I will admit to enjoying a good ride in the rain (sometimes)...

Yup. I admit it. I do enjoy riding in the rain. Quite a bit, actually.

An archive photo. SoYoCo 2011.

What I don't enjoy is the aftermath. I don't enjoy how dirty everything gets, and when I say "everything," what I really mean is my bike. Which is not to say that I don't mind a dirty bike, it's that I mind the performance issues associated with a dirty bike that doesn't ever quite get clean afterward, even when you think it is.

I feel like I need to take things apart (pull the crank, pop the seatpost, take off the wheels and pedals) and let everything dry and wipe everything off. In the nooks and crannies. The bottom bracket bearing races, etc. And brakes, chain, derailleurs, etc.

And it seems to me that riding in the rain significantly decreases the useable life of cable housing, especially brake cable housing. I hate when brakes and derailleurs don't crisply spring back (when releasing tension) due to the crap that gets in there from who knows what. (I probably ought to look into that Gore sealed cable stuff, especially since I actually enjoy riding in the rain, but it seems expensive and complicated.) Seriously, though, riding in the rain leaves grit everywhere...

I also don't like wet shoes. Wet shoes dry quicker in the winter when the heat is on (and you put them next to the vent), but in this weather (and eastern humidity) it seems to take forever. Even with newspaper stuffed in them.

Anyway, I rode today. In the rain. For two hours and ten minutes. It was lovely.

But once home I had to drop everything in a hurry, shower, and get back to campus for a meeting. To which I was 10 minutes late. So I didn't get to take anything apart, and I didn't get to do any cleaning. So, now, when I do get to it, the whole thing will be worse. Which is a pain. But it's probably still worth it. Sometimes.