I took a risk and had some fun

[SeaCat]

I woke up this morning to a downpour. Two inches of rain in something like an hour. (No I'm not kidding, even the ducks were under cover.) I brewed a cup of coffee and made breakfast for the wife and myself. (Fried egg sandwiches on Sourdough English Muffins.) We sat on the patio and watched the rain fall as we ate.

Soon after the skies cleared and we were off to run some errands. By the time we arrived home the sky was still gray but the roads were dry and traffic was light. What the hell, I haven't been on the bike since Friday and I was wanting a ride, even a short one. I geared up and off I went.

As I headed north I actually saw Blue Skies ahead and above me. The sun shining down on me quickly heated me in my leathers and I finally opened the front of my jacket to get some airflow.

I followed my planned route and after 20 miles I made the turn to bring me along the coast heading south once again. It was beautiful. Traffic was almost non existant so I could putter along at my speed and just enjoy the view of the water. I stopped at a turn out to just sit there and enjoy the sights. Yes it was warm but that's one of the reasons I moved here. Finally I turned onto the main drag that leads to my park. It's a bit over two miles to home from this point, all of it at 50 MPH. I make it to the approach to the drawbridge. This is a onster of a thing and it's decking is pierced steel planking. Thankfully someone had the wonderful idea of having two 12 inch wide concrete runners in each lane. (Pierced steel planking is nasty on a bike. It feels like you are riding on ice.)

I reach the foot of the bridge, my visor is at half open for the wind and I'm relaxed. Then the sky just opens up. No warning, no single drips it just opens up. Holy Smokes. That stings. (Remember I'm doing 50 MPH and my jacket is half open.) I'm soaked in an instant but even worse this has dropped visibility to damned near nothing. I know I have cars coming up behind me so I can't slow down. Instead I hold throttle and make sure I'm lined up with where I think the concrete lane is. I hit it perfect and cruise over the bridge and down the far side. I'm tipping my head so I catch the rain on the visor but can still see out from under it.

The thunder and lightening start up, even more distractions for the drivers around me. I know there is a light just after the bottom of the bridge, and I know my right hand turn is about a quarter mile beyond the light. I start hitting my brakes, both front and back to flash my lights and dry the brakes. When I can see the lights they are green, a good thing as I have a car coming right up behind me. He notices me and cranks into the next lane, blowing past me like I'm sitting still.

I pass a parking lot and know I'm getting close. I start slowing while checking my mirrors. I can see headlights coming up fast. These are up high with nice bright fogs below them. I don't even have to see it to know what it is, a large pick-up. I'm slowing and he's coming on fast, he doesn't even seem to be slowing. I finally see the turn and grab brakes a bit tighter, slowing for the turn even as I hit the large puddle/small lake there. I make the turn and breath a sigh of relief as I get hit by a wave from behind. The wave being caused by the pickup hitting that puddle at high speed. He hadn't even bothered to slow down.

I arrived home and parked the bike. I waddled into the trailer, I couldn't even hear my boots squelching over the rain on my helmet. I don't bother going in the front door, I make my way to the patio. My wife hears me coming and has things ready. A large towel, Sweat Pants, slippers and a T-Shirt. I skin there on the patio, my clothes get tossed in the wash basket as I dry off and get redressed in the dry clothes. I now have a smile plastered on my face and my chest is red.

Oh and dinner tonight is Beef Teriyaki.

Cat

 

[jomar]

Glad you're home safe. Once again I ask to make sure your medical insurance is up to date.

But I can relate in a automobile kind of way. I just bought a new (to me) car that handles better than anything I've ever had and am having a blast.

 

[SeaCat]

Glad you're home safe. Once again I ask to make sure your medical insurance is up to date.

But I can relate in a automobile kind of way. I just bought a new (to me) car that handles better than anything I've ever had and am having a blast.

Oh my Medical Insurance is up to date.

I am not fond of riding in the rain. I get wet and chilled and I have a hard time seeing. One of my M.D.'s in work though has told me he has no problem in the rain on his bike because he has a windshield. It is tilted slightly and at speed blows the rain up and over him and his passenger. (One of the many reasons I'm looking at windscreens for my bike.) (Several others have told me the same thing.)

At least down here I don't have to deal with snow, and my bike is a relatively newer one. (Many years ago I rode my Uncles 1946 Indian with the suicide shifter from Boston to Cape Cod during a snowstorm. That truly was not fun.)

As for having fun in a car. I have a 2005 Chevy Tracker 4x4. This is what I like to call a mini SUV. It has A/C and a decent sound system and is much smaller than most SUV's. Hell it's smaller than many cars out there.

I had this car for maybe a week when I went up to visit my parents in Ocala. My father told me about a grove of Star Fruit Trees he had found while out biking one day. (He knows I love Star Fruit.) Before we knew it we were off to find this grove. My father and I were traveling over rough sandy roads, then we were traveling over even rougher dirt tracks. We were going through mud bogs and over dirt trails that would give a dirt biker reason to pause. That damned car didn't even pause. We finally found the grove and picked way too many Star Fruits. (We filled five large totes, a bit over 100 pounds worth of fruit.) We turned around and back out we went.

Since then I have taken this car over loose sand on several beaches as well as through bogs and some very rough terrain. Oh and this little beast gets 20 MPG in the city.

Cat