Finaly gave a real thunder storm a try.
Lots of gusty stuff, towards the end my son tells me the radio was saying 50 to 60 mph gusts were being reported. No rain gear this ride, it was cold, wet and uncomfortable. The worst was the end. Traffic was barley moving, just first and second gear, but the wind was so strong I was afraid it was indeed going to just knock me down.
I have wanted to know what this kind of storm would feel like. Not sure this one was all that fun. (-;
You never know until you try.
You never know until you try. :) Maybe next time use some rain gear?
yea, that mesh did ok for the
yea, that mesh did ok for the "sting" except for my neck. But man it got chilly after a while. Everything was soaked . .my wallet looks like it came out of the washer. (-; That was about 20 miles of that crap. It was in the 90's today . .it just blew up right over me today.
The really strong winds were scary, add the deeper water . .some odd feelings going on under me today, more than a few times I felt like that bike was just going to kick right out from under me . . this was the first ride in a long time that I was ready to see end. When you see that many sets of flashers come on in Miami, you know you are surrounded by idiots, and worse, idiots who cant see and have no clue how to handle the rain.
2006 Harley Davidson Dyna Wide Glide
Sales, Peterson's North Miami Store
looks like that night I
looks like that night I posted about it being fun. Granted I had my frog toggs on and getting wet was not ever an issue. I don't know which can be a worse feeling...the gusts.... or the sudden lack there of.. the nigh I rode we had sustained 45mph winds with gusts up to 60 -65. You get so used to having your brain self correct that when you get a lull or a sudden shift in the wind it's like someone jerking the fence you were leaning on out from under your arm. Very luckily though mine was all highway and the due to it being 11 pm traffic was extremely light. Giving your situation... great that you got the experience but with the Miami morons...the first available bridge would ave been my shelter til I could see a chance to make a break for it later.
****Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but, rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting "Holy Shit....What a ride!!!"****
oh yea... you want
oh yea... you want adrenaline...last sever storm I had to deal with I had just gotten off work and there were some serious wall clouds coming our way. We're talking 9 pm light in the middle of 6 o'clock in the evening. Luckily I finished the last car I was working on about 5 mins ahead of the storm. Running 80 mph to the house (which is a 45 min ride at highway speeds) I barely stayed ahead of it. Got hit by some 1/4 inch rain drops a couple of times to shortly break free of it. The storm was hot on my ass the whole time and finally caught me when I had to turn parallel with it to get to my road. The wind gusts were strong enough to knock down a lot of tree limbs, luckily the car in front of me had seen me behind him and was careful enough to exaggerate his movements and used turn signals to let me know we had to scoot over to avoid a limb in the road. By the time I got to the house I was so amped I actually had to use my home gym to settle down some.
I have learned early to ride in storms. They are normally no big deal for me. The only real time I call it quits is if the traffic is too heavy or lightning is involved.
****Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but, rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting "Holy Shit....What a ride!!!"****
When I was still able to run
When I was still able to run at 50, your description is spot on . .gust hits, lean hard . .gust gone . .oh shit. The feeling is kind of like someone trying to kick the tires out from under the thing.
I never once got my feet down, but the last few miles I was in first a lot doing like 8mph . . . and that was the worst of the gusts. A few just frothed up the whole road . .on the video, it just kind of washes out over the lens. I was not worried about getting hurt or run over .. we were going to slow. I just dont know how hard a wind I can deal with before I fall down. LoL Need to do it some more.
As far as traffic goes . . well, it is Miami. Not much you can do to get out of it, and those storms blew up right over us and lasted over an hour. Hell if I am sitting under a bridge for that long. LoL
Yep'er . . . . the 30 mph winds are not bad . .just stay sharp. Those 50 plus gust's are a little more tricky. (-; Whole new set of boundary I need to understand. Rain . .hell, that's easy if you don't ride like a jerk. (-; HARD rain and a LOT of standing water . . that was causing the bike to do odd things under me too . .again . .new boundary to understand.
45miles . .hmm. That was about 24 miles worth of chopped up video yesterday. My "normal" commute is only like 4 miles. LoL Easy to see where your experience is coming around so fast.
2006 Harley Davidson Dyna Wide Glide
Sales, Peterson's North Miami Store
I've been trying to get
I've been trying to get myself used to rain riding so I know the feeling of the bikes movements and such in the rain myself. So far though the most I've gotten is a drizzle. Our weather in Alaska isn't that wet during the summer so I've literally jumped on my bike every time I see dark clouds coming over the Chugach. My wife says I look like a kid in a candy shop when the local weather guru calls for rain. Maybe I'll ride my bike through the sprinkler in the yard lol.
"Only a Biker truly knows why a dog hangs his head out a window"
Man, I'm not sure where you
Man, I'm not sure where you are, but you should be riding near Palmer right now. :) Not the gusty wind storms that Elwood and Munch are talking about, but a good steady rain. We even had about 45min worth of thunder starting around 6:30 or so...
In all honesty, later in the summer, as you are riding North on the Glenn out of Anchorage, look to the mountains past Palmer. If its gray, try for a ride up to Hatcher Pass. There will be rain up nearer the mountains even when it is bone dry in Palmer.
Happy riding!
Owlie