TIL I was overdressing for my 3 mile commute and sweating buckets

Spent 8 months in Texas wearing a rain jacket to keep my work shirt dry. Showed up drenched anyway. A guy at a light last Tuesday said 'you know you're cooking yourself in that thing right?' Stopped wearing it this week. Shift to a cheap mesh base layer. Huge difference. Anyone else have that moment where you realized your gear was making things worse?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_andrew14d ago

Man that rain jacket story hits close. Spent a whole summer in Florida wearing a heavy waterproof shell for a 2 mile bike ride thinking it would keep me dry from sweat. Spoiler alert it did not. A kid on a skateboard yelled "nice sauna setup bro" at me once. Switched to a thin wicking shirt and actually felt cold for the first time in months. Felt pretty dumb when I realized my fancy expensive waterproof was just a portable sweat lodge.

drew_chen14d ago

@the_andrew that is a brutal but perfect way to put it, portable sweat lodge! So here's what I gotta ask. Did you ever try any of those cheap plastic ponchos people swear by for biking in the rain? I always wonder if the trade off between breathability and waterproofing is even worth it for short rides like that. Seems like no matter what you wear, you end up soaked from either rain or sweat. The kid yelling sauna setup is killing me though.