I’ve long ridden with cycling caps under my helmet, especially in bad weather. I learned many years ago that when riding in rain eyewear tended to cause more problems than it corrected. So I learned to wear cycling caps and keep my head tilted down a bit.
Problem solved, right? Well, less quick than you’d think. Cotton, we know, is maybe the least-technical fiber on the planet. When wet it draws warmth from your body, which is possibly only helpful to Floridians and residents of other similarly tropical climes.
Fortunately, someone re-thought what a cycling cap can be. Let’s consider the Sportful Fiandre Norain Cap. When I say it has made a big difference in riding in the rain, which I’ve been doing lots of lately, what I mean is that it has made riding in the rain entirely less unpleasant.
Let me be clear: There’s not a scenario where I look outside and say, “Oh goody, it’s raining! I can’t wait to go for a ride!” Not a thing.
However, there are enough days in a week where events conspire to keep me off the bike that I am cognizant that if I want to ride, I’m going to have to do some of my riding when the weather ain’t dynamite. It is, after all, monsoon season here in the North Bay, and it will soon be the spring rainy season in many other parts of the world.
If this cap sounds familiar it’s probably because I have mentioned the Norain cap multiple times on the Paceline Podcast. The Fiandre Norain cap a waterproof cap cut from Polartec eVent fabric. The eVent fabric is windproof and waterproof and has a silvery, reflective finish inside, so it keeps your head both dry and warm, and that makes a huge difference in overall comfort on a rainy day. The eVent feature comes with another benefit: This cap is thinner than a standard cycling cap, which makes it easier to fit beneath a helmet. But that’s not to say it’s underdone either; all the seams are sealed.
Like I said, I learned a long time ago was that a cycling cap brim kept most of the rain and spray out of my eyes if I just kept my head tipped. At $55, it’s not the cheapest cycling cap ever, but it does the trick like nothing else. It comes in black with a red stripe.
Final thought: A dry head and a dry butt make the rain acceptable.