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Part IV
As I said before, I've been riding since 2004, and in that short, yet
action packed time, I've learned a lot of things. I started my
motorcycle adventures by taking the Basic Motorcycle Safety Course, (MSF),
and two years later  enrolled
in, and passed the Advanced Motorcycle Safety Course. In both
courses, I learned a lot of skills; some that have literally saved my
life. I have also learned a lot from my fellow motorcycle
enthusiasts. Some things, however, I’ve just had to figure out for
myself. Last month I wrote about what I learned concerning
motorcycle gear and accessories, and this month I’m writing about riding
in inclement weather, particularly rain and thunder storms.
Hopefully, you’ll see the humor in some of it, and hopefully, you too
will glean that little bit of information that will be valuable to
you. I also hope you have an entertaining read. Just remember,
riding in inclement weather should be avoided if at all possible.
Sometimes, however, you don’t have a choice, and in that case you can do
some things that will help you to be as safe as possible.
What about Rain Gear?
“But,
what about rain gear?”, you might ask. I have a fairly cheap suit
that has held up well over the last few years. The brand name
is FrogToggs, and they  can
be purchased for about $40 at Bass Pro Shop, Walmart or over the
Internet. They're lightweight, easy to pack in a gallon sized
Ziploc, and amazingly, really do keep the rain off of you while allowing
your skin to breath, unlike the rubberized suits which I've on occasion
been forced to use, and have not been at all pleased with. The
problem with the rubber suits is that when it stops raining, you are going
to get hot and sticky pretty quickly, so don't bother with them unless
it's a last resort. Harley-Davidson makes some good looking suits,
and various other companies offer high end gear, but I've not worn any
that performed better than the FrogToggs, and I like the price. The
only negative things I can say about them are that they don't have
reflective striping, and the legs are a little wide. Once I brushed
the FrogToggs up against my pipes, both melting the material to the steel,
and putting a small hole in the suit, but now I’m much more
careful. Reflective striping is an important feature in rain gear
and can help you to be seen better by other motorists. To solve the
problem, we each purchased a neat little black vest with silver reflective
striping, made by Harley-Davidson. Cost was $35 and we use it in
rainy weather over our FrogToggs and also at night for better  visibility.
Riding in Bad Weather
My very first encounter with
rain was on our trip to Alabama. It wasn't on the first day of the
trip, or even the second day. No, it was on the return trip home,
after what was a near perfect first long road trip. When you are
traveling to your destination, you may have a little more flexibility,
like staying put for an extra day to avoid the rain, or changing your
route. But, when you're on the way home, you don't always have those
options. More often than not, you need to get home on a designated
date to get back to work or your business, unless you're retired.
And, if you're retired and can afford to travel all year long, trust me
when I say “I'm jealous”. On this occasion, we fell into the
category of needing to get back home and back to work, so waiting out the
weather was not an option. Before we left, Ric briefed me on what to
do when the rain hit. He instructed me to stop under the first
highway overpass. He explained that when it was raining on the
highway, it would be safer if I found a large truck to follow, since the
tires would push the rain off the roads, and I could follow in the tracks
left behind. He also warned me not to follow too close, but to make
sure I was in the truck’s vision. I knew he was right, and I
recalled one occasion when he made a three hour trip from Shreveport to
Hot Springs, Arkansas in a continuous rain storm, and attributed his safe
arrival to following behind in the safety of the tracks produced by an
eighteen wheeler.
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