Last weekend promised a lot of rain throughout the forecast. Having been unable to make a planned camping trip in Pisgah due to the ailing health of my beloved adventure dog, it looked to be a soggy weekend at home. A few texts exchanged a couple days prior with ends left loose to account for lack of sleep from tending to needs of the ol’ boy, there was a little promise of a bright spot in the potentially dreich weekend.
I’d lived in Tennessee for 20 years before I’d ever really experienced life without humidity and +/- 54″ of annual rainfall per year. For 23 years prior, I’d known the oppressive humidity of summer from growing up in the midwest. I just assumed everyone dealt with oppressive humidity. My first trip abroad to merry old England showed me that rainy dreich weather didn’t always mean it had to be oppressively humid nor extremely wintry and cold. It could just be temperate and ever-present. A few trips to Scotland wild camping and bikepacking taught me how to adjust and accept the weather, after all it’s not like I could change it, nor extend my stays just to sit indoors waiting for the rain to stop. To think I’d never purchased a rain coat or brelly to deal with the rain, aside from waterproof cycling trousers and jacket which just made you sweat worse than the rain soaked you in humid TN. I had just accepted the misery and mostly avoided the rain unless caught out on a bike. A whole new outlook on what clothing, particularly material, and planning was learned in a rather quick fashion. Life lessons learned late are still better than not having learned them at all.
Bad weather is all part and parcel for mountain bike and cyclocross racing, two of my favorite racing disciplines and sports, but typically you weren’t riding to a restaurant, pub, hotel, or international airport directly afterwards, let alone setting up camp for the night. I’ve learned that for me full waterproofs are great for around camp and post ride, but during a ride having a merino wool base t-shirt matched to a lightweight, wind and water resistant jacket (like the Zoic Breaker 1-9 jacket we carry at Caney Fork Cycles) is best. It breaths better, keeps me warm even when wet and regulates body temp. I also prefer riding in water resistant, quick drying, stretchy shorts (Zoic Ether for men and Zoic Neveah for women – both available with or without liners) and or knickers than lycra chamois. The 3/4 pants/knickers replace the need for knee warmer in cooler/wetter conditions as well as protect your legs from brambles and stinging nettles when trail riding. Add in some arm warmers, a vest, and a cycling cap and everything very easily fits into a small hip pack or frame bag and layers together to keep you warm and dry in myriad temperatures and conditions. Added benefits of not looking awkwardly out of place enjoying post ride beverages and food or doing a short hike to a waterfall or overlook. Spandex and lycra definitely have their place and serve a purpose with their performance qualities, but lycra shouldn’t define what you can or can’t wear cycling. Be adventurous and find what works best for you. I’ve found the less I have to have to ride my bike, the more easily and often it is for me to make time to get out and ride no matter what the weather.
All that is to say building upon those experiences and the learning of better ways to deal with the torrent nature of living in a humid subtropical climate has found me embracing the good with the bad when it comes to weather and enjoying the out of doors. Luckily some of my fellow cycling colleagues have been learning to embrace it as well (getting out that is, not just adopting my keen fashion sense 
).
The strong gusty headwind, the grey clouds, and the rain each gradually fell off treating us to a few hours of blue skies and sunshine amidst the weekend’s storms. We’d somehow managed to plan the route so as to skirt the heavy rain fall and only occasionally catch a leading or tailing drizzle. But being able to cycle thru the brief expanse of blue was what the soul needed. The gravel and back country roads around Cookeville never fail to offer up continual surprises, be it overlooks, rock ledges, waterfalls, or even a herd of Elk.
The wind and grey skies picked up again as we left the gravel and headed home thru Monterey. The promised and ever illusive “tailwind” never transpired and we were left fighting a headwind for most of the way home. Thanks to Dr. Rick for braving the conditions and leading me around a fantastic loop. The post ride tea and charcuterie was almost as excellent as the route and company.
The cycling community and culture is varied, vibrant, and strong in this little TN town. Don’t let the words pigeon hole or diminish your cycling – “A Group”, “B Group”, “D Group”, “racer”, “gravel”, “mountain biker”, “commuter”, “tourer” – just like cycling clothing there are myriad options, choices, and flavors. Why not mix it all in? Add a short stretch of dirt or gravel on your road ride, add some pavement to your mountain bike ride by riding to the trail, or ride your road bike on a loop at Cane Creek. The words, the clothing, the disciplines, all add up to one thing – a cyclist. Let’s be one together.
