Soggy Commute

On Friday 28 June for the first time ever I chose to commute in the rain.

Despite being a pretty committed cyclist doing 1000's of miles a year I rarely choose to start a ride in the wet so this was quite a step change.

On this occasion I had chosen not to cycle the day before (Thursday) as the forecast showed a bright start but turning to rain at home time. I was also a bit tired so on the Thursday I decided that I'd cycle if I woke in time without the alarm. I didn't so I drove and was pretty grateful given the quantity of rain at home time.

However the forecast for Friday was a damp/wet start but drying out, and Noel was going to ride in as well, suggesting that we rode back "the long way". So I set my alarm for 5.45am and when it went off I looked out of the window - it was raining but looked light so I decided I'd risk the cycle. After some breakfast and a shave I went to get my bike from the garage and whilst it was still raining it felt like light drizzle. However once I really got going it was clearly raining a lot harder than it had initially appeared.

By Hampton In Arden I was pretty wet - not cold as it was about 12Deg C, but wet. I'd put my overshoes on but these were overcome - mostly I think from water rolling down my legs. This was despite mudguards on my bike. My pocket rocket held up as my upper body was warm and dry - my arms seemed wet and I was unable to tell whether this was sweat or leaks around the wrists

It was also the first test of my Altura Pannier in terms of water proofing. I wrote in the review that it needed more time to assess how good it was. I am please to say that the contents remained completely dry even after an hour of heavy rain. It is important to get the lid to cover properly - the material at the top of the bag is a lighter duty nylon closed by a drawstring, and relies on the lid to provide maximum water resistance. When the bag is full (as mine often is) you need to make sure that the elasticated flap is pulled over the bag just on case

I have used the pannier about 20 times or so now and so far it still seems to be holding up. The only issue so far seemed to be the screw/bolt covers inside that wore the contents. The solution in my earlier review of using a piece of old Karrimat seems to be working.

Squeezed in 100 miles

Over the weekend of 15/16 September we took my sons to University. As they have gone to opposite ends of country the whole weekend was spent on the motorway and whilst I could have had a short ride Sunday evening I was pretty tired. I had been looking fairly confident for the 422 miles per month in September, but a weekend off makes a big difference. I decided to ride to work on Tuesday and again went through Meriden. No special times achieved on the way in though. On the way home however there was a very strong block headwind and then about 5 miles after setting off the rain came down really hard horizontally and I had to stop and put my waterproof jacket on (to stop me getting too cold), my lights back on the bike and actually switch them on and the waterproof over cover on my rucksack. It continued to rain for about 30 minutes and gradually eased up and stopped by the time I got home. I hate wearing the water proof jacket but I would have got too cold without it. With the rain and the block headwind it was the worst cycle commute I think I have done in nearly 3 years.

I have an Altura Pocket Rocket jacket like this one:

The jacket is a bit "Boil in the Bag" but I can't fault how water-proof it is. It is also VERY yellow and packs incredibly small - it fits (in a little bag provided) into the pocket of a jersey.

And my rucksack is a Deuter Cross Air EXP like this one (although I think this is a slightly newer model):

I have been really pleased with this. It's big enough for a laptop, A4 hardback notebook, lunch box and assorted small items - there is a zip to enlarge it further if required and the straps pulls the contents into the bag. Its very comfortable to wear with the "Air" design which has a mesh back to hold the bag off your back and there is a waist and chest strap that holds it firmly in place without being too tight. There is also a yellow water-proof cover that is normally zipped in the bottom of the bag - the bag itself seems reasonably water-proof but with a laptop its better to be safe than sorry.

The weather was forecast to be poor for the rest of the week so no more commuting but a good forecast for Saturday saw Noel and I go for a ride together for the first time since he was knocked off his back back in June. He has got a very nice Ridley Orion with an Shimano Ultegra drivetrain. Despite the forecast and the sunshine it was actually quite cold and windier than forecast. We had a good ride - just over 50 miles, average speed of just under 17.5mph and I got a few improvements: I got a PR on Scarfield Hill with a 20 second improvement, plus a 5 second improvement on Astwood Lane Climb into Astwood Bank. 

This ride saw me get to 95 miles for the week so a I nipped out for just over an hour on the Sunday morning (22.4 miles at 17.9mph average) so all in all just about made the 100 mile total.

Commuting in the Autumn and the Lights that I Use

The problem now is that the days are shortening and it is getting less desirable to cycle to work and get the "free miles". Already there have been several cold mornings - its now the time of year for long fingered gloves in the morning and it won't be long until I need to start wearing long bibs rather than shorts. The problem is that its still to hot to wear longs on the way home and I really need to carry a set of kit to ride home in. I don't mind riding in the dark, but would never commute in full darkness - not because of my ability but because I am not confident of being seen by drivers. In addition with the low sun both in the morning and evening this is more dangerous than darkness.

I normally ride with 2 rears lights - they are Smart 5 LED 3 function units similar to these:

I have one on the bike, normally constant and the other on the light hook on my Deuter rucksack in flashing mode. They are pretty good - long battery life, high visibility and so far (> 2 years) good reliability. I run them with 2xAAA re-chargeable batteries and for the level of dark riding I do they only really need charging once. The battery life is so good that I'll often use it during the day as well when visibility is not perfect. They are also really cheap at around £4 each

I have got the same units for front lights but they are basically useless, and no longer use them - they are more green that white and are relatively invisible. I now use a LifeLine 1W LED light like this:

Its a 2 mode light - constant and flashing and made of an aluminium body. This uses 4xAAA batteries and I use re-chargeables in this as well. It's not the most powerful by any means but meets my needs perfectly - highly visible in flashing mode and again excellent battery life. The only weak point is the handlebar mount could be better.

Despite these lights (and the fact that these are 1000x better that the first lights I had I still am nervous about being seen on the dark so from early October until mid-February I am a non-commuter.

Here are some of the lights I have used in the past:

What's wrong with these? Poor battery life, bulb failure, minimal range and visibility, heavy, etc