Family Biking: What’s your favorite rain gear? (I asked my kids too)

I live in a hot humid climate where most of the rain occurs during our long 9-month summer. Then it’s usually too hot to wear any sort of jacket, so like most cyclists here, I do without and shelter under trees or alcoves to escape the heaviest showers, relying on synthetic clothing to shed the rest. However, I do agree with your kids, fenders are vital, especially full fenders with mud flaps. It’s also very important to have waterproof bags like those made by Ortlieb to protect my phone, wallet, and anything else that can’t be allowed to get soaked, or else carry zip-lock bags in your tool kit.

I’m a big fat rider, so during our 3-month Fall-Winter-Spring, I use a breathable oversize rain parka made by ML Kishigo that’s actually designed for the folks who repair power lines, in obscenely-bright orange or neon green, complete with a giant hood that’s designed to fit over a hard-hat.

It’s also important to have tires that work well in both the temperature you are riding and in rain, so during the hot season I use gravel tires or semi-slicks, as too much rubber tread tends to literally bend in hot temperatures. In the cooler season I use tires with large grooves to shed the rain but still provide good traction on slick leaves and washed asphalt.

I love waterproof overshoes to keep my shoes & socks dry! I have a long commute & don’t want to bring an extra set of shoes & socks to work, so that’s my vote! I like some of these other suggestions in the article (rain chaps!) and will have to look into them for 1-3 mile rides. I’ve tried a poncho, which is kind of like the rain cape, and that works fairly well! I’m all about quick & lightweight things when you aren’t going far.

I have a rain cape (fluo yellow by Carradice) and it works well for moderate speeds on an upright bike, not so well on a drop bar bike (cut for upright position), not when wearing a backpack (not cut to fit over a backpack), and not at all for riding at higher speeds (wind resistance). So I don’t use it much.

Rain gear is as much about staying warm as about staying dry. Staying dry is partly about keeping the rain off and partly about venting body moisture aka sweat.

My legs don’t often get cold, so I just use thermal but not waterproof cycling tights over bike shorts. I have a couple pairs of waterproof rain pants but they don’t vent at all so I end up wetter than with the tights. Someone needs to develop cycling rain pants with vents.

My upper body gets cold more often, so I wear a waterproof rain jacket, sometimes over a light sweater-fleece-wool vest thingy. The issue is how to vent body moisture. I haven’t much luck with breathable fabrics. For cycling, I feel armpit vents and back vents work better. My favorite for a long time was an old yellow Burley jacket – the stereotypical bike commuter YJA (Yellow Jacket of Authority). Burley no longer makes clothing, but other companies make good jackets too, with reflective details and a collar that can be snugly zipped to cover your neck.

Rain booties are an inexpensive way to keep your shoes fairly dry. Or you can simply wear waterproof shoes.

Gloves and a cap under your helmet take care of the other extremities.

I used to talk with a lady who tended to ride up in the same office elevator at 5 am. On really foul pouring mornings, she’d ask “aren’t you soaked?”. I would point out that with the right gear, you can stand under the shower and stay dry (ish).

Ride in the rain! It is fun, makes you feel alive, and in our climate, being a fair-weather cyclist is really limiting.

[Safety-nanny comment: rain reduces visibility, so lights/reflectives are even more important.]

My husband and I bought a cargo bike this summer and now that we are comfortable with it are selling our second car. That means the kids (4yo and a 1yo) and I will be out on the bike all winter. We can’t wait.

In a former life I was a year round bike commuter that would ride pretty much anywhere. The game changer for me was when I started biking in a pair of waterproof trail running shoes. Warm, dry feet feel amazing.

When I asked my 4 year old what her favorite part about riding in the rain was she said, “listening to music” which plays on a waterproof bluetooth speaker.

My one year old seems to like that she can bring all of her toys and books in the bike to play with while we ride.

Our cargo bike has large clear rain shied over the box so the kids can be dry and out of the wind. I dress them in layers and keep a small wool blanket in the box so they can cover up if they get cold. When the weather gets cooler I thought we might try putting warm rice bags in the bottom of the box so they can put their feet (with shoes and boots) on top of it to keep off the chill.

I also have quit trying to put their coats on in the house. I let them out on our covered patio so that they can feel for themselves that it is cold outside and that they need to put on their coats. It saves a lot of arguing.

So far we have only been out in one downpour. I was surprised at how dry I stayed with the box and rain shield blocking the oncoming deluge.

I use a feed reader to read the Bike Portland Blog so I rarely read the comments. So after going to the website and reading through all the comments hoping for some additional tips and tricks on winter riding with littles I was left wondering where all the moms are at. I mean, I see you riding around, we smile, wave, and ring our bells as we pass each other, but I was surprised that there weren’t any other (obvious) mom commentators.