BIKE TRIP 2024 - LESSONS FROM THE ROAD

Each year after my annual motorcycle ride, I try to reflect on Lessons from the Road. ?This year my travel of roads that I had not been on before on a bike took me 4600 miles in 9 days. ?Route I-10 to Florida, up to South Carolina, then back through Nashville, south to Dallas, and finally I-20 to I-40 and home to Prescott.

I almost changed course coming home when I saw flood warnings in Dallas. ?But as I had not ridden those roads, I decided to chance it. ?Guess what? ?Little Rock to Dallas was a challenge! ?The song in my mind for several hours was Riders on the Storm.

1.????? You must prepare your gear before you leave, not when the storm hits. ?Fortunately, the Goldwing has a setting for rain and a great windshield. ?Beyond that the key is not to dress heavy, but strategically to keep the water flowing off at highway speeds.

2.????? Keep in mind you are riding through the storm, not in it. ?My mind went to Psalm 23. ?Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I shall fear no evil. ?It’s amazing how quickly you dry off, at least in summer months.

3.????? Adjust your speed accordingly. ?No matter how experienced I am I cannot surmount zero visibility. ?So far, I have not figured out how to put a wiper on my windshield. ?That means that in torrential downpours and puddling on the road, visibility is a factor. ?Add to that bumper-to-bumper traffic and trucks, and frankly the only way to see is stick your head off to the side of the shield. ?Trying to drive defensively in such posture is not easy but what choice do you have? ?NOTE: I will pull off for rain, ice and sleet. ?But if you are riding long distances, I don’t see how you can practically stop for rain. ?The temptation is to set the cruise on high speed to get through the storm, but more speed may not be the best solution.

?4.????? Be encouraged by other riders. ?You are not alone. ?Last year I hit a stretch of two-lane road in Montana heading towards the Canadian border in driving rain. ?Literally no place to stop or find shelter. ?This went on for over an hour. ?I was feeling pitiful. ?Then in the distance I saw one headlight approaching. ?A bike. ?As it came closer, I could see this rider had NO coat, no windshield and as he approached, he threw his left hand into the air in a sign of triumph and victory. ?He was celebrating what I was whining about. ?I finished that evening in a rundown hotel, safe and ashamed of my self-pity.? We chose to ride our bikes. ?If we want shelter…take a Greyhound. ?

5.????? Realize there probably is a point to just stop. ?Hate to admit it and have not done it often, but sometimes we just call Uncle, and live to ride another day. ?At a hotel stop a driver coming from the direction I was heading into stated cryptically, “you’re about to find out if you are a guy who rides a bike or a bike rider.”? I wish he hadn’t said that. ?Made me determined to ride…even when I probably shouldn’t.? Remember, we can always pull over and lie about it later. ?Riding is like fishing that way. ?But live to lie about it. ?It is a small lie. Or we could simply tell our buddies we used discretion.? Remember, bikers are hit by lightning each year.

See you on the Road.

?Gene