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Long rainy ride!

Sharky1948

Junior Member
This past weekend I rode in a Memorial Ride for the 32 victims of the massacre at Virginia Tech two years ago. My daughter was a freshman at the time and fortunately was not among those injured.

I rode from Connecticut to norther Virginia on Friday...9 hours in the rain. Fortunately we have a nice day for the run on Saturday and the service was inspiring. The ride back was 12 hours in the rain. In total over the three days I rode about 1250 miles, of which about 1100 were in the rain!

Thankfully, between my inexpensive HD packable rain pants and jacket and the Aerostich boot and glove covers, I remained totally dry (not to say warm though) for the whole ride.
 
Looks like a rat bike now. And, the Neutral light doesn't work. Guess the switch got wet. But, that's what new bike warranties are for.
 
Well christened for sure. Typical with the neutral light. Just be careful when starting it, if it is the switch that is causing the problem it will start in gear unlike when the system is working right and you have to pull in the clutch to start.
 
Looks like a rat bike now. And, the Neutral light doesn't work. Guess the switch got wet. But, that's what new bike warranties are for.

Good for you... I do not like riding in the rain... but if we have a destination already and plans we RIDE. We had an overnight trip planned for this week-end with another couple. They were late meeting us and could tell something was up. The forecast called for showers and late afternoon thundershowers. The weather for Friday was good with a chance of showers late afternoon. They asked me what I thought about the rain and my answers was.... I think we will get there before the rain and would most likely get wet on Saturday. THEY BACKED OUT AND DID NOT WANT TO GO !! We ended up having to pay for the room because of the 24 hours cancelation policy. We ride with another couple and never have we backed out of a planned trip. If this ever happens again wife and I decided we would continue with our plans with or without the the couple. We bought our bikes to ride not to keep garaged and afraid to get them wet.
 
Good for you... I do not like riding in the rain... but if we have a destination already and plans we RIDE. We had an overnight trip planned for this week-end with another couple. They were late meeting us and could tell something was up. The forecast called for showers and late afternoon thundershowers. The weather for Friday was good with a chance of showers late afternoon. They asked me what I thought about the rain and my answers was.... I think we will get there before the rain and would most likely get wet on Saturday. THEY BACKED OUT AND DID NOT WANT TO GO !! We ended up having to pay for the room because of the 24 hours cancelation policy. We ride with another couple and never have we backed out of a planned trip. If this ever happens again wife and I decided we would continue with our plans with or without the the couple. We bought our bikes to ride not to keep garaged and afraid to get them wet.[/QUOTE]


Easy there big fella! I can't speak for the couple that backed out of your planned ride but as for me, I bought my bike for the enjoyment of riding. I'm certainly not afraid to get it wet but the fun level drops dramatically when it's raining or, worse, there's a chance of thunderstorms. I can just find lots of other things to do on a rainy day than throw on all my rain gear and spend hours riding ultra carefully and worrying about all the other folks who are a considerable hazard even on dry pavement with good visibility. If that excludes me from the "real biker" club then so be it.

On the other hand, they should have never left you with any financial responsibilities due to their backing out of the trip - simply not cool.
 
It (EDIT) they left you holding the bill for the hotel! Dr. Doolittle said it best:

On the other hand, they should have never left you with any financial responsibilities due to their backing out of the trip - simply not cool.

I don't particularly like to ride in the rain either but sometimes it just happens and if you have the right gear it can help. My husband and I took an advanced rider course a few weekends ago and it was nice the first day and pouring rain the second day! It was a great experience for me as I was previously afraid/nervous to ride in the rain and now I can make excellent/comfortable quick stops and I know HOW to ride in the rain so no more fears!

A Friendly Reminder - Harley Davidson Community

 
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Let me say it this way... WE DO NOT LOOK TO RIDE IN THE RAIN.... on the way up I felt confident that the rain would not start until we were safely at the destination. The next day was for scattered showers... means we may get wet but usually we're suited up and look for cover if it rains really hard. Once the shower passes we start out again. We have ridden all day in rain but not a frog strangler... if it rains hard we find cover and wait until it slows down.
 
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