Whats the worst

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Tue Sep 16, 2008 3:47 pm

Speaking of bad weather......

When I rode home from Vernon via the Coquihalla, the sunny start to my day turned bad after I left Kelowna.
The rain started and then the temperature dropped to near freezing levels.
By the time I got to Langley I was cold, tired and not entirely with it.....I stopped for some food and rest.....of course the sun had come out by then...

The other ride was similar....going to Princeton via Manning Park was fine....cool and gray with occasional sun.. but fine......
Heading back.....temperature dropped to freezing...rain was actually freezing rain.....ridng in that condition on a twisty mountain road makes for some nerve wracking riding. Then it got dark.
By the time we got back to the Fraser Valley and familiar roads, I broke all my rules....I was sick, worn out and needed desperately to get home....I think I pushed the speed up to 120 .....which is high for me.

The riders behind me were dawdling.....I kept thinking I wish they would quit sightseeing......
Finally the tailgunner who is know to like to ride fast, got tired of riding behind the other 2 and zoomed up in staggered position behind me and kept pace with me. It encouraged the other 2 to get a move on.

ofblong · #32 Unread post by **ofblong** » Tue Sep 16, 2008 5:57 pm

3 day of ever riding was in a hail storm.

other than that 14F with freezing fog. That day would be the worst riding day ever. I had my heated gloves on, jacket and carhart coveralls over blue jeans and thermasilk longjohns and could feel the cold through it at 45mph. That day sucked and ill never do it again if I can help it.

Tue Sep 16, 2008 6:50 pm

ofblong wrote:3 day of ever riding was in a hail storm.

other than that 14F with freezing fog. That day would be the worst riding day ever. I had my heated gloves on, jacket and carhart coveralls over blue jeans and thermasilk longjohns and could feel the cold through it at 45mph. That day sucked and ill never do it again if I can help it.

OK....that is definitely bad. And hail hurts like heck.

Lisa · #34 Unread post by **Lisa** » Fri Sep 19, 2008 4:45 am

Rain so hard that I couldn't see more than 15 feet in front of me. The lightning and thunder was so intense that I could feel the ground shake while on the bike.

Gummiente · Fri Sep 19, 2008 5:44 am

A 54km morning commute to work at -30C is my personal best - or worst, depending how you look at it - ride in inclement weather. I don't have a pic from that day, but here's one from my ride on New Year's Day 2008...

ofblong · #36 Unread post by **ofblong** » Fri Sep 19, 2008 9:47 pm

dude if I had a side car I would be doing the same thing.

Ivan M · #37 Unread post by **Ivan M** » Thu Oct 09, 2008 11:08 pm

I rode down to Vancouver in late August from Ft. St. John and it was raining so bad the road was washed out in one area. I had to ride through a veritable river with my feet off the pegs to keep the water out of my boots.

It was a miserable, freezing ride through the mountains, with everything from blindingly heavy showers to painful hail. A couple times my tires lost traction. I ran into some bikers taking shelter in Hope and commiserated with them. Ended up riding with an old guy heading down to the States until he turned off after Abbotsford.

Ivan M · #38 Unread post by **Ivan M** » Thu Oct 09, 2008 11:12 pm

I should add a note about my helmet in these conditions. It is a modular and I rode with it part way up which saved me. I could barely see with all the rain and it was fogging up, but I opened it up part way to get better airflow and managed to make a go of it.