Riding in the Rain and Dark

[Mike P]

Brackstone, you are right on.

The original entry was not from me, but an unauthorized entry that was originally posted in my blog. I will ask around to see what the circumstances were of the original posting. Clearly, the forum has rules against that kind of use.

Please note that this reply is under my own registration to the forum, unlike the original post.

Mike Padway

[Lisa]

I've been stuck in torential rain. not fun, choice of stoping and standing in the rain and risk being hit or continuing until safety. I ride with a reflective vest in the rain and at night.

as for the OP... if i heard there was hail I'd wait it out. chosing to go out into the hail is like choosing to have a shower of rocks thrown at you...

[guscave]

My wife and I recently got caught in two nasty storms and it scared the crap-ola out of both of us. I wrote a short blog about it and some of the lessons learned from it. You can check it out at: http://newbikerjournal.wordpress.com/

[MichaelPadway]

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[Gummiente]

Even the european and American magazines note that riding in the wet will make you a smoother rider. I don't know why people think it is bull.

There are only three things that make you a better rider - time, training and experience. A single ride in the rain does NOT offer that, but several (hopefully uneventful) rides in the rain - along with several rides in all other weather conditions over all road types - will go a long ways towards making you a smoother rider.

[MZ33]

I must confess to being totally baffled by there being a MichaelPadway poster and a Mike P, who seem similar but not quite the same.

Identity crisis? Split personality? Weird cyber joke that non-savvy people such as myself simply don't get?

[Gunslinger]

There are only three things that make you a better rider - time, training and experience. A single ride in the rain does NOT offer that, but several (hopefully uneventful) rides in the rain - along with several rides in all other weather conditions over all road types - will go a long ways towards making you a smoother rider.

Great post Gummiente. I could not have said it any better .

[HYPERR]

Yes absolutely, positively, riding in a less than ideal conditon will make you a better rider.....assuming one has the mental and physical ability to process the info and learn from it.

Dirt riding is a perfect example. You can gain invaluable experience and skills from it. It will make you a better rider by teaching you perfect clutch control, brake control, throttle control, weight control, etc etc etc. Riding in different conditions like mud, rocks, sand, etc will teach you skills you will never learn on the asphalt.

I have ridden in torrrential downpour and even got caught(unintentionally) in a snowstorm that was so severe that they were shutting down lanes on certain highways. I went as far as I could before I parked the bike. When I was coming off the highway offramp I could feel the rear losing grip and and starting to slide but somehow kept the bike up. This was about 20 years ago and at that time, I had only been riding for about 2 years and I would certainly say I learned good rear wheel slide control that day.....real fast!

I certainly don't advocate riding in dangerous conditions on the street. Not even for one second. But to say you won't learn from it is silly. I would bet a veteran Bloke from rainy England that rides every single day is a lot better rider than some weekend "warrior" in the US who's bike has never seen a drop of rain and spends more time admiring his bike from inside a Starbucks cafe than riding it.

That being said, it is stupid to go out of your way to seek unfavorable condition on the street, that's what the dirt is for. Get a dirt bike, enjoy and learn!

[ofblong]

so was my bike a dirt bike when I took it down a sandy road (yes sandy)? Hey I didnt want to take the 4 mile detour and instead took the .2 miles of sand lol.

[HYPERR]

so was my bike a dirt bike when I took it down a sandy road (yes sandy)? Hey I didnt want to take the 4 mile detour and instead took the .2 miles of sand lol.

Lol. Was this a closed road but you went through it anyway?