If you don't ride in the rain...

[CHEMIKER]

...you don't ride. Right?

I've been commuting in the rain this season and getting progressively more comfortable with it. Since I'm always on the lookout to hone my skills, when I saw advertised a "monsoon clinic" by a local guy I signed right up! This guy hosts lots of clinics for free and I had never been to one so I thought I'd give this a shot. The guy hangs out with Keith Code so I figured it couldn't be all that bad.

We had an hour discussion at his clinic (he's a chiropractor) and then a 100 mile ride through the Santa Cruz mountains. I'll be honest, it was unnerving at first to be taking these roads in the rain. Some of these roads are pretty goaty and I don't like to ride them in the dry. Being wet made them even more scary. But after a while I got used to it. The experience boosted my confidence about riding in the rain 1000% and I'm so glad I did it.

Here's a video of King's Mountain Road. Video of HWY 1 would have been better but my cam batteries died. Enjoy!

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIot80-ycyo"]YouTube - Rain Clinic, King's Mountain Road 2/22/09[/ame]

 

[psnbye]

It truly takes a brave rider to ride in the rain on purpose. My hats off to 'ya. I had to ride in the rain for about 60 miles and it was he!!. I admit I was'nt really prepared for rain but even if I had the right gear I dont think I could bring myself to go looking for the wet stuff. I know I would like to be more confident about it but I'd rather ride when its 80 and sunny!!

I have never heard of a "Monsoon clinic"? It sounds interesting though. Where was this at? How much did they, uh.. SOAK you for it? (bad pun)

 

[CHEMIKER]

It truly takes a brave rider to ride in the rain on purpose. My hats off to 'ya. I had to ride in the rain for about 60 miles and it was he!!. I admit I was'nt really prepared for rain but even if I had the right gear I dont think I could bring myself to go looking for the wet stuff. I know I would like to be more confident about it but I'd rather ride when its 80 and sunny!!

I have never heard of a "Monsoon clinic"? It sounds interesting though. Where was this at? How much did they, uh.. SOAK you for it? (bad pun)

Oh yeah, that's the best part; it was free! This is a local Bay Area guy who just loves riding and loves to share his knowledge of riding.

I had all the right rain gear and was dry as a bone. It was awesome. I wouldn't want to ride without raingear though. Being cold and wet would be miserable, not to mention dangerous if you start shivering at your core.

You have to get good rain gear though. One guy in our group put a cheapo poncho on over his jacket and the thing literally shredded at 40mph. It was frigging hilarious. He kept adjusting it at every stop but there was really nothing left of it; just pieces dangling from the cuffs and collar. I couldn't stop laughing. Also, he didn't have winter gloves. At one stop when we were waiting to take off, I was sitting there idling and found him behind me trying to dry his gloves off in my exhaust. I was sad and cracking up at the same time.

 

[Red Wazp]

Yeah rain riding sure makes a smooooth rider out of you. It's all about the gear rain or shine. Cleaning the bike after rain riding still sucks.

 

[VEGASRIDER]

Nice video....kind of, couldn't see very well from all that Rain!

 

[CHEMIKER]

Nice video....kind of, couldn't see very well from all that Rain!

Thanks Kenny! I, uh, wanted to make the video realistic! That's what I was seeing too with my wet visor. I was actually surprised to find that I could see anything but the wet windscreen. During the ride I was convinced that the video would be impossible to see. It is bad but not that bad.

It did occur to me after this ride that a ram mount might allow me to place the camera outside of the windscreen, cutting down interference from rain or glare. We'll see.

 

[bluenova]

Also, he didn't have winter gloves. At one stop when we were waiting to take off, I was sitting there idling and found him behind me trying to dry his gloves off in my exhaust. I was sad and cracking up at the same time.

Great mental image. I have winter gloves with a metallic lining that keep my hands bone dry (but still cold as the outer material still soaks up the rain), and it's miserable ringing them out every morning when I get to work the last couple of weeks. Today was my first dry ride to work in a long time, it felt fantastic to just open her up and flick her around.

 

[wrightme43]

LOL

I like to ride in the rain too. Its fun. Bikes are fun.

 

[Philippe1985]

Now I don't ride much in the rain, only when I get surprised by it or when there is no other possibility. I have actually 2 problems with rain: the bike gets dirty(but I do like to clean the bike, so it isn't a real problem) and I have no ABS. If my bike would have a system like the new combined ABS from Honda, I would start to ride in the rain. I think my next bike could be the cbr600rr ABS. But I'm a bit scared of the small dimensions of the bike, I need my comfort.

 

[Cali rider]

Hey Travis, that looks a bit treacherous but great for building experience. Considering the rain that hits your area is both steady and cold it seems that your approach is well thought out, either learn to ride in the wet properly or stay off the bike entirely!

How did your camera lens manage to stay dry? Even low speed should have caused enough air swirling to get up behind the windshield.

Lastly can you list your wet weather gear brand names?

 

[CHEMIKER]

How did your camera lens manage to stay dry? Even low speed should have caused enough air swirling to get up behind the windshield.

It wasn't raining hard when the video was taken, and most of what was falling was caught by the trees above. You can see how my instruments are pretty dry also. In a real rain, the instruments do get wet even though they are behind the windscreen, so you're right the camera lens should also. I'll try to find footage from later in the trip to see what it looks like in a downpour.

It could also be partially due to my camera. I use the Oregon Scientific ATC5K. It sits very far forward, the opening is small, and the lens is set back a little.

 

[Doorag]

If I didn't ride in the rain, I would hardly ride at all. It makes you really appreciate the dry too.

 

[CHEMIKER]

Lastly can you list your wet weather gear brand names?

Sure! I have mostly el-cheapo overgear and I'm impressed at how it works. The only "waterproof" thing I own is my boots. Other guys on the ride bought "waterproof" riding jackets and pants and were not satisfied. The outer shells still soak up the rain and make the gear very heavy, and the guys still got wet somehow.

I wear:

Nelson-Rigg Storm Rider jacket. My dad gave it to me when he sold his Goldwing 10 years ago and it's still the best piece of raingear I own. I don't have the pants that came with the set, but the jacket is great.

No name rainpants. $14.99 on sale at Cycle Gear. They kept me totally dry in 3 hours of rain. Surprisingly awesome.

Fieldsheer Overgloves. $11.99 at Motorcycle Superstore. Just put them on over my regular riding gloves. They do let in a little moisture after a while but keep my hands dry and warm overall. I never have to wring the water out of my gloves.

Alpinestars Web Gortex boots. They really are waterproof.

 

[Doorag]

A lot of the off-road riders in the UK use army surplus goretex gear for the most extreme environments.

I just have a Frank Thomas jacket and a cheap pair of waterproof over trousers I got at a random bike shop. They work great.

I have a pair of Daytona boots that are my most expensive piece of kit at the moment and they are very dry.

 

[craig007]

I want to do more riding in the rain this year. My main problem is that I hate the after-ride clean up. All of my gear is waterproof (theoretically) and I also carry a rain suit. I only had to break it out once when the storm moved faster than the radar implied that it would.

Since I want to tour this year, more practice in the rain would be a good thing.

 

[agmom98]

Riding in rain can be unnerving, that's for sure. I take a lot of cross country trips on the bike an had to learn to get comfortable with it, since there really is no other choice but to keep going when you're out in the middle of nowhere and that night's planned stop is still 200 miles away.

Those clinics are a great idea!

 

[steveindenmark]

I cannot imagine how you don`t ride in the rain.

What do you do? Look at the weather forecast in the morning and see that it is sunny in the morning with showers in the afternoon and then rush home at lunchtime?

Riding in the rain is like driving in the rain, it just cannot be helped.

I prefer to ride in the sun but being in Europe it is hit and miss whether we get sun or rain. The trick is to have your wet weather gear on the bike somewhere, to put it when you can see it is going to rain and not after you have spent 5 minutes riding in the rain.

Most important of all SLOW DOWN..stopping distances are much greater when it is wet and your view is not that great out of a wet visor.

Good that you got a free course and learnt something.

Steve

 

[staticghost]

Yeah riding in the rain sure makes you a better rider over all. I only did it twice because I cought in the rain on my way back from work. I was scarred to be honest first half of the trip, but after a while you just get used to it. Just take you time and you should be fine. And this is all done on BT014's 7000miles on the tires as of now and there is still life left on the tires. But these babies will be getting replaced by Pirelli Diablo Strada within a month, and then rain or shine, here I come. I just love to ride, what can I say...yay...:rockon:

 

[VEGASRIDER]

I cannot imagine how you don`t ride in the rain.

What do you do? Look at the weather forecast in the morning and see that it is sunny in the morning with showers in the afternoon and then rush home at lunchtime?

Riding in the rain is like driving in the rain, it just cannot be helped.

I prefer to ride in the sun but being in Europe it is hit and miss whether we get sun or rain. The trick is to have your wet weather gear on the bike somewhere, to put it when you can see it is going to rain and not after you have spent 5 minutes riding in the rain.

Most important of all SLOW DOWN..stopping distances are much greater when it is wet and your view is not that great out of a wet visor.

Good that you got a free course and learnt something.

Steve

Not all members are "hard core" riders such as You, Travis or myself. They are just simply "weekend or fair weather riders" similar to skiers. Kind of like other recreational sports, some just don't like to go skiing when there is a snowstorm on the mountain, or golf when it's raining or wet. But I like so many of you, are always looking to improve my riding skills. And riding in the rain is an important skill to have underneath your belt and may save your life, just because you have that experience. Similar to having experience driving in the snow or on ice. Unless you have never done it, you'll never improve as a driver, and if you are in a jam and have to go out and drive in that bad weather, you are endangering yourself and the others around you. That goes with riding, so that "free" clinic was a great educational expererience. And if there is no clinic, just go out and get wet and log some miles, it will eventually pay off and come in handy down the road.

 

[robertdroberts]

Riding in the rain is a fact of life here. There are many people who refuse to ride if there is a hint of rain, and once a month I might see their bike...strange.

Anyway, I always carry my rain gear with me, only suited up twice (in other words it was raining when I first got on the bike). Up close to the mountains, where I work, it rains every day. Mile 1 and your in sunshine, mile 2 your wet...hence Rainbow state. :thumbup: