Waterproof bike clothing...for fatsos???

So...I registered for Bike the Drive. And it occurred to me...it's rain or shine. What if it rains??

Well...I don't have waterproof stuff. In fact...I don't really wear bike-specific clothing when I'm out...just a general athletic-style shirt that I can change out of when I get to work...and if it looks like it's going to rain, I stay off the bike. (Got caught in an unexpected downpour once while wearing jeans, and the chafing was TORTURE...had to stay off the bike for a week after that!)

So...I went online shopping looking for waterproof shorts/pants, and I found that...they appear to be made only for people in much better shape than me! Or in the best case scenario, the largest sizes end *just before my size*. Ughghh..

I mean, for cripe's sakes, one of the reasons I got a bike was to lose weight...but...they don't make clothing for people of my obesity! Anybody have any suggestions??? And yeah, I know: lose weight. :) WHICH IS WHY I BOUGHT A BIKE. And it's probably not possible to lose that much (healthily!) in two and a half weeks...

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Permalink Reply by David Barish on May 10, 2018 at 8:50am

I don't know how big big is. I am an xl sometimes and an xxl other times. I am at the border of cyclingwear but can mostly find things. I saw your post and figured hunting and fishing devotees tend to be more full figured than cyclists. I went to Gander Outdoors and did a search for waterproof breathable wear and filtered for xxxl and this is what I found. https://www.ganderoutdoors.com/search/waterproof%20%20breathable#fi...

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Permalink Reply by ad on May 11, 2018 at 3:27am

Honestly, I find that at temps above low 60s, even very high quality rain wear fails to breath enough to avoid becoming drenched in sweat if you ride further than a few miles or any faster than a slow pace. For my money, during this type of shoulder season where it's a little chilly and rainy, I prefer to wear wool bicycle jerseys (short or long sleeve depending on temp) and quick-drying mountain bike shorts that are baggy enough not to clink to me when wet. Mountain bike shorts with a good liner shouldn't cause chafing. Also, wet wool will continue to keep you warm and dries fast, and as long as I'm warm I personally don't care if I stay dry.

For weather below 65, I have a high quality/breathable gore-tex rain shell. If you don't care about color, you can find a pretty good deal if you look around (especially if you look beyond a cycling specific brand), and the XL and XXL sizes seem to not sell out as often as the smaller sizes.

I second the call on fenders. Without them, it doesn't really matter what you wear on your legs and feet, as you'll simply get soaked by road spray.