I throw on my Belstaff Adventure jacket, Aerostich AD1 pants and my JR Sonic boots, and haul butt down to the parking lot. As I'm warming up the Uly, the wind starts to pick up. I guestimate that I have time to get home before the sky opens up. So, I pack my rain jacket in the side case, strap on my helmet and hit the road. About 1/3 of the way home, I see cars in the oncoming lane with their wipers on, completely soaked. Crap. Time to pull over and throw on my rain jacket. Keep in mind, I've never worn this rain jacket since my TourMaster Transition II is "waterproof". The bright yellow Teknic rain jacket fits well over the Belstaff, except the sleeves are about 4 inches too short.
With the hatches all battened down, I hit the road and then the sky breaks free. Visibility drops, so I adjust my speed accordingly. The Bridgestone Battlax tires have always done well in the wet and the Uly has smooth power delivery, so traction is good. Using the Sena SMH5 and Siri, I send Shrewsieq a message updating her that I'm dry and safe.
Dry with the exception of my hands, so I click the grip heaters to low and concentrate on trying to see out of my rain splattered visor. (Mental note, find my glove squeegee.) Thankfully, the ride home was uneventful. I pull into the driveway after crossing some flash floods and see she has the garage door cracked open and ready for my arrival. (Mental note #2, research garage door openers and #3, my wife is awesome.)
I peel off my gear and find only my hands and the bottom of my work pants are wet. Had I tucked my pants into my boots, they would be dry. No infamous Aerostich wet crotch and no leaks from the Teknic jacket. However, rain has some how got between the clear layer and the reflective layer on the reflective stripes. Not sure how that affects the visibility.
All in all, I actually like riding in the rain, assuming I can see.
2 comments:
Glad you made it home safe.
Thanks Surly, it was a wet ride!
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