Tips for People Who Bike in Rainy Weather

We appreciate rain, including because of this rainbow it delivered over the Monterey Bay! Nonetheless, biking in rainy weather requires extra caution for your protection.

And if you’re a mountain biker, rainy weather requires caution for protection of the land too.

Should you just skip biking in rainy weather? Maybe—and maybe not! Before deciding what’s right for you, check out these rainy-weather tips from fellow bike advocates.

Even if you’re smiling as you pedal toward a puddle, because the child in you just loves to splash, consider that puddles may hide significant road hazards such as gaps or cracks in pavement.

Barb Chamberlain, Bike Style Life – Riding in the Rain, Wheeling through Winter: https://bikestylelife.com/2024/11/11/riding-in-the-rain-wheeling-through-winter-bike-gear-defgs-to-follow-the-abcs/
http://bikestylespokane.com/2018/12/13/ride-in-the-rain-bicycle-gear-tips-wet-weather/

Cascade Bicycle Club – https://cascade.org/resources/beginner-tips-biking/tips-biking-rain

Bike Portland – https://bikeportland.org/2017/01/02/survive-winter-riding-with-these-30-pearls-of-wisdom-211343

San Francisco Bicycle Coalition – https://sfbike.org/news/9-simple-tips-for-biking-in-the-rain/
Sometimes special equipment can be helpful. For example, San Francisco Bicycle Coalition suggested on social media that “in wet weather, panniers are advisable, because they lower your center of gravity and reduce the risk of your bicycle’s wheels sliding out from under you.”

Bike East Bay – https://bikeeastbay.org/wetweather

League of American Bicyclists (scroll down to header “Rain Riding”) – https://bikeleague.org/ridesmart/commuting/

Rainy-weather tips for mountain bikers

“Rules for Rainy Season Riding” – https://hilltromper.com/article/responsible-mountain-biking-rain

“Why we don’t Night Ride after rain” – https://morcamtb.org/why-we-dont-night-ride-after-rain/

Below: Monterey County rainy-day scenes from Monterey, Seaside, and Pacific Grove.