Riding in rain. Where do you draw the line?
#71
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Long lonesome highwayman (05-18-2019)
#72
#73
Spent 4 out of the 6 weeks we ran around Europe living in rain suit's, caught a north sea gale making landfall as we left Holland going down into Belgium, not something I'd care to repeat on a bike.
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CanadianRocky (05-18-2019)
#74
I love rain riding/ racing.
Other drivers can be an issue...they are all trying to kill you....hi-vis gear is not a bad option.
As for you, OP wrote some good comments.
Painted stripes - maybe the biggest concern.
Tire condition - compound - tread pattern - etc need to be top shape/ monitored.
Hydo-plaining can be an issue - yet OP seems aware.
Throttle & brake control - as said I love the art of rain riding.
Face shield/ google fogging issues can suck, I personally never found a 100% answer for this.
Discomfort from water going down your neck and gloves can also exist.
My top tip - Rain X on your face shield.
No you are not crazy! Have fun.
Other drivers can be an issue...they are all trying to kill you....hi-vis gear is not a bad option.
As for you, OP wrote some good comments.
Painted stripes - maybe the biggest concern.
Tire condition - compound - tread pattern - etc need to be top shape/ monitored.
Hydo-plaining can be an issue - yet OP seems aware.
Throttle & brake control - as said I love the art of rain riding.
Face shield/ google fogging issues can suck, I personally never found a 100% answer for this.
Discomfort from water going down your neck and gloves can also exist.
My top tip - Rain X on your face shield.
No you are not crazy! Have fun.
#75
I don't ride to work or take off on a fun ride if it is raining or highly likely to rain. I take the truck to work, and find something else fun to do - go to the gym, gun range, work on an indoor project, wife, etc.
On a road trip, sometimes it rains. I look at the radar and forecast and figure out a plan. If it is a passing line of storms, I'll find a place to stop, hopefully someplace interesting where I can kill an hour or two, then get going again. If it is going to rain most of the day, then I will gear up and ride. I will stop for severe weather (hail, severe thunderstorms,tornadoes) or if visibility is too low.
Last spring I was in Chattanooga, TN on my way home when it started raining. I had plenty of time and could have waited there a full day or even two before I had to get home and go back to work. But, it was one of those systems that was stalled out over the area and it was going to rain for several days over most of Tennessee. If I waited I would just be riding in the rain the next day. I decided I was going to ride as far as I could and made it to Memphis that evening, no break in the rain the entire day, light mist to steady downpour, until about the last hour. Thanks to my gear I was dry, but riding in rain for that long will exhaust you. I slept well that night and had the entire next day to ride through Arkansas under sunny skies.
On a road trip, sometimes it rains. I look at the radar and forecast and figure out a plan. If it is a passing line of storms, I'll find a place to stop, hopefully someplace interesting where I can kill an hour or two, then get going again. If it is going to rain most of the day, then I will gear up and ride. I will stop for severe weather (hail, severe thunderstorms,tornadoes) or if visibility is too low.
Last spring I was in Chattanooga, TN on my way home when it started raining. I had plenty of time and could have waited there a full day or even two before I had to get home and go back to work. But, it was one of those systems that was stalled out over the area and it was going to rain for several days over most of Tennessee. If I waited I would just be riding in the rain the next day. I decided I was going to ride as far as I could and made it to Memphis that evening, no break in the rain the entire day, light mist to steady downpour, until about the last hour. Thanks to my gear I was dry, but riding in rain for that long will exhaust you. I slept well that night and had the entire next day to ride through Arkansas under sunny skies.
The following 2 users liked this post by cowboydoc:
CanadianRocky (05-24-2019),
Long lonesome highwayman (05-18-2019)
#77
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Long lonesome highwayman (05-18-2019)
#78
I'm like most of you, I ride for enjoyment.
If it's raining, I skip it.
If it really looks like heavy rain - I skip it.
If I'm riding, or on a road trip and it rains - I ride unless it's severe thunderstorms/very heavy downpour.
Good rain gear is an asset - as it a full face or modular (my preference) helmet.
I days of safety shades (or worse) and a bandanna are over - I'm getting old for that sh-t.
That being said, if you ride in Florida - you get wet, then you get dry, then you keep riding!
If it's raining, I skip it.
If it really looks like heavy rain - I skip it.
If I'm riding, or on a road trip and it rains - I ride unless it's severe thunderstorms/very heavy downpour.
Good rain gear is an asset - as it a full face or modular (my preference) helmet.
I days of safety shades (or worse) and a bandanna are over - I'm getting old for that sh-t.
That being said, if you ride in Florida - you get wet, then you get dry, then you keep riding!
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Long lonesome highwayman (05-18-2019)
#79
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Long lonesome highwayman (05-18-2019)