How to cycle in the rain or snow
Today started off with dark skies, and a rainshower. It didn't stop my electric biking, going from Main and Broadway to the St. George's school campus near UBC, travelling along the "spine" of the city, the 37th Avenue bike route, crossing Vancouver's highest points, on a very windy day.
How do I do this, when most cyclists are hiding, waiting for better weather? Its easy. I wear ski goggles to keep the eyeballs from freezing, and a really good $2 face mask (smog mask) sold by Daiso at the Aberdeen Mall in Richmond. I also use a biking rain poncho which is popular in China -- there's a version made locally in Vancouver by the Bike Doctor on Broadway. To prevent cold hands, I wear neoprene gloves used by divers.
http://www.geocities.com/robert04mat/RAIN_CAPE.html
I'm finally laughing (cycling) in the Wet Coast !
Kudos to ya- I, too, ride
Kudos to ya- I, too, ride year round and even rode the day after that snowfall in November. That's when I KNEW there was never any going back,... though I've been commuting by bike in Van for 5 yrs, that was the first relatively "heavy" snowfall. I had to push my bike up the side street I live on but once I was on Broadway and then down Main, on to Pender and to work (at Pender and Granville), I was okay; it was already wet snow by then. So refreshing, too.
The thing is if I knew a bus would have gotten me to work faster I would have opted for it- but I was right in guessing they'd be backed up and chock-full and my bike was way more reliable. Rubber boots and my water-proof pants are my must-haves.