Yeah, I think there is also a very bizarre tendency when one has invested in their first really nice bike to want to protect the bike from everything from inclement weather to crashes that will even just do cosmetic damage like nicks and dings, not even counting frame-destroying wrecks.
Since I bought my new bike (thanks in no small part to the advice of guys like you in my original thread, LVbob) I have been caught in some light rains and one heavier rain as well. I remember the first time, I was cycling on the Belt Parkway bike path going eastbound toward Queens and Long Island, and as it started to drizzle, like an idiot, I am furtively glancing down at my chain and sprockets as if they would melt or something. I kept imaging the rain washing away all the lubricant and then within minutes, things would start to rust and by the end of the ride, of course, my chain would simply break apart into orange rust-colored dust.
Obviously my mind skipped probably decades of normal wear and tear there. It was completely irrational and even during the ride I couldn't get the smile off my face from laughing at my own silliness. The next day, I did, however, call Glen from Piermont, who sold me the bike and ask him about riding in the rain, and like most of the people in this thread, he assured me that my new bike would be just fine even if I got caught in a downpour for hours.
He did admonish me to check my chain and gears after a few rides in the heavy rain, and if there was evidence of a loss of lubricant then I could either just put a few drops on and turn the pedals backward to distribute it or if it was time to clean the chain, to fill the ParkTool Chain Cleaner he sold me, with degreaser, to clean the chain and then lube it up with the dry teflon lube with a drop on every other link.
I think my point is that even though I have been riding bikes my whole life, I have a visceral fear of the rain. Some of it I believe it good, common sense (like loss of traction, slippery tires, motorists rushing home without the good sense to slow down, and a plethora of other viable reasons) but some of it is just plain irrationality.
I also agree with Social Climber that getting rained on is simply going to happen, unless you are willing to stay so close to home that a surprise, summer storm out of nowhere would leave me no more than a minute or two from my house so that I can end the ride immediately. Obviously that's not going to happen as I like going out and exploring and riding far. So as Climber says, its inevitable. lol Might as well enjoy it when it happens, right?