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November 2, 2006
The Boy Scouts Have It Right
The bit about being prepared, at least. Maybe not the bit about the copyright merit badge. (Yea, I know, you can't make that kind of stuff up.)
The weather 'round here has turned into typical Seattle fall/winter - which means wet. And the last few wet days have been wetter than usual - with actual rain, rather than the prolonged drizzle we normally experience. This morning was one of those wet days, and it happened to be a Thursday which means, as with Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and usually Friday, I had to go to work.
On the motorcycle.
In the rain.
I don't love riding in the rain - you've got less traction, less visibility, and without the right gear, you get wet, cold, and miserable.
Which is where the "be prepared" bit comes in.
I've got a First Gear Kilimanjaro jacket and matching over-pants, and let me just say "huzzah for modern textiles." Getting off the ferry this morning, I got the feature-film douse from a car driving through a puddle next to me - and had my helmet not been cracked, I'd have been bone dry. (The crack was just enough to let my face get damp, nothing terrible.)
I stripped off the gear at work, and save for the bottom hem of my jeans, you'd never know I'd been out in the wet. Worth every penny I paid for 'em, and then some.
The only tricky spot is I don't have a good set of gloves that are both warm, water proof, and comfortable. I have a pair of good winter gloves (good down to temps in the high 20's for a couple hours of riding), but they aren't water proof (even after applying Scotch Guard they suck up water like a sponge). I picked up a set of Joe Rocket waterproof gauntlets, but they let a bit of cold through - so this morning, in the low 40's, my hands were cold by the time I got to work (about 20 minutes on the road). After talking about it since a really cold trip over the grapevine years ago, I think it's time to solve the problem.
Posted by dberger at November 2, 2006 9:30 AM