Plus Size Rain Gear Recommendations for Cycling

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As I mentioned in my last post, for those of us in Seattle the rain is coming! While this is very welcome news to many as it’s been a historically dry summer, for those of us who use our bikes as our primary mode of transportation, it definitely makes things a bit more challenging.

Marley in a green rain cape, Kailey in a rain coat. Photo by Gritchelle Fallesgon

Staying warm, comfortable and dry on the bike is possible! Read on for my favorite recommendations for rain gear for biking, specifically for plus size cyclists! (I think most of these items come in straight sizes, but to be honest, I don’t know because I’ve never been straight sized.)

Layering is Your Best Friend

One of the biggest challenges I find when riding in the rain is moderating my temperature. Sometimes it’s 40 degrees and raining - other times it’s 75. These situations definitely call for different clothing, but if you’re anything like me, you’re not made out of money and you need one jacket that can work for a wide variety of situations. So how do you make it work?

Layering. Specifically base layers, mid-layers, and top layers.

Plus Size Base Layers

These are an absolute staple in my wardrobe. I sleep in them year-round when I’m camping, ride in them when its cold, and practically live in them in the winter.

32 Degrees Light Weight Top Base Layer - At $8.99 (and often available at Costco), this is a must-have. Unfortunately its only available up to an XXL (I wear an XL for size reference), but I’m hopeful they’ll have larger sizes in the future. Synthetic material, packs down super small.

REI Co-Op Top Plus Size Base Layer - A bit of a step-up from the 32 Degrees version, this top comes in both a crew neck version and quarter-zip version. Sizes 1x-3x

Smart Wool Merino Base Layer Top - The fanciest of all the tops, this merino wool base layer feels luxe against your skin, repels odors, and stays fresh in the backcountry. Sizes 1x-3x

On the bottoms, I will often wear just a base-layer or wool tights and then change clothes when I get to where I’m going. Even with fenders, I find that my legs get wetter than I would like.

SmartWool Plus Size Bottoms - These are the most expensive of the bunch but I highly recommend them. warm, cozy and go perfectly under a skirt or dress! Sizes 1x-3x

32 Degrees Light Weight Base Layer Bottoms - Again, these only come up to an XXL, but these pants are great for warmer rainy days and at less than $10 you can’t really go wrong.

Plus Size Mid-Layers

Your mid-layer goes in between the baselayer and the outer shell. This is often the piece that I change up the most depending on the temperature. I find that sweaters, t-shirts, and breathable fabrics help ensure the most comfort.

Plus Size Outer Layers

The outer layer is what you need to be waterproof. Whether its a ran cape, rain jacket, hardshell, or something in between, comfort, visibility, and water repellency are all key.

Rain Jacket vs. Rain Cape

Put simply, the biggest difference between a rain cape and a jacket are the fit. Whereas the jacket fits close to your body, the rain cape fits like a poncho, with ample room for reaching your handlebars, covering your legs in a seated position, and fitting a wide variety of bodies.

Vaude Valdipino Cycling Cape - This one is simple, easy and comes in 3 colors. Folds up into a pocket for easy storage when you’re not using it.

City Cycling Rain Cape - Budget friendly at $29.99 you can’t go wrong with this one.

Pearl Izumi WXB Monsoon Rain Jacket - I’ve raved about this one all over the place. I love it. My first cycling specific rain jacket that fits. Clever reflective bits. Hood fits over the helmet. Breathable arm pits. Just a good rain jacket.

Socks, Shoes & Shoe Covers

Wool socks are my favorite in the rainy season. I don’t know how or why they work, but they keep you warm even when they’re wet, don’t get too stinky, and can be repaired! I love the Pearl Izumi Merino sock - nothing fancy or flashy, just a good quality sock with no unnecessary seams.

Shoe Covers - I typically wear rain boots but there are times when I need to ride in specific shoes in the rain. Queue the shoe covers. You won’t win any cool points but your feet will be warm? I have the Pearl Izumi Elite Softshell Shoe Cover - they slip on over your shoes and keep you nice and warm and dry.

Keeping your Rain Gear Waterproof Season after Season

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The author and her favorite rain jacket.

Have you seen the forecast for the next few days? I know a large percentage of my readers live in the northwest, and if you haven’t looked yet, the rain is coming. 

I got my first cycling specific rain jacket that actually fit in January of 2021. Prior to the Pearl Izumi WXB Monsoon Rain Jacket, which I’ve raved about to anyone who will listen (and was just featured on Insider.com as one of my go-to Plus Sized Gear finds for cycling), I used casual rain jackets from Old Navy, rain capes, and fleece jackets - just about anything to attempt to keep myself dry. Spoiler alert - they don’t work that well.

Well, as the seasons change again and we head into the rainy season, I realized I had no idea how to properly care for my rain jacket to make sure it’s as water repellent as possible! I assumed you just pull it out of the closet when the rain starts and voila…you’re ready! 

Turns out that might not be the case. Rain gear, just like all the rest of your gear, needs to be taken care of to stay in good working order.

I learned all this recently as I’ve partnered up with Nikwax NA, makers of some of the best (and most sustainable) technical fabric wash, waterproofing materials, and gear protectants on the market to learn how to keep my favorite new rain jacket in tip-top shape for years to come. 

I’m gonna share with you what I’ve learned, so you can keep your gear in great shape too:

You’re supposed to both CLEAN and RE-WATERPROOF your gear!

Just like our clothes, our outer layers get gross. Road dirt, grime, grease from our fingers, body oil, and just dirt from daily life builds up on our rain jackets, which actually attracts more water to the fabric. I’ve definitely noticed this on my gear, especially around the collar (where it touches my face), near the hand openings, and by the zipper. These spots always seem to lose their water repellency the fastest and now I know why!

Before Cleaning/Waterproofing

The water is sitting on the surface, kind of absorbing into the fabric.

The first step in taking care of your gear is to clean it with a technical wash. Using a regular detergent (which I’m totally guilty of) actually attracts water to the fabric instead of repelling it, the whole point of wearing a rain coat!

I used (and recommend) Nikwax’s TechWash - you add it directly to the washing machine (just like detergent) and run a regular cycle. Easy peasy! 

****Quick note - if you live in a building with a shared laundry facility, make sure you clean out the detergent hole before putting in the TechWash! If not, the detergent will basically deactivate the TechWash, making it pointless.****

Clean, then waterproof your gear.

Step 1. Clean

You wouldn’t wax a dirty car. Why would you waterproof a dirty jacket? Clean that baby!

You wouldn’t wax a dirty car. So why would you waterproof dirty gear? When it's put this way, it makes way more sense. So, after you wash your gear with the TechWash, run it through another cycle with the wash-in waterproofing (or use the spray on waterproofing.) Hang it up to dry (no heat needed to activate!) And you’re ready to go!

Step 2. Waterproof

After you clean it, then you can waterproof it. Run another cycle with the TX Direct Wash-in and you’re done!

You should clean your gear 5 times more often than you waterproof it!

Ok, this one was mind-blowing to me. Maybe I’m a gross person because I don’t think I wash my rain jacket 5 times in a season. But after learning this, I will definitely be washing my rain jacket and technical gear MUCH MORE OFTEN!

Clean your technical gear, base layers, wool, and footwear using the proper cleaners!

One size does NOT fit all when it comes to this and we should not be using standard laundry detergent to clean our gear! (Again, I’m definitely guilty of this…)

We all know that funky smell that happens when people wear their rain gear or base layers and don’t clean it properly. Don’t be that person. Nikwax makes specifically designed base layer wash, wool wash, technical gear wash (for tents, etc), and a sandal wash for our nasty Crocs, Chacos, etc. 

Nikwax products are pretty dang sustainable - and have been since the beginning!

Over the past few years, I’ve definitely switched many of my cleaning products away from harsh chemicals and more towards natural ingredients. Truth be told, I think I use more vinegar and baking soda than is healthy, but that stuff works. So I was heartened to learn about Nikwax’s sustainability efforts, including using all water-based products, never using PFCs, and having a goal of using 100% recycled plastic in their bottles by the end of this year.

Super importantly, their chemicals are also non-persistent in the environment, which means they don’t stick around - because they’re water based, we won’t be breathing in or ingesting NikWax for years to come.

The Greenest Gear is the Gear you Already Own

Honestly when you think about it, it's surprising how much money we spend on our outdoor gear, and how little time and energy we spend to maintain it. If we all took a little more time, effort and yes, investment into keeping our existing gear in good shape, we’d all need to consume a lot less gear overall. 

So, in addition to riding my bike more this winter, my goal is to be a lot less gross and take better care of my gear. I’d love for you to join me in this effort! 

Frog Lake Loop Bikepacking Trip Recap with Oregon Field Guide

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Last week I rode the Frog Lake Loop Trail near Mount Hood with Kailey Kornhauser and a film crew from Oregon Field Guide. This 40 mile route might be my new favorite weekend route - it’s a perfect length for a short adventure, has an excellent challenge:reward ratio, and is good for a solo trip or group trip. Basically everything I look for in a bikepacking trip!

The logistics of this trip were pretty funny to coordinate - we started chatting with the team at Oregon Public Broadcasting in April. They saw our All Bodies on Bikes film and really wanted to do a follow-up episode on us. We initially planned to ride the Lower Deschutes River Trail but got foiled by gusty winds a few times. After a summer of many emails and rescheduling due to weather and production schedules, we finally landed on a weekend that worked for all of us.

The Frog Lake Loop, as developed and mapped out by Molly Sugar (thanks Molly!!) is designed to be ridden in two days. With a total distance of 40ish miles, each day is relatively short, allowing lots of time for exploring the gorgeous scenery, taking in the views, or adding fun little hikes or spur routes.

The first day is a lot of descending and goes fast! We didn’t really get riding until 11am (after an interview and packing the bikes) and made it to camp by 6pm. This was with multiple stops to shoot and film portions of the trail repeatedly. My point is - the riding isn’t hard or strenuous, especially on Day 1. Mainly nice gravel roads, a little bit of singletrack, a short hike-a-bike section on the Pacific Crest Trail, and a fun descent on new asphalt.

One highlight of Day 1 is Little Crater Lake. This strange geological formation is a super deep, spring-fed lake that is crystal clear blue. It’s about a half-mile off of the PCT, so if you’re on that trail, I highly recommend a quick detour to see this beauty.

The route takes you around Timothy Lake, which has an abundance of both reservable and dispersed camping options. We stayed at a reserved spot, but if I was doing the route again on my own, I would choose to stay at one of the dispersed camping spots right along the lake. We passed by a number of these and they looked absolutely stunning. (Disclaimer: we were there on a Monday/Tuesday, and they were nearly all empty. I have no idea if they get full other times of the summer.)

Gourmet breakfast care of the Oregon Field Guide team. Thanks Todd!

My favorite part of the ride was suprisingly Day 2. Kailey had warned me that most of the day would be climbing and she wasn’t wrong. We spent the first half of the day riding some of the most gorgeous, loamy, single track I’ve been on, which quickly led into a 2 hour climb. But somehow through all this gravel riding and racing I’ve been doing this summer I’ve come to enjoy and appreciate climbing. I found myself actually enjoying really some long, tough climbs that I previously would’ve been cursing.

Bizarre, but I’ll take it.

Before I knew it the camera crew was cheering us on as we approached the final descent of the trip. As we rounded the final bend, a gorgeous view of Mt. Hood came into view. We celebrated at the shore of Frog Lake for a while, reflecting on our trip.

Honestly, there’s not much I would change! I think I finally learned how to pack appropriately for a bikepacking trip - I wore literally every single piece of clothing I took, I ate nearly all my food, and didn’t have too much excess stuff. I’m going to call it a win!

My bikepacking setup

Here are some details of what I took:

Bicycle: Velo Orange Piolet

Tires: SimWorks SuperYummy 26 x 2.22 set up tubeless

Bags:

Ortlieb Handlebar Bag with Accessory Pack

Revelate Frame Bag & Feedbag

Ortlieb Seat Pack Saddle Bag

Camping Gear

Tent: Nemo Dragonfly Bikepacking Tent

Sleeping Bag: Nemo Forte Women’s 35 Degree Bag

Sleeping Pad: Nemo Flyer Insulated Pad - Regular Wide

All Loaded up and Ready to go!

Reflections on the Trip

It’s pretty amazing how far we’ve both come in a year - from our first trip together on the C2C trail to this trip. I’ve grown as an athlete, an ambassador, and as a businesswoman.

I think the industry has also grown a lot too. I’ll do a future post on this, but we’ve held over 10 All Bodies on Bikes events in less than a year, launched a website, and a community with over 5,000 strong.

I think it really hit home on this trip how big of an impact we’re having with the All Bodies on Bikes work. We ran into two different families on the trip who knew us - one at Little Crater Lake and another during a massive climb.

Meeting these families and hearing them talk about how they watched our film together as a family during lockdown with their 12 year old (and were now out bikepacking together) really hit home that ‘dang, our message is getting out there.’ So thank you all for your support, your encouragement, and I’ll be sure to link to the OPB segment when it’s released!

Land Acknowledgement

I’d like to acknowledge and thank the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, and the Cascades Tribe for allowing us to recreate on their traditional lands.