880jedi
Registered
I have been commuting all week on the Busa, even with the rain in the forecast. Monday and Tuesday had a few sprinkles on the way to work, and Thursday the ride home had again some light rain, but not enough to even warrant a worry at all. Taking the Camaro was not even considered because I was watching the radar each morning.
Tonight's commute home had some issues for me. The Rain God's unleashed their wrath on me with a vengeance. I was at work, looking at the radar, and seeing the colors change from green, to yellow, and turning red as the storm got closer to the East Bay. A 5:00pm departure had to be researched, plotted and evaluated for safety reasons. I knew the options were all bad, so I had to choose one that will allow me the chance to make it home without incident. Waiting out the storm might have me leaving closer to midnight. Not what I wanted tonight.
Realizing that I just paid a healty chunck of money for the latest rubber, that touts being rain superior, it was time to rely on many hours and dollars of R&D in that area. It was departure time, rain coming down hard, and myself mentally prepared to fight this monster. A few miles of city driving, with stop lights, many crosswalks, and brakes that seemed to be lacking due to slow speed stops in wet conditions. The cagers were looking at me like I was crazy, and they were right.
My on ramp was backed up, and I see a mass of cars, packed on the freeway with nowhere to go. The red of their brake light illuminated as darness fell. The rain was coming down hard now, but I was still dry, warm, and glad I was about to embark into a sea of crushing metal that was only a few feet apart from each other, even in the worst conditions. They were warm, had music playing, and some even checking their Facepage while driving in this mess. I had no time to be the Enforcer of all things wrong. I had a mission to complete.
I weaved my way into the commuter lane, which was backed up as well as the other lanes. The choice to lane share was a no brainer. I'm an expert at that, even in the wet conditions. The first mile along I encounter a tour bus. It looks larger than life tonight, and I need a few minutes to get an opportunity to pass. A cager in the number two lane actually moved over to allow the pass, and a thank you wave was given for the gesture.
Then another mile of so of normal driving, and next was a big F-450 with monster sized mirrors. Had to duck a bit when passing the big dually, but he moved over at the last minute. I'm sure he wasn't expecting an 2 wheeler to pass him tonight in these conditions.
Passing Tennyson Blvd exit, the traffic opened up a bit, and the rain was dumping hard. The spray from the cars were causing visibilty issues now, and my gloves became soaked. Passing the Highway 92 overcrossing, my speed approched 50mph, and I thought with a 600 lb bike, and 200 pounds of driver and gear, that I was glad for driving a heavy steed tonight, but then I was being bounced due to the construction leaving the road surface in less than ideal conditions. Time to be confident in my bike, tires, and experince in these less than stellar roads.
Now the traffic was increasing in speed, and the standing water on the road was getting worse. I tried to follow the wake of the car tracks that I was behind, knowing that would prevent hitting a puddle while dong freeway speeds. I had a van on my tail once, trying to get me to go faster because I was trailing the car with more space than normal, and he got a bit too close, but then passed me on the right, and then got in front of me, leaving a wake of spray that wasn't fun. Bastard.
Now approaching my off ramp at Marina Blvd, I had to cross 5 lanes of traffic, weaving, and not losing focus of the task of staying smooth and composed. I think my blinker was looking larger than life tonight, becaus folks were giving me some space, which I wanted. I down shifted to 2nd gear, leaned a bit on my off ramp to check the wet grip, and was very happy with the results. The tires were outstanding in the wet conditions, but I wasn't home just yet.
As soon as I stopped for the first red light, the rain coming down in buckets, I could feel the moisture creeping it's way into my clothes. The 'Stich was now waterlogged and sitting still, it was making it's way to my crotch, arms, and backside. The light seemed red for longer than the usual time, and I was now just wanting to get home. A few more city intersections, and arrival at the complex. I had made it.
I parked in my spot, put the cover over the wet Busa, and took a moment to realize that I had accomplished a commute that could have ended with a terrible result if anything had been different. I'm sure I had some luck tonight, but I'll still lean on some skill, confidence, and good tires that made it a sucess. I hope every ride home ends with good results.
Thanks for reading my story.
Tonight's commute home had some issues for me. The Rain God's unleashed their wrath on me with a vengeance. I was at work, looking at the radar, and seeing the colors change from green, to yellow, and turning red as the storm got closer to the East Bay. A 5:00pm departure had to be researched, plotted and evaluated for safety reasons. I knew the options were all bad, so I had to choose one that will allow me the chance to make it home without incident. Waiting out the storm might have me leaving closer to midnight. Not what I wanted tonight.
Realizing that I just paid a healty chunck of money for the latest rubber, that touts being rain superior, it was time to rely on many hours and dollars of R&D in that area. It was departure time, rain coming down hard, and myself mentally prepared to fight this monster. A few miles of city driving, with stop lights, many crosswalks, and brakes that seemed to be lacking due to slow speed stops in wet conditions. The cagers were looking at me like I was crazy, and they were right.
My on ramp was backed up, and I see a mass of cars, packed on the freeway with nowhere to go. The red of their brake light illuminated as darness fell. The rain was coming down hard now, but I was still dry, warm, and glad I was about to embark into a sea of crushing metal that was only a few feet apart from each other, even in the worst conditions. They were warm, had music playing, and some even checking their Facepage while driving in this mess. I had no time to be the Enforcer of all things wrong. I had a mission to complete.
I weaved my way into the commuter lane, which was backed up as well as the other lanes. The choice to lane share was a no brainer. I'm an expert at that, even in the wet conditions. The first mile along I encounter a tour bus. It looks larger than life tonight, and I need a few minutes to get an opportunity to pass. A cager in the number two lane actually moved over to allow the pass, and a thank you wave was given for the gesture.
Then another mile of so of normal driving, and next was a big F-450 with monster sized mirrors. Had to duck a bit when passing the big dually, but he moved over at the last minute. I'm sure he wasn't expecting an 2 wheeler to pass him tonight in these conditions.
Passing Tennyson Blvd exit, the traffic opened up a bit, and the rain was dumping hard. The spray from the cars were causing visibilty issues now, and my gloves became soaked. Passing the Highway 92 overcrossing, my speed approched 50mph, and I thought with a 600 lb bike, and 200 pounds of driver and gear, that I was glad for driving a heavy steed tonight, but then I was being bounced due to the construction leaving the road surface in less than ideal conditions. Time to be confident in my bike, tires, and experince in these less than stellar roads.
Now the traffic was increasing in speed, and the standing water on the road was getting worse. I tried to follow the wake of the car tracks that I was behind, knowing that would prevent hitting a puddle while dong freeway speeds. I had a van on my tail once, trying to get me to go faster because I was trailing the car with more space than normal, and he got a bit too close, but then passed me on the right, and then got in front of me, leaving a wake of spray that wasn't fun. Bastard.
Now approaching my off ramp at Marina Blvd, I had to cross 5 lanes of traffic, weaving, and not losing focus of the task of staying smooth and composed. I think my blinker was looking larger than life tonight, becaus folks were giving me some space, which I wanted. I down shifted to 2nd gear, leaned a bit on my off ramp to check the wet grip, and was very happy with the results. The tires were outstanding in the wet conditions, but I wasn't home just yet.
As soon as I stopped for the first red light, the rain coming down in buckets, I could feel the moisture creeping it's way into my clothes. The 'Stich was now waterlogged and sitting still, it was making it's way to my crotch, arms, and backside. The light seemed red for longer than the usual time, and I was now just wanting to get home. A few more city intersections, and arrival at the complex. I had made it.
I parked in my spot, put the cover over the wet Busa, and took a moment to realize that I had accomplished a commute that could have ended with a terrible result if anything had been different. I'm sure I had some luck tonight, but I'll still lean on some skill, confidence, and good tires that made it a sucess. I hope every ride home ends with good results.
Thanks for reading my story.
