Weather in the Atlanta area
Do real bikers ride in rain? Yes, of
course they do; the weather to include the rain doesn't stop a biker
from riding unless it is just too dam dangerous. Now, with saying
that, it is probably also going to be determined on what type of ride
is to take place.
I for one do not like to decide to
take a leisurely ride during rainy weather. It was like up in Ohio,
if it's too cold then a leisurely ride is not going to happen. You
want to enjoy those rides to the best you can, doing it in inclement
weather doesn't fit that bill. While riding the bike while being wet
isn't real bad, it isn't all that grand either. Add in a little
chill to the air and then you most likely will be down right
miserable. When you stop for gas and enter the station to pay do
people stare because of the snot-cicles dangling off your cheesy
smile? While it is fun to see their expressions and I get a good
chuckle out of things like that, getting to that point isn't fun. If
I am out just for a ride to stretch the old legs and get in the wind
I would like to be as comfortable as possible.
The rides that are must rides,
Patriot Guard missions – planned trips to further away locations –
vacations and etc. are those types of rides where the weather just
doesn't matter. Get on the bike and get going, slow it down a bit,
give yourself extra time and stop and wait out the worst of it.
I've noticed this year here in
Atlanta that you can't predict it all that much. Just yesterday I
was working from home and wanted to see what the weather was like. I
could hear thunder but saw mostly clear skies out the window. I saw
that there was a thunderstorm about 5 miles away but it wasn't moving
at all. Checking the radar loop online as I was intrigued by this
activity (or lack there of). The online radar loop showed that the
storm had developed in place and stayed there. I have seen
thunderstorms pop up here and there many times. In this area you
just can't count on a clear sky staying a clear sky. Does that mean
you stop riding, no, I just pay closer attention and am getting in
the habit of giving myself some extra time in case I need to slow
down or even stop to wait out a passing storm. Add in the humidity
and once you get through a rain shower it takes forever for the
drying out process, even at 80mph. Out west where there is low
humidity I've seen where a totally soaked cotton shirt had dried in
10 mins.
So here in Atlanta it seems we must
deal with the hit-n-miss rain showers, however we are lucky not to
have to deal with the 6 months of so of winter and the not so
fortunes of having PMS (parked motorcycle syndrome).
Bottom line for me is to deal with it
just like the traffic around here, yea it's a headache at times but
there are trade-offs. Give yourself extra time to deal with these
things and stay off the bike in those 95+ degrees 80%+ humidity days
and you can enjoy it all the same.
Take it easy,
Garm
