I am going away for the 4th, and need to put in a 4hr bike
Today or tomorrow it may be raining both days should i or shouldn’t i ride. I could wait and do the ride early Sat morning before i leave. I don’t have any issues running in the rain, but riding in the rain makes me a little nervous. I don’t want to crash and f up my IM training/race.
you might as well ride in the rain … what if it rains during your race … you might as well be prepared for the worst. i have raced 2 times in the rain and i was a little scared but once i got going i realized it really wasnt too different …be hardcore and get out there!
Do you have a trainer? If not, get one. I find my trainer to be an invaluable training tool. I’ve never done a 4-hour ride on it.
I also hate ridding in the rain and avoid it like the plague. Sometimes if it looks like it will rain during a scheduled long ride, I’ll do multiple loops on this 6 mile route by my house, so I’m never more than 10-15 minutes away from home in case of a torrential summer downpour.
6 mile loops for 4 hours … omg … that is so crazy!!!
not only are the roads wetter and thus more dangerous but they bring out all the grit and make your bike really dirty and get your cassette/derailurs full of grime, but it is uncomfortable and no fun to ride in downpour feeling like you’re getting a hose in the face. Also, cars can’t see as well in the rain and have less control than normal. All in all it is just not worth it to ride in downpour, a little rain is fine but real storms I stay away from. Usually I will opt for a long run instead and manipulate my schedule a little to swap runs/rides/swims.
Go bike in the rain, even though it alway’s seems to add an extra 30 minute clean up process, after the ride. Make sure you dry your bike as well as you can, spray something like K9 to force the moisture out of certain places where water likes to hide…
Keep this in mind though… If it’s really coming down, I mean to the point where you can’t see more then 10 feet in front of you, cars traveling at 35 miles an hour can’t see you either. I’d recommend pulling over and hanging out for a while for the torential stuff to move on.
But a constant drizzle only gives you experience of riding on wet roads. Go slow, be safe. It’ll give you confidence on a wet race day.
Yeah, I know I’m a pussy when it somes to rain. But doing loops on long rides is not so bad. You can mix things up and can go one hard and one easy and time each loop. Also, I come from a swimming background where I’ve spend countless hours going back and forth in a pool, so a 6 mile loop provides plenty of variety.
Ride.
Real cyclists check the weather only to determine what to wear, not to decide whether to ride or not.
“Real cyclists check the weather only to determine what to wear, not to decide whether to ride or not”
I thought this was a Triathlon Forum 
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As we used to say in the UK Parachute Regiment - if it ain’t rainin’ - it ain’t trainin’
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“Real cyclists check the weather only to determine what to wear, not to decide whether to ride or not”
I thought this was a Triathlon Forum
Hence the abolutely insane suggestion by someone that you should do the 4 hours on a trainer.
There’s crazy and then there is triathlete crazy 