"What do you do when it rains?"

"What do you do when it rains?"
This is, without a doubt, the single most common question I get as a bike commuter. It's actually consistently one of the first things people ask after finding out that I don't own a car and commute exclusively by bicycle. Unlike some of the other questions people ask me, this one seems to come from a genuine source of curiosity - it's like they honestly can't figure out how I solve the dilemma of biking to work in the rain.

The thing is, I get it - if I wasn't a bike commuter myself, I'd probably ask the question, too. In a car, the rain isn't an issue - you have climate control and a roof over your head and the windows rolled up. Your visibility may suffer and, if it's a downpour (or if you live in South Carolina), driving can become more dangerous. But you don't get wet. It's just not an issue.

So what do I do when it rains? Well, I don't really have the option of calling in a "rain day" at work, and I can't steal my wife's car (that would just be mean), so what's a guy on a bike to do?

Simple - go to work, in the rain. Get a bit wet. It happens, and it's okay! That's one of the funny and amazing things about bike commuting - it makes you reevaluate your perceptions. Once you take away the option of driving (something I did consciously and intentionally), you become more accepting of things that previously would have frustrated you as a driver or recreational cyclist. You just don't have a choice. The reason I said it's "funny" is because of how counter-intuitive it is: taking away the "easy" option (driving) makes the "hard" option (biking) suddenly become easier. You don't have a comparison anymore - that's just your reality, and it isn't bad at all. There's a brief adjustment period, but then it's all good. Sometimes it's hot, sometimes it's cold, sometimes it rains. So you dress accordingly.

Always pack a nice lightweight, waterproof jacket and a plastic grocery bag to put over your seat (trust me on this one: black bike seat + water + khaki pants = one very regrettable stain), and you're good to go. Learn to bike on wet pavement, in the snow, etc. Bring a change of clothes if it's a real downpour or 90-degrees out so you don't look like a disheveled mess when you get to work. Leave a bit early in inclement weather so that, when you get to where you're going, you can change clothing and clean up. There are lots of ways to deal with the weather - people have been doing it for millennia, but most of us have forgotten how because cars made it unnecessary. But it's not hard to remember.

What do I do when it rains?

I bike. And I love it.