicycling to work, I would bike in good weather but take the subway if it was raining. It just seems so inhospitable to be out in the open elements when the elements are cold water pouring down on you.

Also, in Boston, when there is any amount of precipitation it seems like accidents pop up immediately, and traffic jams pile up. The roads are more slippery, and it just seems more dangerous to be out on the road.

The fact is, bad weather does suck and you definitely have to be more careful if you’re out on the road in it. But it is possible to ride in the rain and snow; you do need the right gear, though. There’s apparently a Norwegian saying that goes, “There’s no bad weather, only bad clothing.” It may seem like false comfort, but a country that doesn’t see the sun in the wintertime may be onto something.

Equipping yourself and your bike with the proper gear will make those rainy, snow and slushy rides way more bearable. And perhaps even enjoyable!

Fenders

The first piece of gear that will make your bike ride less miserable is fenders, particularly the rear fender. They perform a very important function of ensuring that the water thrown up by your turning wheels don’t get flung onto you. I’m sure you’ve seen the poor souls with the tell-tale wet mark up the center of their entire back side. They need a rear fender. If your bike didn’t come with them, you can get the type that are semi-permanently screwed to your frame. Another good choice, and the kind that I use are plastic blade-shaped fenders that come with a canvas strap that hooks around your seat post. They’re easily removable and get the job done.

Waterproof Footwear

The second piece of gear that will help is waterproof shoes, boots or boot coverings. Getting to work with your feet sitting in a puddle inside your shoes is never a good feeling. Unless you’re going high tech and use clips in your pedals, any kind of waterproof or at least water resistant footwear will do. I personally wear my trusty pair of hiking boots when it’s raining. I’ve seen people wear the rubber rain boots, but they seem awkward to pedal in. You can also get waterproof booties that pull over your shoes or boots. Whatever choice you make, just make sure that you have enough grip on the bottoms of your feet so you’re not slipping off the pedals.

Waterproof Outerwear

The third piece of gear that will protect you in the rain is rain pants and a rain jacket. Like the others, this is just another way of keeping the water away from you as much as possible. There are many options available, many of which are pricey. What I currently use is a pair of general rain pants that are basically rubber and completely waterproof. They don’t breathe at all, so I only wear them when it’s cool or cold rain. The upside of that is they work out really well at keeping out the snow and chill during the wintertime. A waterproof or water resistant rain jacket will also do a lot. I have a thin water resistant windbreaker, and a snowboarding jacket for cold weather. I would recommend trying to find an option that has vents or breathes decently, since your torso will get the warmest/sweatiest as you bike. I found my jackets on eBay and on clearance at REI for a pretty good price, and they both work great.

Waterproof Backpack

The last piece of gear that I love for wet weather is a waterproof backpack. For quite a while I was making do with my regular school-type backpack that I stuck in a garbage bag and wore when it rained. But honestly it was annoying and I knew it wasn’t a great long term solution. I did a bit of research and finally landed on a pretty reasonably-priced waterproof biking backpack, and it has made even my regular non-rainy rides so much better. The biking backpack just sits better on my back and doesn’t weigh down on my shoulders like my other one did. It’s quite waterproof, even when I’m carrying my laptop.

So there you have it. Fenders, waterproof footwear, rain pants and jacket, and a waterproof backpack. These things have made riding in the rain more fun than anything else for me, and hopefully they can help you too!

Timbuk2 Rogue Backpack Review

The Timbuk2 Rogue. Chair with sheepskin not included.

I'm a bit of a frugalite. Or I'm just lazy, not sure which one. But I don't like to buy new stuff. If I can keep using the item that I have I'll happily continue it, even if it's not perfect. One example of this was my backpack. I own a gray school backpack that I've been using since either college or high school. While it's quite worn, it hasn't fallen apart and all the zippers work. The only parts that have broken are one strap had the plastic buckle crack so I have that tied in a non-adjustable knot. And the elastic band that crisscrosses on the back side lost all its elasticity so I ripped that off and kept using it. So maybe I'm a creature of habit.

Anyway, this backpack was very functional, and to be honest I felt this hipster-hipster pride when biking to work in my jeans and regular shoes and regular backpack, going as fast as a lot of other bikers with their clip in shoes and hipster fixies with special biking backpacks. When it rained I would stuff my backpack in a white kitchen garbage bag and use packing tape to tape the front of it so only the straps would be showing. It worked, but let's be honest, it was annoying.

Finally I decided that enough was enough and I didn't care if I was being hipster; I started looking for a waterproof bicycling backpack so I could ditch the kitchen trash bags once and for all. I browsed Amazon, eBags and quite a few other sites to see if I could find a bag that wasn't crazy expensive and would be waterproof. I finally landed on the Timbuk2 Rogue laptop backpack. I liked that I could fit a laptop in it, and it looked pretty cool, and most importantly it was waterproof. It wasn't too expensive and I felt like I could definitely justify purchasing it.

Main compartment with laptop sleeve on the right and small pen pocket on the left.

Getting that backpack has been probably one of the best decisions I've made in terms of biking. Not just because of the laptop and waterproof thing, but I didn't realize how low my school backpack sat on my back. I knew that trying to carry my laptop in the old one seemed reallyyyy heavy. When I put the new backpack on in my living room to test it, I was shocked, SHOCKED at how light everything felt, even with my laptop inside. This backpack sat up right on my shoulders, and so when biking the weight was pushing down on my back, not pulling down on my shoulders.

It also comes with a small chest strap, as well as ample straps to secure your bike locks or other gear on the outside of the pack. There is a water bottle holder which is deep enough to hold my tall thermos without having it fall out onto the side of the road. Some reviewers have said they wished it had a water bottle pocket on both sides, but it doesn't really bother me. I will say that I haven't utilized the gear straps on the back or the side yet at all. Maybe I need some carabiners to hook on the loops?

You can attach your U-lock to this on the outside.

Water bottle pocket on one side tall enough for a tall container.

Overall I am really impressed and honestly don't know how I've gone without for so long. This backpack has made biking with gear a ton easier and I benefit from it every day. It goes to show you that sometimes specialized equipment does actually have a function aside from providing hipster cred ;)

Not sure why a bottle opener was deemed a necessity, but it could come in handy someday and it looks kinda cool.

Being Safe Around Cars

Look at all those fluorescent outfits!

When you're biking, the most dangerous car is the car that can't see you. A driver can’t avoid hitting something that they don’t know is there. Now there may be several reasons a driver doesn’t see a bicycle. Some of them may be the driver’s fault, such as turning without checking for bikes or texting while driving. Some of them may be the cyclist’s fault, such as biking the wrong way down a one-way street or biking in the dead of night with no lights or reflective clothing. No matter what the factors, there are some things that you as an urban biker can do to eliminate or at least reduce the chances of you getting hit by a car.

Make Yourself Extra Visible

Use both a headlight and taillight, definitely at night, and even during the day. You can also add some other lights on your wheel spokes to light up your side view. Make sure your lights are fully charged each ride and aren’t too dim to be effective.

Wear bright reflective clothing. You’ve probably seen bikers wearing highlighter yellow jackets or even those construction-looking orange vests. Yes, bright yellow isn’t exactly hipster chic, but really, the ultimate goal is to get to your destination safely, right? A good alternative to buying brightly colored clothing is to get a roll of reflective tape. It’s pretty cheap and a little goes a long way. You can put it pretty much anywhere: your jacket, your backpack, and on your frame bike!

Position Yourself Visibly

Now that you have equipped yourself and your bike with reflective brightness everywhere, you can also add some smart positioning to your arsenal. What I mean by that is knowing where a car’s blind spots are and avoiding them. The first tip is to avoid biking between car lanes whenever possible. I admit I will sometimes bike between cars, but for the most part it’s when the cars are stopped at a red light. When they’re just sitting in lines, there’s very little danger of a car suddenly changing lanes right in front of you. If you’re whizzing down the road between lines of moving cars, you may be in trouble if one of them swerves into another lane, especially if they don’t signal. It’s hard for drivers to see an object that’s right next to their car. Conversely, if you mostly bike with the flow of traffic in the middle of the lane, and position yourself directly in front of and behind the cars near you, they will almost certainly see you. And if you have your lights flashing you’ll be doubly visible.

Check that You are Visible to Drivers

This tip is less about how you bike and more about being aware of your surroundings and other people around you. If you’re riding down a street and you approach an intersection with a side street where there is a car trying to turn right on to your street, try to make eye contact with them. Make sure that they have turned their head and seen you before traveling across the point of intersection. Slowing down slightly when I see a car trying to turn right onto my street has saved me from many near-misses. While it is technically the driver’s fault if they turn and end up hitting you because they didn’t check oncoming traffic, the unfortunate fact is that many drivers do not mindfully look for bicyclists. The safe bet is to give a bit of buffer for drivers that may or may not have seen you on the road.

I hope these tips help you and give you confidence while riding the roads!

Bike commuting in the winter

Biking in the winter is just like any other alpine sport. I think of it like skiing. Kind of.

What do you do when winter approaches and you’ve been biking to work? If you started biking around the city in the spring, you probably didn’t have to worry much about temperatures affecting your ride. You may have even stuck it out in the heat of summer when it got in the 80s and 90s-- at least in Boston. But what the heck do you do in the winter when there’s snow, slush, and ice on the ground, and the wind chill is in the teens or worse, in the negatives? Fortunately, it's more than possible to bike commute in the winter; it does require some extra preparation and clothing layers, though!

Pick clothes based on your ride

How long or strenuous is your ride? The longer you ride, the more heat your body will produce. So you actually need fewer layers for longer commutes, and will need to dress more warmly for shorter rides. Figuring out exactly what to wear based on the current temperature and your ride will likely take a bit of trial and error. It’s a fine line between keeping warm enough while avoiding arriving at work a sweaty mess! Keep in mind the next step, however.

No skin exposed = happy ride. (note I forgot my helmet before taking this pic)

Bundle up your extremities

If you haven’t noticed already, your toes and fingers are the quickest to start turning into blocks of ice while you’re out biking in the cold. This will happen even more quickly on windy days. Keeping those areas warm and dry will go a long way in keeping you and your commute happy! You don’t necessarily need expensive bicycle-specific gear, either. On cold days I wear wool socks, my trusty hiking boots, my favorite scarf from the Gap, and a knitted hat under my helmet.

I also have a few different glove combinations that I pick based on just how cold it is outside. If it’s moderately cold, in the 30s or 40s, I’ll wear a thin pair of regular gloves over my fingerless biking gloves. If it’s in the 20s or below, I’ll pull on my amazing lobster gloves, and sometimes even wear my regular gloves as linings inside the lobster ones. I might be going a bit overboard on the “perfect” glove to wear for the temperature, but I hate having my hands either be freezing a quarter of the way to work, or making the insides of my gloves sweaty.

Fingerless cycling gloves, thin knit gloves, lobster gloves.

Plan your clothes changing strategy

Figuring out where and how to change your clothes once you get into the office is one of the trickiest parts of bike commuting. If your office has workplace showers you’re pretty much set. Also, if you can become a member at a nearby gym, it will give you the chance to shower up and head into the office fresh and clean. But if all you have to work with are bathroom stalls, you may need to be a bit more strategic. When you’re changing from biking to workday clothes, bringing in a small towel to wipe down sweat will help in feeling less gross. Also, when the weather is rainy or snowy, I’ll often toss in an extra pair of socks, or even bring a separate pair of shoes to change into. It’s not a perfect system, but it gets the job done, hopefully without offending any of my coworkers.

These are just a few tips that I keep in mind while biking in cold weather. What winter biking strategies do you use when riding around in the cold months of the year?