This morning I started out just south of Lebanon, TN on my US 70 eastbound. Smooth road, no traffic, wide sweeping turns, speed limit of 45. You could go faster but you might miss some of the beautiful countryside so 45 was plenty fast enough. What a great way to wake up!!
I was hoping that the rain would go through over night and be gone this AM. What I think happened, is that yesterday’s rain went through just north of where I was and missed me altogether. Today’s rain was going to be a different story. I was definitely in front of the rain when I started out this AM. I was sure I could easily outrun it if I took I-40 but I’d had my fill of that yesterday and would rather be wet than spend another day on the Interstate. You know the wind change that comes right before it starts raining? I was riding in that turbulent wind for over two hours. Then it was spitting rain but just a little and certainly not enough to make me stop to put on the rain gear. I was having fun staying just in front of the rain, riding toward the lighter sky, and daring the rain to just try to catch me. Then – – it started getting dark. I was getting wet and decided to stop and get the rain gear (most of it) on. I have spare everything – except boots, and boots take a LONG time to dry out and it’s no fun at all wearing wet boots – so I took care of them first. I wasn’t going to put the rain suit on but figured the jacket would at least keep my leather vest dry. The pants are a PAIN to put on, so I didn’t. Later, I regretted that decision. What I should have done is follow the advise of a “good ole boy” at one of my gas stops. He said, “Better hunt you a dry spot.” If I had done just that, it would have taken 45 minutes to an hour for it to blow over but I had no way of knowing.
It rained moderately for 20 of my last 30 miles, and POURED for the last 10. But that wasn’t a big problem because I never got over 35 mph. As most of you know, riding in the rain isn’t a big deal for me but I’m going to need some different glasses or maybe a scuba mask for these situations – getting water on the outside AND the inside of your glasses makes things, “interesting…..”
Oh yea, someone got themselves a nice souvenir last night. I guess they must have needed a California license plate for their collection. Luckily, the one on the bike is difficult to get to – they took the one off the trailer. Some people’s kids…….
