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Rain/Thunder/Hail/Tornado Strategies?

STEVE07 said:
You will find that if you have to pull under a bridge you will be far enough under to get away from the elements to feel a certain comfort zone. Me I usually get off the bike and sit on the incline to have a smoke as I watch the world pass by:D
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Bud White said:
i prefer to do the same jump up on the embankment and wait
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Gives you a great view of some idiot taking out your bike I guess. Better to be off of it if this is going to happen.
 
Hobbit said:
rain whats rain :D last storm i rode in had visibility down so far the Mway was down to 40mph - and muppet boy here did not have his waterproof trousers on as it had been loverly earlier with no warnings of storms on the TV, but the works METoffice link suggested storms :( when i pulled over to get off the road the bike sat there in a huge cloud of Steam everyone thought it had blown up or the radiator had sprung a leak telling them it was air cooled was so funny, seriously tho i like many in the UK do not stop riding when it starts raining
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Absolutely, if I did'nt ride when it was wet I probably would'nt get too ride. The only weather I really dislike is high winds, once a gust threw me across three lanes of a motorway and there was nothing much I could do about it.
 
STEVE07 said:
:D

Doc, I have to meet you in person so I can bring you over to the lighter side!
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DDogg said:
The lighter side being out from underneath that bridge. I don't think Doc likes bridges.
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Nah - I've just been cursed with the ability to see both sides of most every situation. Besides, somebody's got to play devil's advocate around here once in a while!
 
If we're going for a day ride from home.. check the weather the night before and again the morning of.. If bad weather is in the forecast we don't ride. Wife and I keep our rain suits packed in the saddle bags and never leave without them. While riding on a trip (several days) we have encountered all types of bad weather. Lightning will get us off the road fast... stop and take shelter quickly. If we have a lot of miles to cover and just rain.. we suit up after it has rained enough to get the oil off and take off. We have ridden all day in the rain to get to our destination. Last summer riding across the everglades while raining it started to hail and we found a place to stop and had a 2 hours lunch until the hail and lightning finished. On a trip to the Outer Banks of NC we came up on a high wind storm.. forming funnels with the dirt in the fields beside the roads... we pulled into a gas station until that stopped.. luckily never saw a tornado form but we all were expecting it. We enjoy the rides but not looking to make a story like... " can you top this". Live to ride another day....
 
Having even less miles than you Doc, I still have not gotten wise enough to buy rain gear. I watch the weather closely, although I had to start taking my chances realizing a 30% chance of rain was just about everyday, and most of the time it didn't rain. With that said caught in 2 bad ones. Windy and rainy, only pulled off the road for one, but realized quickly I did not like the Wind most, but could handle the rain. Although I also learned the need for good boots, since I had a tendency to ride with my dress shoes on just out of convenience. After 1 storm and my feet almost going out from under me at a stop, I no longer do that, always where the boots and keep the dress shoes at work.

Thankfully the rain has only been on the ride home, so it just means I am cold and wet when I get home and well it takes 2 to 3 times as long.

Now one of these days I'll get saddlebags and then maybe some rain gear to store in them. Then I'm probably guaranteed to never get caught in the rain :)
 
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I bought a good rain suit long before I had the bike. :s Got a good deal on it......but I usually keep it with me, helps control the weather. The one night I did need it, I was very glad to have it. Hope I never need it again. I am a fair weather rider.

I was by myself, & rode about 40 miles in a heavy rain. I learned from bicycle racing days, if I blink really fast, I can see better. I know it's required, but I don't like my lenses in the rain. That's just me, I think they are too hard to see through. I did keep the glasses on until about the last 5 miles, then I stopped & took them off. Was I ever happy to be home! I would have stopped to wait out the storm, but there were no good options for that by myself, (urban area).

The highway was shut down due to an accident, so I rode through town, I found that keeping the bike under 40 mph or so I felt that I had better control.
 
Been caught in the rain a lot of times. Eaiser to put the rain gear on before it starts raining on you. If there is a good place to get off the road, get off, if not, press on. Been caught in hail twice with no place to go but forward. Wind is exciting on some trips. Watch the weather but keep an eye on the sky, always, always carry the rain gear.
 
Living on the coast of Washington, rain is the norm. I have the high visibility HD gear in my bag 24-7. Pretty easy to see if you'll need it or not beforehand. Spring can become an issue when hail storms are more likely. Got caught a couple times wearing my half helmet, sunny day, go twenty miles, skies darken, hail comes and stings like a bazillion needles hitting your face. Try and carry my ff in the tour pak all the time now too.
 
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