Riding In The Rain!
Monday, October 3, 2016 at 1:12PM A WET SURPRISE!
Have you ever gone out on a beautiful day for a ride and got sent scurrying back to the truck soaking wet?
I started out on an exploration ride into some local mountains with the expectation it would be significantly cooler that the 98* temp at the van. But I did error on the side of caution and threw my FLY Black Ops jacket in my pack. Just in case. Boy, did I choose wisely! As I headed up the mountain a few clouds appeared and I thought, Great maybe I will get a sprinkle during Sept and have moist trails all to myself, since it was a weekday.
About 45 minutes into the ride I was approaching 6000 ft and could now see over the mountain range. Man was it DARK!
I thought if I stopped and put on my FLY jacket I would work my way into a valley I wanted to explore and miss the big stuff. Within 10 minutes of putting the jacket on I was cruising along in a slight drizzle. I could see because my goggles were not getting hammered so I kept going.
That lasted all of about 3 minutes, then the rain drops got so big I was sure I saw them making a splash or just bouncing a bit like hail. Trying to be the optimist I approached it like Bill Murry in Caddyshack when he soldiered on in his raincoat and galoshes. I even remember trying to distract myself by asking, ‘Do you think the big stuff will be coming?’. I made myself laugh!
In about another mile on the trail my gloves and pants were soaked so I pulled over against a hill with some trees protecting about one square foot. I tried to squeeze myself into it to wait it out. I made myself as small as I could but was still getting hit from all sides. I huddled there for about 30 minutes. During that time, I watched my poor 500 XCW get a shower!
It was looking pretty good since I hadn’t washed it in almost 2 months! It looked so clean I snapped a picture! Then I noticed the rain had come down hard enough it was now running down the road as a small creek! DOH!!! I would have to go back that way.
Also I was there long enough I was starting to get cold and thinking about how good a hot shower was going to feel. So as soon as the monsoon let up, I fired up the KTM and headed my butt back toward the van. The good thing was that the more I descended the less rain I encountered. It also warmed up considerably with the elevation drop. Life was good!
I made it back to the van and the 98* temps in the valley had almost dried me out. I changed out of the damp riding clothes into some dry street clothes and realized my ride had been cut short, I got cold, soaked and only covered 47 miles. Then I realized I was smiling and thought: This was the Best Ride Ever!!!
#33
‘Life does not have to be perfect to be wonderful’
Reader Comments (1)
Awesome!...got a curve ball and hit a home run!