Despite the weather warnings and heavy overnight rain I decided to venture out on my bike today. It was my first day of early retirement and so after putting the finishing touches to an item of reclaimed furniture and then speaking with the Inland Revenue about taxes I decided to reward my hard work with my first cycle of the year. I had planned to cycle 50 miles but these aspirations were curtailed by my inability to cope with the vicious weather.
"I'm sure there never used to be a river here"
The winds were strong today. Not only did I find myself struggling on a downhill into a headwind but often my balance was fully tested as I wobbled sideways due to gusting cross-winds. On a dry day I would be able to cope with this, but in the freezing rain with mud and horse-sh*t spraying up from the country lanes it became a real struggle. The final nail in the coffin was when I lost the feeling in my feet due to them being soaked and frozen.
Leaky overshoes
My overshoes have recently been performing very badly and I’m not sure whether it’s the severe rains or just their poor quality . I have previously seen plastic socks which you wear over your normal socks inside the shoes. Maybe these would be a better option in the winter.
Dead man's feet - all that's missing is the toe tag
Anyway, it felt good to get out on the bike and clock some more winter miles. With better equipment I would have been happier to grind out a few more miles but 30 miles in the conditions didn’t seem too shabby.
Cycling Jerzy 
Uncanny that on your first day of early retirement you’ve concluded you need MORE cycling gear!
See comment below. A potential zero-cost solution!
I’ve done plastic bags over the socks (underneath the shoes). It has worked well the few times I’ve used them. Though I can’t imagine riding through that kind of rain/puddles…bravo for trying
Good idea. I will give it a go next time.
I use the Endura overshoes too and the last time I went out in heavy rain my feet got wet. Mine are quite well used so maybe they just give up after a while. You were braver than me. I didn’t risk the heavy cross winds.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16345232
mark – check this out – you could be cycling to the south pole if you had the right gear!!!!
Great stuff – something to think about next time I’m thinking of not going out because it’s raining!
if you use a neoprene overshoe your feet will get wet eventually, but also stay warm, working on the same lines as a wet suit. i’ve been using endura equipe and they are pretty toasty.