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If you ride a motorcycle through a hailstorm, it sounds like someone is firing a machinegun near to your head.. A rapid staccato of shots in all directions.
However when you reach your destination, and remove the full-face helmet, and the combination of high boots, thick leather jacket, gloves, and trousers, that all overlap, you find that you're essentially dry underneath it all, and unharmed by the apparent gunfire. (Except perhaps some new scratches on the visor)
If you ride through a hailstorm on a bicycle, you get completely and utterly saturated! (As Annie & Carrie can confirm when I arrived home yesterday evening)
It wasn't just being wet though - It was like cycling through a warehouse full of loose sewing needles in the middle of a cyclone. Eyes squinting against the pain as what feels like a million tiny pricks of ice throw themselves at my head. I arrived home in record time, however! I was also completely drenched, right down to my socks and underwear. My front wasn't too bad, as I was wearing a waterproof jacket, but water had been running down the back of my neck quite successfully. Ergh.
Juliet says that the TFL claim that cyclists should only encounter rain whilst commuting for 8 days out of every year. Given the way this week is going so far, (ie. rain monday, wednesday, thursday during commuting times, and more hail predicted at 6pm today), I'd like to know how they could possibly come up with that figure.
[Edit: To be fair, if I rode the bicycle whilst wearing the same outfit as I would for nasty weather on a motorbike, then I wouldn't get so wet. However I also wouldn't get very far. Note that I'm not complaining about the nature of bicycles, and I realise one could wear extra waterproofs and stuff, and presumably some sort of full-face helmet with a visor too. not that i've ever seen a cyclist with one. Maybe some sort of diving goggles? :)
]
However when you reach your destination, and remove the full-face helmet, and the combination of high boots, thick leather jacket, gloves, and trousers, that all overlap, you find that you're essentially dry underneath it all, and unharmed by the apparent gunfire. (Except perhaps some new scratches on the visor)
If you ride through a hailstorm on a bicycle, you get completely and utterly saturated! (As Annie & Carrie can confirm when I arrived home yesterday evening)
It wasn't just being wet though - It was like cycling through a warehouse full of loose sewing needles in the middle of a cyclone. Eyes squinting against the pain as what feels like a million tiny pricks of ice throw themselves at my head. I arrived home in record time, however! I was also completely drenched, right down to my socks and underwear. My front wasn't too bad, as I was wearing a waterproof jacket, but water had been running down the back of my neck quite successfully. Ergh.
Juliet says that the TFL claim that cyclists should only encounter rain whilst commuting for 8 days out of every year. Given the way this week is going so far, (ie. rain monday, wednesday, thursday during commuting times, and more hail predicted at 6pm today), I'd like to know how they could possibly come up with that figure.
[Edit: To be fair, if I rode the bicycle whilst wearing the same outfit as I would for nasty weather on a motorbike, then I wouldn't get so wet. However I also wouldn't get very far. Note that I'm not complaining about the nature of bicycles, and I realise one could wear extra waterproofs and stuff, and presumably some sort of full-face helmet with a visor too. not that i've ever seen a cyclist with one. Maybe some sort of diving goggles? :)
]