Kenneth C. Martin Blogs: How Portlanders handled a wet, dark, stormy bike commute

Friday, December 14, 2018

How Portlanders handled a wet, dark, stormy bike commute

(Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

Tuesday afternoon was a doozy, weather-wise.

It’s not often I’ll opt out of a bike ride, but I hopped on light rail to make it to a meeting downtown. Why? The conditions were: dark, windy, wet, and cool (just cool enough to need a jacket, just warm enough to make you sweat in it). I can handle each of those variable by themselves, or even two or three of them at once. But when all those factors get together I look for non-biking options if I’m able.

I had a feeling a lot of you battled the deluge, so I posted a photo of a rider battling rain on our Instagram feed and asked our followers to share. I don’t take comfort in other people’s misery, but I have to admit I enjoyed reading all the comments that came in! In case you missed the post, here’s what people had to say:

swanny22Yeah, that was not particularly enjoyable.

icomeoutatnight I worked in it, however it was relatively not that bad. It could’ve rained more and it wasn’t even cold enough for gloves

stahnke_kong & a flat tire on top of it all!!

nwcanyoning 7 miles home from downtown was fun

lechezzzRide home last night definitely had me regretting my decision to forgo rain pants!

carmusmeathole at least it was warm-ish!!

pedalpt Got crushed on my commute home last night

fixedgearbikescum amazing day to be out.

kressanthemum I did feel more badass than usual. Cheers to us all!

ruckuscomp At least it was warm! But that wind was almost as bad as traffic.

sukhostarpdx Soaked to bone.

m_eyes Shoes full of water when I got home!

m_eyes @m_eyes at least my daughter stayed dry in the burley trailer.

hunqaloosa Rain cape saved the day!

bevan97217 Ain’t no thang but a little Pdx weather!

jbogli I got to say I honestly enjoyed it. Fun to swim every so often!

bedbug.ben It was fun! I just wish I didn’t have my laptop in my backpack hahaha I was so worried bout it

ssmathes There should be huge tax breaks for bike commuters.

brownb xor

xfs_xth @showerspass booties saved the day!!

woosighdough I’ll take the rain over the wind (which wasn’t too bad) any day.

lieselsvedlund Felt good to overcome a little sprinkle

ybecauseimbryan Fun riding in that kind of rain. Could do without the cars though.

wherethepavementends It wasn’t bad. Not even cold.

madamezola My legs were soaked (my upper half was swaddled lovingly in @showerspas gear and their magical backpack). At least it was warm and not windy.

j_merrithew Flying by all those people trapped in their traffic gave me all the warm fuzzies I needed!

vquick It wasn’t cold and not even very wet. Really nothing compared to the strong 40 MPH frigid wind gusts we faced last week. #doyouevenbike?

neenajean

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joanbybike I was fine until a block from my house, when the blocked sewer drain meant riding through a huge puddle and my shoes got super wet.

joanbybike @joanbybike But my new @showerspass gloves kept my hands dry!

wendyzworld It was a deluge and the streets were flooded and I loved it! I have good gear 🙂

ashweeepoo Andy & Bax rain gear ftw!!

jayhisey Bravo to all that braved the weather

andreacapbuckle I’ll take the rain over the wind. I gave myself a good laugh Monday though when I was riding along feeling fast and strong. Then I realized there was no wind. Last week was rough compared to this week for me.

billbowlrider My shoes are STILL wet

marshallsteeves I definitely got caught and was DRENCHED! Still worth it though!

frootdawg Yes! Still better than driving!!!!

papi_cet Oh ya, refreshing

banerjek To condition myself for such a traumatic experience, I stand naked in the shower for 15 min each day with water blasting on me. When you’re used to getting drenched like that, you don’t even notice a couple drops of rain. Interesting pic. The helmet and light are designed for mountaineering rather than cycling.