Today was Bike Expo day all over again. A jacket I thought was rainproof proved to be no match for the deluge that hit within minutes of leaving the house. It’s twelve years old and has never faced more than a drizzle. It made for a miserable ride, but at least the kids were dry. Tomorrow I think I’ll trade my ladies medium for Mr. Family Ride’s mens large Endura Luminite Jacket I got for him from Ride Bicycles. Notice the tags are still on it. I got it eons ago and it’s time it got to go on a ride.
Yesterday’s miles: 9.0 miles
Today’s miles: 9.1 miles
October cumulative: 77.5 miles
Days missed: 2
Family Ride 
Eeek! Rain. Hooray! New jacket.
Beth over at bikelovejones has super great info on affordable, usable, durable, practical riding gear.
I don’t think I can afford anything new at the moment, but what is her shop? I’m hoping to make a Portland foray soon!
Citybikes, I believe she works out of the Annex site. I Take the bus or train once a month to pick up parts from the various bike shops so no problem dragging something back up for you. I’m headed down Sat. on the train with a bike for one of my brothers and pick up the replacement parts for the completely destroyed drivetrain from last week.
The other day I somehow timed my errands between rain squalls. It was more dumb luck than good planning but any time I stay dry when the ground is wet is alright in my book. A couple days before that I underestimated the threat of rain and the kids and I got soaked to the bone on a run to Trader Joe’s. Guess you win some and you lose some. Good rain gear doesn’t hurt though.
Nice! I’ve gotten lucky like that a few times. I think we shouldn’t have rain for a week (doh, now I’ve jinxed that) so I’ll either try my luck or test out the super huge waterproof man jacket next Weds.
Madi, how do you suit up the boys to be rain-proof? I am really thinking hard on biking more, and this part leaves me stymied w/o having to drop loads of cash.
This probably will cost loads of cash, but I’ve hard Madsen is going to make a rain cover soon! I love the MEC Newt Suits – 2-year old Rijder is in a size 3 which will fit him forever. They run big, but are easy to roll up. They’re $58 Canadian so not cheap, but worth it. Sometimes they’re available for shipping to the US and sometimes they’re not. I’ve seen similar suits at Kids on 45th, but haven’t taken a close look at them. They don’t have pockets, which is probably good for preventing leaks, but means I have to remember to pack mittens, too, on particularly wet or cold days. I just use our same mittens we have for the snow. Oh, and per Totcycle, thin hoods under helmets are OK so the Newt Suit and rain jacket hoods go inside the helmets for additional protection/warmth. And if you’re not also in rain pants, don’t forget to keep your saddle dry if you’ve had to park outside in the rain.
And yay!! Come riding in the sucky weather with me :)