I ride everyday in the Seattle area. Textiles, full face helmets & Nikwax are your friend. Sure it rains alot but how often does it really downpour? OK alot this week 
Seriously though its amazing how many rainy days there are where I don't actually get rained on, or just get sprinkled a bit. People always ask me at work if I'm really riding on a cruddy day and I always tell them I ride every day unless there's snow or ice. I rode to work every single day this past winter except one when I thought there was going to be ice and I took the bus, of course there wasn't, boy was I pissed
Personally I've gone with a waterproof jacket/pants combo for the weather around here. With armor expect to spend $200 (very low end) to $400 for both. I prefer a two peice setup over a one peice because the one peice outfits don't seem to fit as well to me and seem like more of a hassle than overpants and a coat. If you're really serious about playing in the rain don't worry about the zipper-the-jacket-to-the-pants thing, instead look for a jacket that will overlap the pants a fair amount. I also like the two peice setup because once I'm at work for the day if I need to walk somewhere outside I can wear my riding coat as my jacket. I also have two pairs of gloves, a pair of big leather (nikwaxed) gauntlets for winter and the heavy rain and a pair of lighter mesh gloves for warm weather.
When I ride for fun I wear the same over pants but, shh don't tell anyone, I don't wear pants under them. That way I still get the weather and armor protection but I'm alot more comfortable. I may be changing my tune in August and looking for some mesh gear but so far I'm doing OK pulling out my jacket liner and opening the vents in my jacket on the few warm days we've had.
I guess what I'm getting at is with the right gear you can ride around here anytime. Do I head out for a fun ride if its already dumping rain, no of course not, but I always ride to work. Also if I do take off for a little ride on a questionable day and it starts raining, its no big deal. I just take it easy and head for home. Once when I got stuck in a traffic jam in the pouring rain for 45 minutes by the time I got to work I wasn't wet under my gear. Sometimes if I'm not careful about how I velcro my pant leg at the ankle the bottom half inch of my pant leg might get wet, that's it.
Seriously though its amazing how many rainy days there are where I don't actually get rained on, or just get sprinkled a bit. People always ask me at work if I'm really riding on a cruddy day and I always tell them I ride every day unless there's snow or ice. I rode to work every single day this past winter except one when I thought there was going to be ice and I took the bus, of course there wasn't, boy was I pissed
Personally I've gone with a waterproof jacket/pants combo for the weather around here. With armor expect to spend $200 (very low end) to $400 for both. I prefer a two peice setup over a one peice because the one peice outfits don't seem to fit as well to me and seem like more of a hassle than overpants and a coat. If you're really serious about playing in the rain don't worry about the zipper-the-jacket-to-the-pants thing, instead look for a jacket that will overlap the pants a fair amount. I also like the two peice setup because once I'm at work for the day if I need to walk somewhere outside I can wear my riding coat as my jacket. I also have two pairs of gloves, a pair of big leather (nikwaxed) gauntlets for winter and the heavy rain and a pair of lighter mesh gloves for warm weather.
When I ride for fun I wear the same over pants but, shh don't tell anyone, I don't wear pants under them. That way I still get the weather and armor protection but I'm alot more comfortable. I may be changing my tune in August and looking for some mesh gear but so far I'm doing OK pulling out my jacket liner and opening the vents in my jacket on the few warm days we've had.
I guess what I'm getting at is with the right gear you can ride around here anytime. Do I head out for a fun ride if its already dumping rain, no of course not, but I always ride to work. Also if I do take off for a little ride on a questionable day and it starts raining, its no big deal. I just take it easy and head for home. Once when I got stuck in a traffic jam in the pouring rain for 45 minutes by the time I got to work I wasn't wet under my gear. Sometimes if I'm not careful about how I velcro my pant leg at the ankle the bottom half inch of my pant leg might get wet, that's it.
