While it can be fun and exhilarating to ride in the rain, it can be pretty dangerous as well. From poor visibility to decreased traction, and everything in between, there is always some sort of hazard waiting to take you down.

So here are eight tips to keep you safe when you venture out in the rain:

1. Use Blinky Lights

The easiest way to make yourself more visible on rainy days is to install some blinky lights on your bicycle. To be safe, you could mount a small white headlight on your handlebar and a blinking red light on the back of your seatpost.

At the very least, clip a little light onto a jersey pocket. (Various cycling events will hand these out for free.)

2. Use Reflective Tape

Lighter in weight and less obtrusive than the blinky lights is reflective tape. This looks just like electrical tape, but when light is shone on it, it reflects a bright white flash.

You can put this on your bike and forget about it, but when a car’s headlights flash over it, the driver is more likely to spot you. My favorite way to use this is to put silver or black reflective tape on my crank arms. (The spinning motion makes the reflection even more visible.)

3. The Road Is Slippery When Wet

You can ride over most obstacles without thinking, if the road is dry. But when it rains, everything becomes a safety hazard!

You need to watch out for wet leaves, painted lines, railroad tracks, and metal grates or sewer lids. All of these surfaces are very slippery when wet, so it is best to avoid riding over them (or at least do so with caution.)

Also, the road itself can become quite slippery. When it starts to rain, motor oil and other substances coating the road are brought to the surface, decreasing friction even more than plain rain water does.

4. Pot Holes Are Deeper Than They Appear

Pot holes are always dangerous, but if you can see them, you can avoid them. Unfortunately, when roads are covered in water, pot holes can become hidden. Or at least, big pot holes will look smaller than they actually are.

If you see standing water or anything that looks like a pot hole, avoid it.

5. Use Good, Sturdy Tires

While you might not want to ruin your good racing tires by using them in nasty conditions, you don’t want to use a cheap or worn out tire.

Why? Because these tires will provide absolutely no traction on wet roads.

Use this test to determine if your tires have enough traction: Find a fairly steep climb where the road is nice and wet. As you climb, stand and sprint in a low gear, and see if the rear tire spins out.

If it spins or slips there, it probably won’t provide traction when you really need it.

6. Watch For Debris

You need to watch out because there will be extra debris on the roads. Rain is going to wash gravel, sand, and nearby trash onto the road. This could give you a rough ride, or worse, knock you down!

The shoulder is usually completely covered with junk, so if possible, ride towards the center of the lane. (If the rain was hard enough, there will still be dirt and gravel in the middle of the road as well.)

So make sure those tires are tough or you’ll be changing some flats!

7. Be Prepared to Brake

Wet rims and brake pads have virtually no stopping power. When you apply the brakes, the first couple revolutions of the rim will be used to squeegee water off the rim, and then the braking may take place.

So you should pay very close attention to situations where you may need to brake, since you’ll need to apply the brakes much earlier than you would on a dry day.

(If you’re running disc brakes, this won’t be as big of a problem, but keep it in mind.)

8. Run Lower Tire Pressure

Even when running good tires, traction on wet roads is hard to come by.

An easy way to increase traction on wet roads is to lower your tire pressure. A drop of just 5-10 psi could improve traction noticeably.

For a 150lb cyclist riding in the rain, 80-85 psi up front and 90-95 psi in the rear should be sufficient. (Experiment for best results.)

If you follow these tips (and dress appropriately,) you should have a fun, safe ride in the rain!

Photo credit: miks pix

I was setting up a new bicycle helmet earlier today, and after getting the pads in place, I just had to laugh at the included “my emergency information” sticker.

Unlike gift giving season, “it’s the thought that counts” doesn’t apply to saving one’s life after a nasty bike wreck.

Think about it… If you crash and you’re lying there unconscious with a broken neck, do you want someone fumbling around, taking your helmet off? Hell no!

[Note that EMTs will know what they're doing, but Joe Schmoe might remove your helmet solely to look for this sticker!]

Sure, if you break your leg, removing your helmet won’t hurt. But in that case, you should be conscious enough to remember your name and phone number.

With an older helmet I could almost position the sticker so it could be read through one of the air vents, but “almost” didn’t work out. That would seem like a good idea because it wouldn’t require moving the helmet, but…

Even if you did put the sticker inside the helmet, how long do you think the ink would last? Ever ride in the rain? Ever sweat when you ride?

Right. Nothing you write will be legible after a few rides, even if you had neat handwriting in the first place.

What other options are there… you could stick the sticker to the outside of the helmet! That would be quite stylish, but then the ink would fade in the sun or be washed off in the rain…

I wonder if anyone actually uses that sticker… I doubt it. Maybe that’s why Road ID was invented, since it places critical information at a more readable point, like your wrist or ankle, or around your neck.

Honestly I think this sticker idea is terrible. What if someone uses it and thinks they’re totally safe, but then they’re in an accident and guess what – all emergency crews find is a sticker with ink smeared around on it.

Maybe you could fill in the info, laminate the card, then hang it off the back of your helmet like a ski lift pass? Yeah, now there’s an idea!

(Disclaimer: Now remember, I’m not saying not to wear a helmet, but that the sticker inside them is totally useless! If you plan to carry ID, that sticker doesn’t cut it. P.S. Always wear your helmet.)

Surprisingly, there are still people out there, including adults, that don’t wear bike helmets. They either don’t know how unsafe it is to ride without one or they don’t know how sexy it is to ride with one.

I for one am going to look hot now that I added this “You’d Look Hotter In a Helmet” sticker to my helmet:

Want to look hotter too? It’s simple – wear a helmet!

Thanks to the Safety Is Sexy campaign for providing the stickers!

Learn more about looking hot by wearing a helmet: Safety Is Sexy

No, not ice, ICE.

It stands for “In Case of Emergency.”

I was just reading about this in Bicycle Retailer. If you carry a cell phone with you on your rides, will anyone know who to contact if you’re in an accident? (it wouldn’t hurt to carry another form of ID, but that’s another story…)

They will if you put “ICE” in your contacts and then have the phone number of a close friend or relative. Supposedly rescue workers and/or paramedics are being trained to look for this. (i.e. if they find you along the road unconscious, they will open up your phone and look for a contact named ICE that they can call.)

It only takes a minute to do – be safe!

I’d also suggest wearing a helmet, and perhaps investing in a Road ID, but that’s a story for another day!

Update: This feature is actually being built-in to most new cell phones for 2007 and beyond.