Pucker ride this morning

[bobhamlin]

Weather forecast said rain. Not showers--rain. I could hear on the roof that the rain was intermittently heavy. When I walked out to the garage at 5:30am, I glanced at the car for a moment, but the biking enthusiast (nut) in me said, "It's not cold, just wet. Cowboy up, Nancy." So I made sure my raingear was properly sealed, put on my full-face and started out in a light rain.

The first 20 minutes was just light rain, which is hardly noticeable: spray from cars and water streams on my wind- and faceshields.

Then, the roadway got extremely wet--as if a heavy rain cell had just passed through. The point where Rte. 15S offers the option of going down I-270 or I-70E or heading on toward Leesburg, VA or Harpers Fairy, WV, is a stretch that requires attention because traffic moves in, over and around to get to their turn-offs.

Plus, there is a fairly sharp (and semi-blind) left bend in the highway. At 70 mph (flow of traffic), this bend normally demands my full attention and requires a signficant lean (for a highway).

Having already backed off the throttle a bit because of the very wet conditions and tight turn, something abnormal caught my attention at the end of the curve a couple cars ahead, The car ahead of me (I follow at a very safe distance around this turn) caused a big splash. Splash!? Standing water!! I had no idea how deep and I no time to slow down completely. I let off the throttle, used both brakes to slow down as much as possible. (I had no idea of traffic behind me except that no one was tail-gating)

Just before I hit the water I sat up straight, tightened my grip and actually wondered, "How does a hydroplane work? Both tires?" .. and the bike went through the water like a champ. Probably about 40 mph.

I saw another couple splashes through standing water and am now a lot more aware of trying to read a highway for potential standing water: valleys, the lower sides of sideways sloping lanes, etc.

Ihis morning, I gained a lot of respect for highway engineering (excellent work over all) and tire treads.

"What does not kill you makes you stronger." Conan the Barbarian(?)

[samkjr]

Glad you made it through that safely Bob. I too have been in the same situation and it is scary. I think that as long as we slow down decently, our bike is heavy enough and tires skinny enough that we wont exactly hydroplane. The key factor is, did we slow down enough?
Since you made it out OK, we can just chalk it up to practice. HAve fun and stay safe.

[redjay]

No "Cowboy Up" for this guy. Being from England I have ridden in the rain plenty. Now if it looks like rain its the cage for me. I ride for pleasure these days and riding in the rain is no pleasure. Too much pucker for me !

[dandolfn]

Nice driving!! Glad you survived!

I went out last night for Chinese food. Looked dark off in the distance, but I thought I'd be OK.

Started sprinkling when I picked up the food (I sure like those Nomad bags!), but about halfway home, I got caught in a pretty severe thunderstorm.

The rain didn't bother me so much, except thru the turns, but there were a few lightning and thunder blasts that nearly made it necessary for me to change my shorts!

Does anyone know if lightning is as relatively safe on bikes as it is in cars?

Regardless, I did not like it!

[Yellow Jacket]

Originally Posted by dandolfn

Does anyone know if lightning is as relatively safe on bikes as it is in cars?

Well here's the way I understand it.

Many people believe the safety provided by an automobile is because of the rubber tires. Actually, that has nothing to do with it.

The safety from the lightning is derived from the enclosed metal framework of the body. The electrical current travels across the outside of an enclosed metal container, not through it.

I don't believe there is any protection from lightning while on a bike. The same as a golf cart, no protection.

[VulcanE]

Great job on handling the standing water!
While we were at the rally in Helen Ga. a couple of months ago, I remember hearing on the news one night that a motorcyclist in the mid-west was killed by lighting on his way home from a benefit ride that he had been on. :'(

[dennisbailey]

Been there, done that. Don't like it a bit.

[barrynfla]

Originally Posted by dandolfn

Nice driving!! Glad you survived!

I went out last night for Chinese food. Looked dark off in the distance, but I thought I'd be OK.

Started sprinkling when I picked up the food (I sure like those Nomad bags!), but about halfway home, I got caught in a pretty severe thunderstorm.

The rain didn't bother me so much, except thru the turns, but there were a few lightning and thunder blasts that nearly made it necessary for me to change my shorts!

Does anyone know if lightning is as relatively safe on bikes as it is in cars?

Regardless, I did not like it!

Stay away from the lightning, Dan!!! We wanna get a chance to ride with you!

[jamiep24]

Bob, can ya send some of that rain down here in Mississippi? Hasn't rained hardly a drop in over a month and the Summer's just now getting here. Jamie