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I am fortunate to live out west, where it doesn't rain in the early mornings very often. So, this last weekend, I drove 3 hours to measure a couple of courses. I didn't give any thought to the possibility of being rained-out. (I wasn't rained-out.)

How often do measurers from around the country get rained-out, or rain-delayed in measuring? I have had one morning in 10 years that I had to delay a measurement to another day, and I am very grateful for that record. I have measured in the rain (and snow) once.

Do you measure in the rain? Not just a sprinkle, but steady rain?
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I used to think measuring in rain was a bad idea because it would often prove inaccurate when checked under dry conditions. But I think the inaccuracy is not as bad as I (or we, many of us thought this way) thought. Of course it's important to get a calibration ride under similar conditions as when you measured.

So, since I don't really like measuring in the rain, I've had to come up with other excuses -- er, I mean good reasons. One was that your notebook will get too wet and you either can't write in it or what you write will get washed away. But then I discovered, from other track officials, that you can purchase rain-safe notebooks, pencils, and pens-- so there goes reason #2!

I'm just left with this: when conditions are too wet you cannot apply paint marks on the road, or get tape to stick on it. There it is, you can't mark the course . . . until some smart-aleck points out that you could drive in a nail and washer. AND you can often give a precise location by referring to landmarks . . . What can I say? It's possible, I've done it, I don't like it, but I seem to be running out of excuses!
It's certainly not unusual to get rained out here in Michigan. But this year has been dry and I can't think of a single time a measuring day was rained out for me.
Like Bob, I doubt there's much loss of accuracy when measuring in the rain as long as you also calibrate in the rain. But I have no interest in testing this theory, and instead will just continue to tell RDs that it's not accurate, even though I suspect that's not true.
Being on the west coast measuring in the rain is sometimes unavoidable and I learned early in my measuring career to always use waterproof notebooks and to carry rain-gear when rain is forecast. Riding in the rain is not so bad, but I still avoid it whenever possible.

One of the concerns I have about measuring in the rain is that a cold rain can cause a significant temperature change in your tires which disappears when the rain stops. The worst part is the extra time it takes to maintain your bike after the ride.

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