Does anyone else enjoy riding in the rain?

[Guest Recalcitrance]

Original Post 2:35pm

Hello there. I'm a new VFRD member and am wondering....

Who else enjoys riding in the rain?

Who else enjoys riding in traffic?

My riding partner tells me I'm nuts, especially when I combine the two together, especially since I'm in southern California, but I'm really curious if there are any others like me out there.

I've been riding for 7 years and have always enjoyed the challenge of riding in the wet and/or honing in on driving patterns in gridlock.

Am I normal or am I just stupid?

Edit 11:04pm

Oops. Posted this topic in the wrong forum. Sorry. Don't run me over.

[bmart]

Absolutely! Rain is the best teacher of proper body position and smoothness with all inputs. And...it is free! On track days in the rain, I am usually the only one riding!

Traffic is another story. In the old days when people mostly had driving to focus on when they were driving, it was very enjoyable. Now, driving is a side story to all of the other things their focus is on. I trailer the two hours to the mountains now to avoid it and stopped commuting on two wheels too.

[spud786]

Hello there. I'm a new VFRD member and am wondering....

Who else enjoys riding in the rain?

Who else enjoys riding in traffic?

My riding partner tells me I'm nuts, especially when I combine the two together, especially since I'm in southern California, but I'm really curious if there are any others like me out there.

I've been riding for 7 years and have always enjoyed the challenge of riding in the wet and/or honing in on driving patterns in gridlock.

Am I normal or am I just stupid?

Texas has been in a drought for 2 years, so Rain has not been frequent, a year ago a Hurricane hit texas and went up through the eastern portion of Texas, I rode towards it within 75 mile to test out the rain quality of a New tire I was running.

Dedication to the cause

[SEBSPEED]

Well, if you live anywhere in the Northeast there wasn't much of a choice this year. I prefer not to, but I don't let it keep me from riding and on occasion I do quite enjoy it.

Traffic, same kind of feeling. Prefer to stay away especially because I find it far too easy to create for myself a game of "dodge the rolling roadblocks"... like a 2 wheeled game of tetris that doesn't end until I've passed everyone!

[IntAceptor]

Who else enjoys riding in the rain?

Who else enjoys riding in traffic?

After X amount of years of doing the above. NO is the answer from my end.

[Toast]

I love riding in the rain. Only when it's not super heavy and not really cold. Summer rain is awesome. :)

[MBrane]

I do enjoy the rain for the most part, but not the traffic. I can deal with it, but find it much more tiring. Combining the two is just bad news. I'll avoid that if at all possible.

[MRChickhabit]

Rain is great! i was riding home today on a straight road, a few cars behind me going about 60mph when suddenly my rear tire lost grip with the road, i tried my best to keep it all under control, but...

i lost the left foot peg and rode it home in the rain, people who stopped to help me all said i did nothing wrong as far as they could see, i was going forward and then suddenly, i wasn't.

all this damn plastic is gonna cost an arm and a leg.

ALSO! my triumph rain suit (as well as my powertrip leather jacket) stayed intact through my entire 30ft or so of slide along the wet road, and all i got injury wise was 3 small abrasions, one dime sized on my knee, and two smaller ones on my elbow.

AND my Scorpion exo 400 helmet may fog to an excessive degree, but in this accident, i didn't feel ANY discomfort on my neck or (more importantly) my head.

[MBrane]

Ouch. That looks expensive.

[Guest Recalcitrance]

Yikes. Sorry to hear but glad you're alright.

[MRChickhabit]

Yikes. Sorry to hear but glad you're alright.

me too, it was a good test of equipment on the bright side!

[gll429]

i only got my licence to drive a CAR 3 years ago... been on 2 wheels my whole life..

dad a has a home video of me on bicycle with no training wheels.. age 3.. never lost a bicycle race in the rain..

and those skills transferred to the vfr.

for nuts.. come to the right coast and ride through a blizzard much more scary

[Baileyrock]

I spend most of my time riding in the mtns or foothills and I hit rain often and enjoy it as long as it's not a typhoon! If you have good wet tires anyway!

[VFR4Lee]

It doesn't rain much here, which is good by me, I don't like rain or riding in rain.

Will do it if I'm caught out in it, or if I have to for a trip.

Still don't like it. I prefer my tires have some traction.

Traffic is unavoidable here, so I deal with it even when it jams up.

Sometimes this means taking another route.

Sometimes it means splitting lanes.

I like that I get by a bunch of slow or stopped cars. I'd rather not ride that close to them, but I do.

The mountain roads are the best. The less traffic the better. And give me that SoCal sun please.

[Conedodger]

A warm, light summer rain with the visor open is refreshing.

[VFR4Lee]

A warm, light summer rain with the visor open is refreshing.

You must not wear glasses or contacts.

[Olive]

I must... I do it often enough.

Around here if you don't ride in bad weather, you really limit your riding opportunities. I don't mind the rain, however when it comes to a torrential downpour, heavy winds, hail or thunder storm I seek shelter. It goes without saying that with a six month parking season due to snow and ice, I leave the bike parked when those conditions develop.

Fogging glasses are an issue for me, but keeping the visor cracked when speeds are low can help keep things clear. Contacts are a blessing when travelling because they eliminate the excitement of riding blind when glasses fog over.

In terms of traffic, I am happier stuck in heavy traffic on the bike than in the car. It comes down to a question of mindset. On the bike I will look around and appreciate things in a way that I simply do not do in the car. The past few weeks on the way to work I have experienced some incredible sunrises waiting for traffic to crawl through a construction zone. That alone made the ride fantastic, despite the gridlock. Although I really prefer NOT to be stuck in traffic - my favourite roads are asphalt ribbons that are completely uninhabited by other vehicles, wildlife and the friendly officer with the radar gun. Part of riding for me is the solitude, and city riding/traffic/commute is a totally different ball game.

[Squamishvfr]

I'm Canadian. If you don't ride in the rain; you don't ride. When it rains I'm just happy to be on my bike doin' what I love. One just has to dress for it otherwise it does truly suck

[Duc2V4]

When I was in high school I used to ride daily, mostly to school but anywhere in general. That sometimes meant riding in the rain. On my little XL125, I used to love it! I would try and find places where there was no cars around and just "play in the rain", test my skills and just enjoy playing in the puddles. When I rode the CB650 and later the Magna, it was a little less fun, but still enjoyed riding in the rain.

As far as traffic, back then but more so now, I don't care for it. It's a necessary evil to be amongst the cars, busses and big rigs when riding on the freeways. I only lane split when it feels right and I only do this in the carpool or fast lane. Now a days people are more interested in their phones, texting and chatting away, rather than driving.

The other day I saw the most funny but frightening thing, a lady was driving a car full of young girls somewhere. When I glanced over as I was passing I noticed she was checking her phone while the whole carload of girls were individually all texting on their phones! Funny to see all five people in the car texting away, frightening due to the driver being one of them, and she was the adult! Shouldn't she be the one setting the example for these future drivers?

MrChickhabit, sorry about you bike. Glad you made it out OK!

[V-FORE]

I also have no aversion to riding in any weather being here in the Great North Wet I am comfortable in the rain, as long as there is no snow or Ice I am on two wheels. Good Gear is a must!

[VFR Capt.Bob]

Sometime...

I'm sort of nuetral on rain. I've rode through brief down pours in Yosemite and it was awesome. I rode up to my mountain cabin in Big Bear in a prolonged deluge and it started to suck and get scary. No brakes is the worst part of it and traffic slowing to a crawl was the killer of any adventure buzz I was having. First rain in California is oily no traction hell. After that, stay off the paint and keep your brakes warm allow some room and dress for the wet and it's not that bad. Dirt bike riding in the rain is pure fun out in the desert.

I think in areas that get plenty of rain, keeping the road conditions oil slick free, could be a lot of fun to ride in a moderate rain. Like someone mentioned you learn to become very smooth and body position, steering with the pegs weighted, pays off.

[bayarearider]

Sometime...

I'm sort of nuetral on rain. I've rode through brief down pours in Yosemite and it was awesome. I rode up to my mountain cabin in Big Bear in a prolonged deluge and it started to suck and get scary. No brakes is the worst part of it and traffic slowing to a crawl was the killer of any adventure buzz I was having. First rain in California is oily no traction hell. After that, stay off the paint and keep your brakes warm allow some room and dress for the wet and it's not that bad. Dirt bike riding in the rain is pure fun out in the desert.

I think in areas that get plenty of rain, keeping the road conditions oil slick free, could be a lot of fun to ride in a moderate rain. Like someone mentioned you learn to become very smooth and body position, steering with the pegs weighted, pays off.

:+1:

Riding off Glacier Point down to Yosemite Valley was a blast!

Overnight pricing at the Ahwahnee Hotel...Not so much.

Flooded Valley Campsites...Priceless.

[Guest]

my Coworker Gary rides in the Santa Cruz Mtns all the time in the rain...calls them " true grit rides" Also does track Days in the rain. That 's as hard core as I would ever be!

He's also been Racing for like 20 years...I tried to ride with him, but he's so darn fast! Believe it or not he rides a 250 on the street to slow him down.

[Guest Recalcitrance]

I guess we're pretty spoiled down here in SoCal. Riding in traffic is expected but the rain is a huge topic for debate. Since we rarely see proper storms, people here become suddenly stupid when the slightest bit of rain falls, making them worse drives than they already are. I'm mindful of that but still can't bring myself to drive.

Besides.....

I don't own a car, just bikes. Of the collection, the VFR gets daily attention. The rest, aside from the Blackbird, just sort of sit there, seething. =/

We don't really encounter things like snow or ice or any solid form of airborne water, but when it rains, I feel compelled to ride. Heavy rain is best, traffic or no traffic. Not sure why that is, but I just love being out in the wet. I suppose the only thing that keeps me off the bike is severe wind.

I've learned a lot during my time in the rain, but yes, I know that the weather here is nothing compared to the weather elsewhere so I should just shut up. =X

[Dutchy]

Go out in the rain on purpose? NO!

I ride my bike for fun (got a company car to drive to the office occasionally) so when the rain forecast looks like this

I will not go out.

But when I can see a few hours window in a certain area, I go out, taking my rainsuit with me.

When there have been a few dry, hot days, I'm EXTRA cautious in the rain. I've seen road surfaces literally foam up from the mixture of dust, diesel, rubber and heavy rain.