[mojo1094]

I've been caught in rain a few times without my rain gear. Once it was during a track day at Gateway International Racepark.

The worst was after I bought my 954. I left for Chicago from Peoria on my GSXR 750. It's a 2 1/2 hour drive, I knew the storm was coming, but it was a slanted front (it was going to hit northern IL before middle) and I figured I had till about 5 before the storm hit. Well, taking a wrong turn and hitting a traffic snafu I got to my destination at 3pm. The bike looked fantastic (and it was). I rode it down the street, thought it was the best feeling bike ever, and promptly returned and bought it, decided to leave the 750 where it was (at a car dealership ... checked with the manager and it was fine) and then headed for home. I underestimated the speed of the storm. It was 4 and starting to rain.

The sky was black and it was summer. A massive wall cloud was moving over the south of the city, right where I was headed, but I figured I would just ride the leading edge of the storm the whole way. What did I forget about?

4 pm. weekday. Chicago.

The traffic was horrible. I was driving through the south west side where all the trucks like to go. Gridlocked traffic, I had a t shirt, helmet, jeans, boots and gloves. I felt the first rain drop and said "fuckit" and started splitting cars and riding on the shoulder. I told myself I was going to do this to the first exit and then take side streets to the south end. Yeah right.

Traffic was jammed up on the streets too, but at least it was moving. A truck stopped next to me and the driver was laughing. He rolled his window down and told me "you better get movin! Me and my convoy are pullin' off and waiting for this weather to pass!"

Great.

I start moving south again, making good time. It's comin' down hard now, and the sky is looking worse. Green, which isn't a color the sky should be. I hit highway now, and keep going south. Traffic is much better on the highway, but the clouds are now moving fast, low, and there is rotation.

This is where I start to get worried, pull off the road, and wait under an overpass.

There never was a touchdown of a tornado, but I tell you what ... that's as close to riding in a tornado I ever want to get.




I also left a friends house about 15 miles from home one night in what I thought was rain (no big deal) but turned out to be sleet (big deal). I had a decision to make ... go fast or slow. There was no real traffic, so I had my options. I opted for slow ... the sleet didn't hurt so much when I went slower (30), it was just COLD! This lasted till about the last mile, and I just couldn't take it. I went faster (50) and ended up with cuts all over my arms.

One other time there was snow, but it was melting and the roads were clear. So I decided to ride my bike home from the dealership (it was the day I bought my 750 gixxer). I got lot's of looks. It could have been the cold, the snow, or the CAST ON MY RIGHT ARM.

Since that first year of riding ... I'm much smarter now.