Wet Gloves? The News Solution

I'm pretty much an all weather commuter.  The only time I will generally take the subway is when the roads are sufficiently icy/snowy and I don't feel like tempting fate with vehicles that weigh several tons more than I do on slick roads.  Plus, you never know what lies beneath the layer of snow - metal plates, manhole covers, potholes, and a variety of other obstacles are just waiting to take you down. 

One thing that does not bother me all that much as far as weather is rain - after all I did grow up in Portland, Oregon.  Oregonians are known for having webbed feet with all of the rainfall.  Rain can be a bit of nuisance in terms of wet clothing.  If you commute in the morning and your clothes get soaked it is not all that much fun to put on damp clothing for the commute home. 

One way to fight damp, wet clothing is with newspaper.  Way back in a Bike Hacks Classic entry I talked about how I will stuff my shoes with newspaper after a wet ride to help speed up the drying process.  You can also use a rubber band to wrap the shoe with newspaper. 

Well the same thing works for gloves.  After a recent wet ride I reached for the newspaper and the result is simple and fairly effective.  Even more effective is if you have an air vent in your office that you can place your articles near to help make it so you do not have to put on damp clothing later on. 

 

Do you have any tricks that you employ to fight damp, soggy clothing?  Feel free to comment or to send your hacks to us. 

Comments

[Jonathan Rabinowitz]

Foot powder is worth keeping around, to spread inside the shoes and also to put in your dry shoes and socks to dry off your wet feet. Nice tip with the paper in the gloves; I never thought of that.

[Zack Burger]

What an awesome idea... definitely going to give this a go next rainy day.

[Grhm]

I tend to hang my socks and gloves on an old in/out tray placed behind my computer - the hot air blowing out of the back of the PC dries them quite quickly.

I've also used newspaper stuffed into wet shoes (again placed near PC exhaust vents) but found I needed to change the paper at lunchtime for full effect.

[Tom Moeller]

I throw the gloves on top of my old school computer monitor at work and let warm air from it speed the drying as well!

[Skip]

I live in San Diego, Ca. I just wait 1 or 2 days and ride in the sun.

[Lexica]

Newspaper in the shoes is an incredibly useful tip -- makes such a difference. After commuting to work in wet weather, I hang my raingear on a coat tree that's positioned beneath an overhead vent. The increased airflow helps dry things out more quickly so there's no end-of-day sogginess. If my gloves are wet, I put them on two of the top projections on the coat tree so they look like they're waving to someone down the hallway while they dry.

Riding in the rain has only strengthened my opinion that wool is a sign the Universe loves us and that cotton is death fabric.

[Andy Lievertz]

I learned a trick to drop my shoes and gloves in front of the refrigerator; the flow of warm air off the compressor does a good job drying things out. Not an on-the-job solution, per se, but did fine for me drying things out overnight @ home.

[Nate J.]

What's a "newspaper"?

[Couldn't resist. My kids stare at me with blank looks when I talk about records.]

[Baz]

Not about shoes, but this trick for drying jerseys/shorts/socks works really well:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLM9RYNN4x8

I've also recently started wearing howie's epic trousers for the commute - these things are impressive, shed water like waterproof gear but look & feel like normal cotton.
http://vimeo.com/8613500

They're too heavy for the summer or for long commutes, but where I live the rain is unpredictable and the route is short enough, so they're ideal for me. The other downside is they're very expensive.

[Vibram Five Fingers]

Hi,What a great post! Thanks for article. Everytime like to read you.Have a nice day!

[Vibram Five Fingers]

Hi,What a great post! Thanks for article. Everytime like to read you.Have a nice day!

[Vibram Five Fingers]

Hi,What a great post! Thanks for article. Everytime like to read you.Have a nice day!