I don't mind riding in the rain as long as it is not cold; so when the weather finally warmed up again and the snow melted it was time to get back into my routine of bicycle riding. It was spring, and it was raining but it was warm.
The rain was not heavy, so I put my backpack in a plastic bag and strapped it to the bike rack; then I put on my poncho, which I bought at a grocery store last year, and set off. I do not have a lot of money for fancy high-tech equipment so I make do with the department store stuff and get creative, and this poncho is proof that you can be O.K. with the low-tech stuff.
The problem with ponchos is that the wind pushes them up while you ride and they wrap around your shoulders leaving the rest of your body exposed, so I tried an experiment- I used binder clips to clip the poncho to the bike in front, (binder clips are those stiff boxy triangle black metal ones). The clips were strong enough to hold it down. I had to wrap the part of the poncho that I wanted to secure around something like the handlebar, the neck or the cross tube and then bunch the edge of the poncho and clip it together. I tried to clip the poncho to the handle bars but felt it was restricting my movement so I tried to clip it to the cross tube.
It worked well enough and I think with a few more attempts I will be much more dryer when I get to work. I think that if I clip it tightly around my wrist I might have part of the problem solved.
The binder clips and poncho came in handy when I arrived at work. I locked up my bike and lay the poncho over it then used the binder clips to hold it on. The bike was nice and dry when I came out after work.
I plan to always carry a few binder clips or clothes pins in my backpack from now on.
The rain was not heavy, so I put my backpack in a plastic bag and strapped it to the bike rack; then I put on my poncho, which I bought at a grocery store last year, and set off. I do not have a lot of money for fancy high-tech equipment so I make do with the department store stuff and get creative, and this poncho is proof that you can be O.K. with the low-tech stuff.
The problem with ponchos is that the wind pushes them up while you ride and they wrap around your shoulders leaving the rest of your body exposed, so I tried an experiment- I used binder clips to clip the poncho to the bike in front, (binder clips are those stiff boxy triangle black metal ones). The clips were strong enough to hold it down. I had to wrap the part of the poncho that I wanted to secure around something like the handlebar, the neck or the cross tube and then bunch the edge of the poncho and clip it together. I tried to clip the poncho to the handle bars but felt it was restricting my movement so I tried to clip it to the cross tube.
It worked well enough and I think with a few more attempts I will be much more dryer when I get to work. I think that if I clip it tightly around my wrist I might have part of the problem solved.
I plan to always carry a few binder clips or clothes pins in my backpack from now on.
