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/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl General Category >> Rubber Side Down! >> Ride in the rain /cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1282681304 Message started by babyhog on 08/24/10 at 13:21:44 |
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Title: Ride in the rain Post by babyhog on 08/24/10 at 13:21:44 Can't believe I forgot to tell you all, I rode my first big ride in the rain... actually a DOWNPOUR. Saturday morning, hubby and I decided to take a ride, get some food, and take in a movie somewhere. (He has been wanting to see The Expendables) So we headed west, about 60 miles, found a theater, and a little hole-in-the-wall to eat in and have a beer. While we were eating, we looked outside and it kept getting darker and darker. I walked outside and it was starting to sprinkle. I told him we had to do something! Then it started coming down in buckets. Decided we would head back toward home, hopefully drive out of it. Well, it took about 30 miles! Part 4-lane 55mph road, part 2-lane 55mph road. I was riding about 40-45, tractor trailers were passing me but I couldn't ride any faster! After about 45 minutes of this, we were soaked to the bone, and I was starting to get cold. Told him I had to pull over. Once we stopped, I took off my boots and squeezed the cup of water out of each of my socks! No, we didn't have any rain gear! We were stopped maybe 5 minutes, if that, and the rain stopped.... totally stopped. Headed on home, rode wet roads until about 10 miles from home, then it was totally dry. Cranked the throttle and was happy to have survived. A little dramatic, but I had never ridden in rain before, so I was proud of myself and much relieved! |
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Title: Re: Ride in the rain Post by jsarsfield on 08/24/10 at 14:39:04 Wow !! It is good experience to have but if it really is coming down in buckets like you said you should have pulled over. no offense and only because you were on the highway. when moving that fast on such a flat road you run the risk of actually hydroplaning and when it happens, the rain pelting your face is the least of your worries. I hope I didn't offend you Babyhog and I'm glad you made it through without harm. I have been through some serious storms before and its nothing to joke about try it at night even more fun :-/ |
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Title: Re: Ride in the rain Post by Paladin. on 08/24/10 at 15:29:21 Good News: You are not sugar, you do not melt in water. Bad News: You DO get wet in water. Bad News: Water is COLD in the wet. Good News: It does stop. Good News: You know that you CAN ride in the wet. Congratulations. Real Bikers ride in the rain. YOU are a Real Biker. |
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Title: Re: Ride in the rain Post by babyhog on 08/24/10 at 18:45:09 Thank you Paladin. Coming from you, it means alot! Although.... I am part sugar... ;) And you are right jsarsfield, I pulled over as soon as it was safer to pull over than to take it slow going. Thought we'd ride out of it fairly quickly, but didn't luck out. I don't think I ever went faster than 45, maybe 50. Even on the 4-lane. Luckily, the 4-lane was all uphill, and the water was sheeting off the road nicely. I certainly didn't want to pull over there, and once we hit the 2-lane, it took a while to find a safe place. I passed one underpass because I knew a BP station was just ahead, which is where we stopped. I was very nervous all along, but took it slow and steady. Later hubby told me that he slid around a sharp curve (we slowed to about 15) but I didn't slide at all! I'm glad I didn't see him slide! I'm glad to know I'm able to ride in the rain, but I certainly didn't like it! |
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Title: Re: Ride in the rain Post by Serowbot on 08/24/10 at 18:51:16 The really embarrassing part for me is,... not getting caught in the rain, but riding out of it into the clear sun,... ...and then having people look at you dripping wet on a dry road... :-?... |
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Title: Re: Ride in the rain Post by John_D FSO on 08/24/10 at 19:16:51 Congrats on now being a "Wet Butt Rider"! ;D Glad to hear that getting soaked was the worst thing you got out of it. If you've got the rain gear, and it's not pouring too bad, it's really not that bad. Just wait til you get into some light hail; makes a ridiculous amount of noise on your helmet! :o ;D http://www.wetbuttriders.com/index.html |
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Title: Re: Ride in the rain Post by Tom K on 08/25/10 at 03:55:08 Congrats Babyhog! It's even more fun when you get off work at 3 AM and it's raining and half way home the rain turns to sleet. My fingers we're numb when I got home. :'( |
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Title: Re: Ride in the rain Post by drharveys on 08/25/10 at 04:14:15 Mazeltov! You did it -- now the trick is not to do it too often. Celebrate by getting some rain gear. Your choices are: Wally world for the cheap stuff or a bike shop for the good stuff. Each has its own advantages and shortcomings. Cheap stuff: Advantages It's cheap! Low initial cost. It takes up less room than the good stuff It's always fresh and dry (see disadvantages for the reason why) It's totally waterproof (also see below) Disadvantages: Only a few sizes, so it won't fit and it'll flap around a lot It falls apart after one serious use It's PVC Being totally waterproof, it can hold all the sweat that comes off your body and condenses against the cool PVC so it's almost as wet inside as the outside! Good Stuff: Advantages: It really works It involves Gore-Tex, so it "breathes" and is actually dry inside Better fit so it doesn't flap around as much It uses a decent fabric, so you can use it many times Each time you use it, the cost per use goes down Disadvantages: Costs more initially It's bulkier than the cheap stuff It has to be dried out after each use |
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Title: Re: Ride in the rain Post by justin_o_guy2 on 08/25/10 at 04:30:36 I have an old oilfield slicker suit. Poor thing must be close to 20 y/o. Its got a couple of patches on it, its YELLOW & its floppy. Its SOOO Ugly, but, I own it & when its needed, I use it. A guy on another forum sent me some pants, cuz slicker suits have pants like bib overalls & use suspenders. Theyre huge to fold up & I wanted something better & he said "Here, you can have these",, All I had to do was sew fresh elastic in the waistband. Anyway, a trip to a FireSafety store or a place where industrial supply stuff gets sold could be a place to find some stout, reasonably priced, wet weather gear. Remember, we onlyrarely ride in the rain. Think about it. Your vision is impaired, so is the cardrivers. They also dont expect you to be riding in the rain. Now, not only can they not see you as well, theyarent really expecting to see a bike. An Ugly, Horrible Bright flopping thing is a good thing at that point. Id`rather they laugh at me as I go by than run over me. |
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Title: Re: Ride in the rain Post by FlybysBlvd on 08/25/10 at 06:04:13 We also got caught in the rain on Saturday, I did have my frogg-togg jacket and it worked great, my biggest complaint, like Baby Hog said was pouring the water out of my boots! I have a pair of rain boot covers, sure wished I would have had them on the bike - DUH! Tour Master Deluxe Boot Rain Covers or these are only $20.00 MotoCentric Mototrek Boot Covers (motorcycle superstore). I will definately put them on the bike from now on! |
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Title: Re: Ride in the rain Post by Hashbrown on 08/25/10 at 06:36:59 Yeah Piglet!!! Awesome job! to be quite honest, as long as i have my 3/4 helmet on, i actually like riding in the rain as long as its warmer out. once you get past that uncomfortable wet stage to completely soaked its not to bad. if its a warm day it feels great. im also a polar bear so i never get cold. |
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Title: Re: Ride in the rain Post by babyhog on 08/25/10 at 06:56:15 5C4A50594A4E5D414B380 wrote:
Thanks so much! I'll most likely go with the cheap stuff.... cuz I'm cheap! lol I'd at least try it once, and if I didn't like it, then I might invest in something better. I know I should have something, in case of emergency now, so I'll start looking around.... boot covers... need to look into them too! |
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Title: Re: Ride in the rain Post by cursal on 08/25/10 at 06:57:45 Congrats on your first wet weather ride! I'm in Oregon and I don't own a cage. I ride in the rain often in the fall, winter and spring months. I got a set of the grayish frogg-toggs for $40 bucks at a local MC shop. They lasted the whole winter, burned a hold on the right leg the first day I wore them...that exhaust pipe is really hot :) but high boots keeps the water from coming in. I was always totally dry. Riding in the rain isn't so bad, just be more alert and avoid the big puddles. Leave lots of cushion space around you so you can see water on the road, junk that lays in the road, let others pass when they want to, and stay calm. It's only water. Hail..only 1 time in that and that I pulled over for. Nothing like slippery little ice pebbles on the road to make you think twice about climbing on two wheels. Oh, and stay off the roads for an hour or so in the first rain of the season (or if it hasn't rained in a while) and let all that grime, oil, and other slick fluids wash of the road. Never ride the crown of a road in wet weather for this reason. Happy wet butt riding ;D |
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Title: Re: Ride in the rain Post by mpescatori on 08/25/10 at 08:00:12 Hey, Babyhog, congratulations !!! 8-) One thing I didn't quite get, though... ...why on earth didn't you just buy tickets, see the film and wait out therain ??? :-? :D Now, if you';re interested in original "see in the dark" equipment, consider a red strobo light next to the tailight [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtMQnwUfokg&feature=player_embedded[/media] Anytime rain (or fog, or dust blown by the wind) is such to hamper visibility, just flick it on ! :) |
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Title: Re: Ride in the rain Post by kimchris1 on 08/25/10 at 08:35:02 Congrats Piglet on making it thru the rain. I don't particularly like riding in the rain, yet on occassions I have had to. I understand your boots being full of water. I found out that the eyelets on both pairs of my boots allow water to seep in. A couple years ago I got caught in a hail storm. It was sunny when I left and I had a wonderful ride all by myself. I was about 15 miles from home when it started and no where to go. It was hard to see, I slowed down and finally made it to a safe area to rest and wait it out. I don't care to ever do hail again. It stings worse than rain when it hits your face. My shield and glasses were fogging up so I had to raise my shield some. OUCH...Tender skin I have.. ;) kim |
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Title: Re: Ride in the rain Post by babyhog on 08/25/10 at 08:45:06 4C5144524240554E5348210 wrote:
Ha! Yes, we thought about going on to the movie, but checked the weather on the iPhone and it was showing 50% chance of rain for the next several hours.... it was showing 10% before we left home! My guess is as good as theirs, and I was bettin' it was gonna rain for a while. Rain was bad enough but I certainly didn't want to try rain in the dark. LOL Plus, I didn't like seeing my Piglet getting all wet.... I like the strobe. Saw a guy with something similar on the back of his helmet the other night. It definitely stood out! |
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Title: Re: Ride in the rain Post by alcoa on 08/26/10 at 06:59:16 I have rode my bike to work for the past 4 weeks every day. It has rained 4 times. HD riders are saying you will get wet going home, I tell them they should have bought a bike that will run in the rain. I bought my savage to ride not sit in a garage. The non riders at work then get after the HD riders and want to know why they are not ridding. ;) |
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Title: Re: Ride in the rain Post by babyhog on 08/26/10 at 07:27:32 050607000102030C0D340 wrote:
I know it will run in the rain, I have only been riding 2 seasons and wasn't comfortable (not physically because of being wet, I mean mentally!) riding in the rain. I prefer not to ride in the rain. Wet roads scare me. I'm glad you are fine, but this was my first experience. Now I know I can do it, so I will ride whenever I want to, regardless of if it might rain. Oh, I work with the same type of riders you do too! haha |
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Title: Re: Ride in the rain Post by weracerc on 08/26/10 at 08:05:53 well - kudos for you BH - all you other wet butters'.....my pathetic candy ass is not going to do the wet butt by choice nor by accident......the painted parts are just too many to miss and the hydro plane potential is just not worth 1 dropping the bike (resulting damage = $$$) 2 potential road rash (resulting dr bill = $$$)....shear economics keeps me out of the wet butt club. Now the visual effects of the unplanned wet shirt/pants contest might be worth looking at...but no one - and i mean no one wants to see my fat ass in a wet shirt or wet pants.....so dry riding only for me. |
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Title: Re: Ride in the rain Post by buttgoat1 on 08/26/10 at 09:12:07 It seems every time I don't ride to work because of threatening looks and the forecast NOTHING falls, but those bee yoot ifull days i ride is when it rains. I take the back way and drive much slower in the rain. Some decent rain gear is coming soon, afternoon thunderstorms are very common here in central VA. |
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