Fender Poncho

It's been raining for the better part of a day, now. The roads are
soaked, and the rain was still coming down pretty good this morning.
Normally, I don't worry about getting wet, but temperatures in the 50s
are enough to make me consider using the poncho. I haven't worn it in
several months, so I was half expecting it to be a bit musty.
Fortunately, I remembered to properly dry it out before packing it
away, so it was just like new. I've used it less than 10 times since I
bought it. It's a step up from the $2 emergency ponchos. I think it
set me back about $6. The sides snap shut and it doesn't really have
sleeves, but it has a hood and the material is thick enough to not
tear at the first sign of snagging on things. It's about the cheapest
looking thing I've ever seen. I threw on a short-sleeve biz-casual
shirt and some shorts under the poncho, then rolled out the door.
There's no avoiding wet legs with just a poncho, and this sleeveless
one won't do much for anything beyond my elbows.

Of course, the poncho won't help at all without fenders to keep the
wheels from throwing grime and water straight up from below you, so I
was doubly glad to have those, too. I probably looked like more of a
dork than usual this morning, but at least I was dry. I was able to
wipe my legs down with a towel (Ford Prefect would be proud!), throw
on some work pants and head straight up to the office. Poncho good.
Maybe not as good as a full-on (and expensive) Gore-Tex rain suit, but
it's the next best thing for shorter rides in the rain.