I went for a four mile ride today. It was about 40 degrees, and raining. I wanted to ride my hybrid with new fenders, and try out my cheap raingear from Wal-Mart. I ran a few errands while I was out.
I did stay dry, but the raingear doesn’t breathe. A slow-paced ride without too much exertion was fine though. If I had really been working harder, I would have been soaking wet from sweat. I was also wearing my new wool socks, and my feet were plenty warm.
It was actually fun to run through shallow puddles at 12 mph or so. I could hear the water sloshing under the fenders, and see some spray come out the sides. My shoes were relatively dry despite not being covered.
I did have someone yell at me to get on the sidewalk. Well, I don’t ride on sidewalks, it’s illegal in some places, and there was no sidewalk along that part of the road. I was taking the lane, but this was a five-lane road (including left turn lane), and the speed limit varied from 25 mph to 40 mph. I’ve always felt fairly safe on this road. I was mostly just amused.
Is it legal to ride on the side walk in downtown Louisville?
I bought some cheap plastic fenders in Louisville, but I can’t keep the front one strait.
They are “clip on” type? The shwinn dealer in Clarksville said he had better ones maybe I’ll give them a go.
It’s not legal for an adult to ride on the sidewalk anywhere in Louisville. I’m not sure about the southern Indiana towns I ride in, but I just avoid the sidewalk and don’t worry about it.
I bought the Planet Bike Cascadia Fenders for my hybrid:
http://ecom1.planetbike.com/7026.html
I ordered them direct. Installing them was a pain. I’d recommend having a bike shop do it unless you’ve installed fenders before. I’m not sure what kind of fenders will fit your bike.
My recumbent has fenders ordered from the manufacturer (Bacchetta). They were slightly easier to install.