I had been looking forward to today because my workout schedule said "work on cyclocross skills" and today Mother Nature cooperated completely by raining the entire time. I pedaled to my nearby grassy park and was happily practicing dismount, remount, uphill carry, bunny-hops and off-road handling in the downpour.
It was sort of a Red Letter Day for me because I made a substantial technical breakthrough and feel like this will bump me up to the next plateau in my cyclocross skills development.
Most all cyclist have ridden in the rain at some time and experienced squishy gloves and shoes and it's not really much of an issue... until you start trying to quickly execute the skills mentioned above. As for eyewear, on road rides, where you are traveling at faster speeds, I prefer to keep the lenses on, otherwise the raindrops start to feel like they are poking your eyeballs out. But in cyclocross it's probably better to lose the glasses and see the obstacles better.
The number one observation I want to share from today's workout, and I'm sure that all you veteran 'cross riders know this well, is the reason 'cross racers wear skinsuits is not for looks or aerodynamics, it's because the rain! If you don't wear a skinsuit, or at least bib shorts, you may find there is nothing worse than trying to remount with soggy and saggy shorts. Even with a skinsuit or bibs, wet spandex does not slide on the saddle like dry. I suggest you practice in the rain if you get a chance.
BTW it's still kind of fun to play in the rain.
Posted by dancoy at August 24, 2006 01:45 PM