06-18-2018, 10:28 AM
OK, so I'll admit it... I'm a fair weather rider, except for those occasions when I take the bike on an extended trip. Most of my riding is either commuting the 20 miles or so to work, or evenings and weekends cruising. If there is rain in the forecast, the bike stays at home in the garage.
Today was the relatively rare exception where un-forecast relatively severe storms cropped up at quitting time. I could have just waited things out. Would have been simple really. But I sensed that I would enjoy the challenge of getting home relatively safe and dry.
Without the right gear, riding through a full-blown thunderstorm is just plain no fun. Particularly at highway speed. But using your eyes to avoid storms is pretty neat actually, so long as you have options with routes.
It took about 20 minutes longer, but I managed to avoid active showers by using my senses and knowledge of the local surface streets. Both the bike and I got wet from road spray, but it was really fun adjusting the route in real-time based on what my eyes and feel for relative wind told me.
And of my four bikes, the CB is the one that I feel most comfortable doing this sort of thing on....
Today was the relatively rare exception where un-forecast relatively severe storms cropped up at quitting time. I could have just waited things out. Would have been simple really. But I sensed that I would enjoy the challenge of getting home relatively safe and dry.
Without the right gear, riding through a full-blown thunderstorm is just plain no fun. Particularly at highway speed. But using your eyes to avoid storms is pretty neat actually, so long as you have options with routes.
It took about 20 minutes longer, but I managed to avoid active showers by using my senses and knowledge of the local surface streets. Both the bike and I got wet from road spray, but it was really fun adjusting the route in real-time based on what my eyes and feel for relative wind told me.
And of my four bikes, the CB is the one that I feel most comfortable doing this sort of thing on....