LOGISTICS: the GFT is logistically quite simple.  It’s less than 2h from Gainesville, which means I only need a one night hotel stay.  That, in addition to the race being a non-Ironman ™ branded race, means I’m saving a lot of money over the cost of an Ironman ™ ™ branded race.  I’ll drive down the afternoon before the race, check in, drop off my bike and gear, go eat and go to sleep.  Nice!

Weather is looking okay.  Forecast is predicting low temps around 62 and highs around 84.  The bike should be mostly pleasant and the run will probably be hot enough to present a challenge.  I’m reasonably heat acclimated and I have the necessary heat gear, so I’m not going to lose any sleep over the weather.

SWIM: the swim is a beach start, two lap (exiting the water in between laps) affair in Lake Minneola.  No alligators, hopefully.  Water temp will be around 73-75 degrees, which is perfect for a wetsuit swim.  At a cruising effort, the swim should take me about 1:20.  Even though I haven’t been swimming a lot, I’m not too concerned about the swim.  It’s just the relaxing start to a long day!

Aside: USA Triathlon recently lowered the wetsuit temperature threshold from 78 degrees F to 24 degrees C (76.1 F).  In my opinion, this is an excellent decision.  The vast majority of triathletes can keep warm in 76-78 degree water temperatures; this decision eliminates the “crutch” that the wetsuit is at those temperatures.  By doing this, USAT is making a statement toward the integrity of the sport which I wholeheartedly support.

BIKE: I’m going to be a slave to my PowerTap the whole way on the moderately hilly course.  Shooting for 135 watts of average power, 1.1 VI and about 310 TSS.  Cruising at 140 watts on the flats and capping climbing watts at 225 (just above threshold).  Cadence will be between 82-87 most of the way and HR should be in the Z1/Z2 zones most of the day.

Gear includes 50/34 cranks and a 11-28 cassette–plenty of low options for the short, steep rollers.  I’m also running an aero helmet, a 58mm front wheel and a disc cover on my PT rear for maximum speed.  Race tires and latex tubes, with plenty of flat repair options.

I’m looking at around 6.5 hours for the 112 mile course, depending on the weather, the stops I make and the extent of the hills (there are portions of the course I have not ridden before).

RUN: out of the gate, I’m going to use a run/walk strategy.  I’m going to walk the first minute of each mile, as well as every aid station.  No exceptions until I get through 20 miles.  My long runs have been inconsistent, so I am not confident I’d be able to run 26 miles continuously off the bike.

The run/walk serves two purposes: (1) to keep my core temperature under control, and (2) to keep my legs fresh for when I hit the wall in the second half of the marathon.

Running will be at my E(asy) pace.  In normal temperature conditions, that’s around 8:50, but when it gets warm, I slow down.  I plan on observing HR, RPE and pace and making a judgment call as to exactly what pace I choose.

I’ll switch into a DeSoto SkinCooler long-sleeve top for the run.  This is a garment I’ve used successfully in training–when dry, it encourages quick evaporation of sweat (which keeps you cool), and when wet, it feels awesome on the skin.  I really like this top in hot conditions.

I would be very happy to end up with 10 minute mile average pace (4:25 time).  However, predicting one’s Ironman run time is often an exercise in futility, especially when it’s hot, so we shall see.

NUTRITION: nice big dinner the night before, with extra salt.  Normal pre-race meal, with some extra salt.  I’m going to skip the caffeine at the start to ensure a calm demeanor during the swim.  Once I get settled on the bike, I’ll get started with my race nutrition–350-400 cals/hour of Infinit custom mix, with 500-1,200mg of salt per hour as needed and as the temperature rises.  No-doz pills every 3-4 hours once I get 3-4 hours into the race.

On the run, it’s lots of salt (probably 1,200-1,500mg/hour, depending on heat), plus the on-course nutrition (gels, Gatorade and salty snacks).

I’m also putting TBD delicious treats in all of my special needs bags.

The 1.2 mile swim was in the 87 degree Lake Minneola.  Blech.  Reports indicate that the swim was slightly long, but I actually had a pretty good swim, at 41 minutes and change.  Turns out I was fastest in my age group??  LOL!!?  Not bad for literally *no* swim training leading up to the race!

The 56 (turns out it was closer to 60) mile bike was on country roads around Clermont, with lots of rolling hills and an ascent of Sugarloaf Mountain, which isn’t really a mountain, just a 2 minute hill at around 12% grade.  I ran a 34/26 lowest gear, which was fine, but for the GFT I’ll run a 34/28 for a bit extra spinnage.  My goal was to average around 155 watts, to have a normalized power of 165-170 watts (giving me an intensity factor of 0.8-0.82), and cap my wattage at 250 on the rollers.

I started off smooth–letting the dickswingers push their 500 watts over the rollers while I capped my efforts.  I caught many of them on the downhills and flats anyway.  Miles 15-30 were filled with cramping (probably due to slamming too much nutrition after the swim), but a brief stop at an aid station stocked with ice cold water helped ease the pain.

Sadly, my race came to an abrupt end at mile 45 with a flat tire.  I tried to use Vittoria Pit Stop to plug the leak, but the hole was too big to seal.  The Pit Stop was all I was carrying, so my day was done.  I didn’t even make it to T2 before calling Lana to pick me up!

I was pissed at myself for not carrying more flat repair stuff, and also pissed because I was feeling quite fit heading into the race.  I really wanted to demonstrate I could race long course well in the heat!

So, I did what any ridiculous triathlete looking to use up some fitness would do–I took the following Tuesday off work to try the race again.  I would do my own Half Ironman, self-supported, at race pace, on the roads around Gainesville!

The plan was this: swim 2150 yards in my 25 yard apartment complex pool, and bike/run 56/13.1 on some of my bread-and-butter routes around town.  Self-supported, including all stops and doing the transitions as quickly as I could.

I started at around 6am on Tuesday.  I did the 2150 yard swim in 40’16″ with no problems.

T1 was awkward.  I got my bike stuff ready, and then realized that there wasn’t enough light for me to start riding!  So I checked my email for 15 minutes until it was safe to ride.  Oops.

My plan for the bike was to just nail it at 160 watts (just under 80% of FTP) the whole way.  The route I selected was flat.  I chose a regular cycling jersey, regular helmet and training wheels.  I carried four bottles, which is enough for me for a 3 hour ride in slightly warm temps.

I felt *very* good on the bike.  I felt strong and powerful in my newly-modified aero position.  The first two hours were quite comfortable, and the last hour was manageable.  I took periodic standing breaks and was able to hold my desired watts and cadence (87-88rpm) the whole way.  The only mistake I made was using the same 11-26 cassette I used on Sunday (normally I choose a 12-23 for the Gainseville flats)!

Ended up averaging 162 watts (166 NP) with a VI of 1.02 (can you say FLAT roads), IF of 0.79, TSS of 198 and no decoupling.  Spot on for a half Ironman bike effort.  2:55 + 1′ worth of traffic stops.  I got off the bike ready to run.

My plan for the run was to minimize carnage.  I had intentionally chosen a route that was exposed to the sun for most of the way.  Two laps of a 3.3 mile out-and-back.  The temperatures were rising steadily throughout the run, and I knew that fatigue + rising temps could mean trouble if I wasn’t careful.  I started off running 8:45 pace, which, in cooler conditions is actually my “easy” pace.  I wore a long-sleeved skin-cooler top, and carried a water bottle the whole way (refilling every two miles or so), which I used for drinking and dumping on myself.

I held this pace for 10 miles or so, then the fatigue and rising temps started to catch up with me.  My quads started to hurt and my water breaks got longer.  My last 3 miles were slower (9:30 pace), but I was able to keep running.  1:57 without the water breaks, 2:06 with the water breaks.

So, around 5:40 of s/b/r time, not including the two transitions.  Not bad, considering the heat!

Some notes:

• I am happy with where my nutritional strategy is right now. With the exception of the cramping early in the Clermont race (which was a silly mistake on my part), I took in enough calories and salt to support my races.  During the self-supported race, I estimate I consumed over 7,000mg of salt in the form of approximately 32xSaltstick tablets (2 every 20′ on the bike, 1 every mile on the run), plus the salt in my Infinit mix and a bit from some Gatorade on the run.  Calorie-wise, I consumed about 1,300 calories of Infinit and 200 Gatorade calories, almost all on the bike.  These numbers seem to work for me in the heat!
• My clothing choices were satisfactory as well. During Ironman, I’m going to wear a (tight-fitting) bike jersey so I can carry additional nutrition + water.  I may choose to use arm coolers, depending on how hot it gets–they’ve worked for me in the past.  I will almost definitely choose an aero helmet–my LG rocket has vents in which I can pour water.  The long-sleeved skin cooler top on the run is a no-brainer for me.
• My swimming is actually OK, considering I have done almost ZERO swim training this summer.  The ROI for my long-course swimming doesn’t seem to be that great for me, so I’m not going to worry about it too much.  Perhaps a few longer swims before race day, and that’s it.
• I need a better flat tire strategy for GFT. Pit Stop is not enough.  Right now, my race wheels are a tubular front and a clincher rear, which is not ideal.  I need to either (a) carry full flat solutions for both wheels (which is cumbersome), or (b) find a clincher front wheel.  If anyone has a deep-section (preferably 80mm or deeper) clincher front wheel they want to lend me for GFT, I am all ears!
• I am concerned about the leg pain I experienced on the run. This is the same leg pain I experienced at Ironman Wisconsin.  In both cases, I was fit enough to run faster but I could not do so mechanically.  Perhaps I should consider a run-walk strategy at GFT to give my legs a regular break from the pounding.  Or maybe compression tights?  Yikes.

Since Florida summers are super hot and humid, and since it’s tough to get a quality workout in as the temperature goes up, I thought it might be a good idea to try out some of Emilio DeSoto’s new “SkinCooler” products. They supposedly wick moisture much faster than normal tech fabric (and still quicker than the wind whipping against you as you ride), allowing your body to keep cooler than it could if the skin was just bare.

I have tried four products: the helmet beanie, the arm coolers, the leg coolers and the l/s top:

HELMET BEANIE

I wear this most often under my cycling helmet, but also works as a running hat. It works well to keep the sweat out of my eyes, and does a decent job of keeping the head cool as well.

Even though I have short hair, I think the skin cooling component of this garment would work better if I had a shaved head. So, folks with longer hair, I’m not so sure if this product will work to its maximum effectiveness for you. Rating: 7/10.

ARM COOLERS

These would be awkward (but usable) for running, so I wear these only for cycling. They are tight-fitting and comfortable. They do a great job of blocking the sun from my arms; DeSoto claims 75% UV protection. Water poured on them feels great (even if it’s not cold).

You’re not going to make it suddenly feel like springtime when wearing the arm coolers, but I’ve found that you can usually get a little bit of temperature benefit from these, from blocking the sun and from the moisture wicking.

Below heat indexes of about 85, these don’t really work for me (I feel warmer instead of cooler) and if the temp is below 65, arm warmers are probably a better choice.

If nothing else, the UV protection you get from wearing these is an excellent reason to wear them. Plus, in the event that you crash, it’s one more layer between your skin and the pavement… 8/10.

LEG COOLERS

A lot of what I wrote about the arm coolers applies to the leg coolers. However, I don’t like these as much because they just feel awkward on my legs. Maybe it was just that my legs want to be FREE because of the warm weather, maybe it’s the seam that runs the length of the garment. But I can’t get motivated to wear these.

Maybe if I do a super hot weather long distance ride, I’d find a use for them. But for day-to-day riding, these stay in the closet. 5/10.

LONG SLEEVE RUNNING TOP

This is a tight-fitting garment designed primarily for running. It is relatively short in length but provides full coverage of the torso and back. I ordered mine with a single small pocket in the back so I could use it for cycling, or for storing gels on a long run. It ran true to size.

The garment wicks moisture very well. I noticed that the wind blowing on the sweaty garment often feels cooler on this garment than it does on other comparable garments. As with the arm coolers, pouring water on it feels great.

It’s a bit hard to put on, especially if you’re sweaty. And it’s not particularly useful as a standalone cycling garment, with its lack of spacious pockets and its see-through nature (ladies take note).

But this garment does generally serve its functional purpose, and at times it definitely feels cooler than running with no top on, due to the sun blockage and good moisture-wicking.

I will be wearing this shirt on the run portion of the Great Floridian Iron-distance tri later this year, where temps often climb into the 90s. 9/10.

OVERALL

The SkinCooler products are reasonably priced and perform as advertised.  They won’t work miracles–it’s still hot outside–but they make those long rides and runs a bit more tolerable.

The fabric is a bit fragile, and tends to pick up colors of whatever you wash it with (my helmet beanie is a bit red, and my arm coolers are a bit blue).  So treat the garment carefully for the first few weeks.

On a customer service note: I accidentally tore a hole in one of the arm coolers (my fault) and DeSoto was kind enough to send me TWO replacement coolers.  So I actually have three coolers now that I rotate on my rides.  Shop with confidence–DeSoto’s customer service is excellent.

All in all, these garments are not worth your time and money if you live in Vermont, but definitely give them a try if you live South. 8/10.

The Cemetery TT is a fixture of the Gainesville community. The Team Florida collegiate athletes use it as a benchmark to gauge their fitness, and the strongest Gainesville cyclists use it as a low-key chance to duke it out against the clock. After all, in the “race of truth,” the clock never lies.

For full disclosure, I have never participated in this race. There has only been one instance of the Cemetery TT since I moved to Gainesville, and I had a prior commitment. I have, however, participated in more than my fair share of triathlons (of which the cycling leg bears a strong resemblance to a standalone TT) and time trials of all distances.

The distinguishing feature of the Cemetery TT is the set of unique, arbitrary and unusual equipment restrictions. To quote Team Florida Cycling coach Phil Gaimon on the equipment rules:

“Equipment rules: aerobars, TT bikes, deep clincher wheels, shoe covers, and skinsuits are okay.
Aero helmets, tubular wheels, disc wheels, and trispokes are prohibited. You will not get scored if you come out on this stuff, because aero helmets aren’t as safe in the event of crashes, and no one wants to stand around while you change a flatted tubular or try to find a tube with a 2-mile valve.”

Of course, some of this reasoning is simply illogical.  Aero helmets are no less safe than regular vented helmets in a crash, and during a TT there is no one “standing around” waiting for you to change your flatted tubular.  (In fact, a flat tubular is faster to change than a flat clincher, if you do it right!)

So I followed up with Phil on this issue, and he cited two reasons for these equipment restrictions:

1. It’s the way things have always been done.
2. Since most collegiate athletes can’t afford fancy gear, we want the technological playing field to remain level.

Of course, reason #1 is fundamentally flawed.  Not only is the fact that something has been happening for a long time NOT proof that it is correct, the UCI (International Cycling Union) has a track record of changing equipment restrictions that have been in place for a long time.  Example: the retroactive changing of the Hour Record equipment rules, invalidating Boardman’s and Obree’s hour records that they set in grotesquely awesome positions with some hideously fast equipment.

Reason #2 is, in theory, a perfectly valid reason for implementing equipment restrictions.  There are few higher priorities in the sport of cycling than encouraging new athletes to compete at a high level.  The cost of TT equipment is a legitimate hurdle that these athletes must overcome to be competitive.  Setting equipment restrictions is a simple and effective way of allowing college athletes to get competitive experience without sacrificing their student loan payments.

However, the current equipment restrictions do not adequately reduce the financial barrier to entry of these cyclists.  The use of TT bikes adds a minimum of $1500 in cost to a collegiate cyclist looking to be competitive.  The use of deep clincher wheels is also another expense, as TT wheels are often deeper, heavier and less practical than the aero wheels used in road and crit racing.

Additionally, some of the equipment banned by the current rule-set makes no sense from a financial standpoint.  Aero helmets are not particularly expensive ($100-$200, about the same as a good set of clip-on aerobars, which are LEGAL under the current rule-set).  Tri-spoke wheels are perhaps the best “bang-for-your-buck” wheelset a college athlete could get.  Tubular wheels are often cheaper than their clincher counterparts, especially when obtained secondhand.  Wheel covers for a training wheel, effectively turning the wheel into a super-aero disc wheel, cost $100, a very reasonable price.  All of these pieces of equipment are banned on the pretense of either safety or convenience, both of which are largely non-factors in time trial racing.

The current equipment restrictions for the Cemetery TT are not appropriate.  They do not keep costs down for college athletes, and include the nonsensical banning of perfectly reasonable equipment.  Additionally, they do not allow those with tons of aero gear the chance to actually use a significant portion of their equipment.

So, what *should* the equipment restrictions be?

Simple.  Ban all aero equipment, period.  Run the TTs in an “Eddy Merckx” style–no aerobars, no deep wheels, no aero helmets, nothing.  Let the college athletes show up on the same road bikes they use for their weekly training rides and duke it out.  Total extra cost: $0.  (Well, maybe clip-on aerobars would be OK.   The expense is reasonable, it’s easy to install/remove them for the TTs and they get the athlete 95% of the way to a full-on TT setup in terms of the total bike/rider aerodynamic package.)

Also, maintain a “best human effort” competitive category as a throwaway.  This would be for the athletes who want to show up with their disc wheels, aero helmets and other aero gadetry.  For many athletes, simply getting a chance to use their aero gear in a competitive setting is half of the run!  (Course records could not be set in this division.  Intra-category records could, of course, be set, but the official course record would have to come from the Eddy Merckx division, just as the current Hour Record does now.)

The collegiate cycling TT equipment rules are scheduled to change next year (for all non-A riders) or the year after (for the A riders).  Aero equipment will be severely restricted.  For college athletes, this is unquestionably a GOOD thing.  It’s time that the Cemetery TT followed suit.

November has arrived.  In most of the United States, that means the return of cold weather, indoor cycling, layered sweaters and hot cocoa.  It’s an exciting time of year if you’re into frostbite and icy mustaches.

On the other hand, here in Gainesville, November means it’s time to break out the arm warmers on a cool morning.  November is a great time of year for athletics in Gainesville, as the climate is enjoyable for all outdoor activities, including swim/bike/run.

However, if you’re a triathlete, despite the nice weather, November marks the beginning of the off-season.  Here’s what you should be doing:

1. Take some time off! This is the MOST IMPORTANT thing you can do during the off-season.  Without extended periods of rest, your body simply can’t recover from the extended periods of hard training you put your body through during the summer.  Recovery happens on a micro (day-to-day) scale, macro (week-to-week) scale, super-macro (month-to-month) scale, and super-duper-ultra-macro (year-to-year) scale.  So take some super duper ultra time off and enjoy the holidays. Note that taking time off doesn’t mean that you have to stop training altogether.  I recommend a 40-50% reduction in volume, and a huge reduction in intensity, from your peak training week.  So, if you hit 20 hours in your biggest week, you should be training no more than 10-12hours/week during the offseason.  This will help to maintain fitness and keep your weight in check.
2. Take stock of what you accomplished this season. Did you reach your goals?  Did you increase your fitness?  What did you learn from your training and racing experiences?  Write all of this stuff down for future reference in your training log.
3. Set some goals for next season. These goals should be specific, measurable and attainable (with hard work and dedication).  They should build off what you accomplished this season, and improve upon it.  ”Get faster” is not a good goal.  ”Finish Miami Man in under 6 hours” is a good goal.  So is “Ride the 40k TT on May 15 in under 61 minutes.”  Focus on your “limiters,” the aspects of your racing you could most improve.
4. Closely related to #3 is: choose your important races for the upcoming season. You don’t need to choose every race you’re going to do, but outline the important races, of which there should be three at most.  These are your “A” priority races, for which you’ll focus your training specifically.
5. Working backward from your “A” races, schedule your training periods. Most athletes benefit from “periodization” of workouts, or putting your body through different training stresses depending on where you are in relation to your target races.  (Specific periodization techniques are the topic of another post).

Avoid the temptation to hammer your off-season training rides, runs and swims.  I can’t stress this enough!  Best case is you’ll be in great shape for that Christmas triathlon that doesn’t exist.  Worst case is you’ll injure yourself and be out of commission completely for an extended period of time.

Lastly, the off-season is a great time to remind ourselves why we enjoy doing this endurance sport stuff.  Go for a nice easy ride and enjoy the scenery!  Go for a late afternoon run and watch the kids playing in the park!  Go for a relaxing swim to blow off steam after work!   After a long, hard season of grinding out one tough workout after another, you deserve it.

In warm weather, especially when it’s combined with high humidity (like we have regularly here in Gainesville), your body does two things that lead to problems:

1. Your core temperature goes up, because your body can’t remove heat as efficiently,
2. You sweat more, especially when it’s humid.

Therefore, the two most obvious things you can do when going for a ride in hot weather would be (1) to wear clothes that don’t hold in the heat, and (2) drink more.  Other than that, you should also:

1. Supplement your nutrition with more salt.  You need to replace the salt lost through your sweat in order to perform optimally.  If you only drink water on long rides, you may end up cramping due to a lack of salt.
2. Consider wearing clothes specifically designed for super-heat conditions.  Some athletes find that LONG-sleeved jerseys, designed specifically to wick sweat and shield your skin from the sun, are cooler and more comfortable than light summer short-sleeved jerseys.  Try it for yourself, though.
3. Put on plenty of sunscreen.  The sun is very strong here in Gainesville at this time of year.  It’s easy to get burned and ruin your week.
4. Stop more frequently, to allow your body’s core temperature to have a chance to drop for a few minutes.  On group rides where you can’t always stop when you want to, use your time at the back of the bunch to soft-pedal and reduce your temperature, if possible.
5. Be careful about the nutrition you intake.  Sometimes, food that works in cooler weather gives you an upset stomach in warmer weather.  Do some experimentation to figure this one out.

Stay cool!

Here in Gainesville, we usually don’t have to think too much about what we’re going to wear on our workouts–9 months out of the year it’s room temperature or higher for the vast majority of our workouts–but we don’t always race and train in the warm climate of Central Florida.  So, it’s important to have a list of what clothes are comfortable in what temperatures, for both cycling and running.

Here’s my cycling list.  If the temperature (in degrees Farenheit) at the start of the ride is:

• 95 or higher: cool-max l/s white jersey, wicking baselayer, bibs or tri shorts, half-finger gloves, thin socks
• 65-95: s/s jersey, bibs or tri shorts, half-finger gloves, thin socks
• 60-65: arm-warmers, s/s jersey, bibs or tri shorts, half-finger gloves, thin socks
• 55-60: arm-warmers, insulating wicking baselayer, s/s jersey, bibs or tri shorts, knee warmers, half-finger gloves, thin socks
• 50-55: arm-warmers, thicker baselayer, s/s jersey, bibs or tri shorts, knee warmers, half-finger gloves, thick socks, toe covers
• 45-50: l/s baselayer, l/s jersey, bibs or tri shorts, knee warmers, half-finger gloves with liner, thick socks, insulating shoe covers
• 40-45: ear covers, thermal l/s baselayer, l/s jersey, bibs or tri shorts, leg warmers, full-finger gloves, thick socks, insulating shoe covers
• 35-40: balaclava, thermal l/s baselayer, thermal l/s jersey, bibs or tri shorts, thermal tights, full-finger gloves, thick socks, insulating shoe covers
• 30-35: balaclava, two thermal l/s baselayers, thermal l/s jersey, bibs or tri shorts, leg warmers + thermal tights, full-finger gloves, thick socks, insulating shoe covers
• 30 or lower: Too cold for training rides (for me).  If I had to, I’d wear all of the above, plus an additional core layer and leg layer.

Additionally, most rides where the starting temperature is 60 or lower, I start with a thin “racing cape” (aka wind/rain jacket) which I peel off once I get warmed up on my ride.  The jacket also comes in handy during extended stops when my core temperature plummets.

Here’s my running list.  If the temperature (in degrees Farenheit) at the start of the run is:

• 90 or higher: cool-max l/s white cycling jersey, hat, shorts, socks
• 60-90: no top, visor, shorts, socks (aka “look at my pecs” outfit)
• 50-60: thin, wicking s/s shirt, visor,shorts, socks
• 40-50: l/s thin baselayer, visor,shorts, socks
• 32-40: l/s baselayer,  earmuffs, thin gloves, hat, shorts, socks
• 25-32: l/s baselayer, light jacket, warm hat, earmuffs, thin gloves, tights, socks
• 15-25: l/s baselayer, heavy jacket, warm hat, earmuffs, thicker gloves, tights, thicker socks
• 15 or lower: Depends.  I’ll usually add a balaclava, another base layer, perhaps another layer of tights and maybe even ski goggles.  I don’t recall the last time I ran in temperatures below 0 Farenheit.

Some tips:

1. Bring a rain jacket. Even if it’s warm, the wind and rain can chill you more than you expect. And, if you double flat and get stranded until your roomate/partner/ambulance picks you up, you’ll appreciate the warmth and protection. Don’t overdress, though–you’ll be carrying around layers of sopping wet clothes, which will make you chilled.
2. Give yourself more braking room. Especially if you’re using rim brakes, which require a few extra turns of the wheel to gain full stopping power. Also, Motorized Killing Machines (oops, I mean cars) have less visibility in rain, so watch out.
3. Use less tire pressure. Hopefully, you’re not pumping your tires up to more than 120psi (unless you’re a Clyde) anyway. But, in rain, go as low as 80 or 90psi for a bit of extra grip.
4. Some would tell you to avoid deep dish carbon and disc wheels due to the rigidity of the wheels, but I haven’t seen the actual data so I can’t really comment on that.
5. Ride a bike with fenders. This will save a lot of wear and tear on your drivetrain, and keep your legs drier.
6. MOST IMPORTANTLY, clean your drivetrain after riding in the rain. This means at LEAST wiping down with a dry cloth, lubing the chain and degreasing the derailleurs. Chains rust, derailleurs get gunked up and cables deteriorate when you ride in the rain. If you clean your drivetrain after it gets wet, you will get a lot more life out of your components.
7. Don’t wear white shorts, unless you’re feeling particularly ballsy.