What to do when the weather is bad

It’s raining and you really wanted to go out on a ride. At the same time you really dread having to get all bundled up put rain gear on and going out in the cold windy rain eventually getting soaked anyway. So how do you spend your time?

You could of course go out and ride in the rain. Rain won’t kill you and sometimes it is fun to splash through puddles and get a little wet. Make sure you are prepared for wet weather riding. A rain jacket or poncho will keep the wet away from your core, as well as help you stay warmer. Some booties will help keep your shoes dry. Long fingered gloves will keep your fingers from getting too cold and numb. Depending on the temperature you really don’t have to cover up completely. If you can keep your extremities warm and your core warn you probably have enough clothing on to enjoy a day in the rain.

If outdoor riding is not your cup of tea, there is always trainer/roller riding. There are plenty of ways to keep trainer riding interesting. You can ride and read a book, watch TV or Videos, talk on the phone, learn a new language. There are a number of bicycle specific DVDs designed for training certain bicycle skills.

No motivation to ride a trainer. Rainy days are a perfect time to do routine bicycle maintenance. I usually take this time to patch tubes or tires that have flatted. Take the time to wipe away some of the dirt and dust that accumulates on your bike while you are out riding. Replace worn out brake pads, adjust dérailleurs or other routine maintenance. If you do not know how to do any of those things, visit the Park Tools web site and read a bit in their how-to section on routine maintenance. It certainly isn’t hard to do, you can do much of it with just a few hand tools and you have the satisfaction of doing something yourself. Of course you could always take you bike to the shop on those rainy days and let them do the work also.

Maintenance is not your thing, then go on-line and plan your next cycling trip. With so many sport oriented, map based web sites, you can sit down in front of your PC or Mac and in a few minutes have a new route plotted along with a cue sheet of turns. Search for routes in your area that others have created or ridden.

I hope these suggestions are helpful and I am sure that there are many other things that you do on these harder to ride days. Me, I am going to finish cleaning and lubricating my chain.