Commuting Tip #1: Helmets and Rain Caps

When I bought my first cycling coat for cold weather I picked up a rain cap to go with it. It was bright and reflective and I figured it would help me be seen.

The first time I rode in the rain and used the rain cap I discovered it made my head a little too warm. The rain was light, so I probably didn't need the cap to begin with. Thereafter, when riding in light rain, I would forgo the rain cap and ride unshielded. This worked well.

It wasn't until my first down pour that I discovered a very good reason to use the rain cap that had never occurred to me prior. One would normally tend to think that a rain cap would keep your head dryer and warmer during a heavy down pour, and that was its sole purpose. The rain cap does indeed keep your head dryer and warmer. But there's one little hidden secret I'd like to share with you now: it keeps those sweat filled pads in your helmet dry too.

After riding for a number of miles in the heavy rain without the cap it didn't take long before I had a very nasty, salty, bitter taste in my mouth. You guessed it: those sweat filled helmet pads were unleashing their nastiness and streaming down my face. That wasn't delicious rain water I was tasting. It was weeks of sweat soaked into my helmet pads.

Moral of the story? Wear the rain cap if there's enough water falling out of the sky to soak the pads. That, or keep your mouth shut during the ride.