Riding in the Rain: A Pragmatic Response

[Gone in 60]

Very good post, David. As a rule, I don't ride my bikes in the rain. If I get caught in it, like you, first thing I do when I get home is to wash and detail my bike before any of the crud can dry and become harder to remove. When the crud is wet, it's much easier to flush away.

With my courier job, it's rain or shine, so getting rained on will be part of the territory. And, riding bikes that have been in rode hard and put away wet for years, the grime that doesn't come off easily is there to stay. My detailing for these bikes has been roll it into the garage, hit the lower half with degreaser, rub, rinse, and whatever is still there is still there.

I did get caught in a few showers last week, and as the dispatch app we're using also runs Waze for navigation, along with "police ahead", "car on shoulder ahead", "hazard ahead", I started hearing "slippery road ahead". Duh. Luckily, the RT windshield and bodywork pretty much sends the wet stuff around you for the most part, it is important to be extra careful when the roads are wet. Especially here in Southern California. Historically we've had "rainy season" and "dry season". The dry roads would be extra slippery for the first day of rain, as there would be months of oil, dirt and other slick stuff coming to the surface. Not fun to ride in. These days, the weather is a little more unpredictable. Always need to be on guard!