Severe thunderstorm

[dentheman]

Here in west Texas, severe thunderstorms can pop up with little warning this time of the year. A severe thunderstorm is one with winds 60 mph or more, and/or hail 1 inch in diameter. Even the weather service has trouble forecasting when and where they will strike.
So yesterday evening I decided to ride my favorite twisty country road in the dark. I wanted to get a different view of the mesas along the route, and maybe see some critters.
I checked the weather radar and the 6 hour forecast and saw thunderstorms north of where I would be going, but not expected to effect my route. So off I went.
As I am riding about 30 miles from home as the crow flies, I notice a little lightning in the direction of home. I will have to ride quite a ways before I get to the road that takes me towards home; once I get to that point the lightning appears to be closer to home, so I decide to continue south to Post, TX. about 25 miles away. As I pull into a covered gas station my phone rings, it is my daughter telling me to hurry home because we have a severe thunderstorm warning. Her phone tracker shows me at 15th street, but not that I am at 15th street IN A DIFFERENT TOWN! She describes what the radar is showing, and I decide to try to make a run for home and beat the storm. BIG MISTAKE!
About halfway home I hit the storm. It is the first time I have ridden in the rain, and this was no ordinary gentle rain. So what did I learn from this?
1. When a storm threatens, find a safe haven and stay there until it lets up.
2. Cages don't slow down even when heavy rain is being blown in horizontal sheets. I tapped my brake light several times as vehicles came up behind me.
3. Rain feels like hail when it is hitting me at speed.
4. I can't see crap at night with rain pouring down and there are no streetlights. It doesn't help to have the headlight on low or high beam, and a wet faceshield. It was a good thing there was a fog stripe along the side of the road so that I could navigate in some places.
5. Strong cross winds on a wet road made me worry that I might lose traction when compensating.
6. Close lightning strikes are not enjoyable.
7. My modular helmet is very waterproof, but the faceshield fogs up in the rain (even with open vents), so I had to open it a little which defeated the waterproof.
8. My boots are not water resistant, so I made a squish-squish sound until I took them off. I was soaked to the bone. My phone was soaked, but works fine. My 'as seen on TV' aluminum wallet was a good investment, everything stayed dry.
9. My motorcycle has never been cleaner. Dusty crannies that I couldn't reach are sparkeling clean.
I guess that's about it, an enlightening experience overall. But I don't want to do it again!

[Rionna]

Wow that sounds like a very scary experience. Glad you are safe!

[Rookie Rider]

Wow, consider yourself lucky. Sounds crazy. Your daughter must have been so scared for you to make it home safe.

[dentheman]

Originally Posted by Rookie Rider

Wow, consider yourself lucky. Sounds crazy. Your daughter must have been so scared for you to make it home safe.

Yeah, I scare my daughter and myself every so often. The last time she was this scared was a few years ago when I didn't have a motorcycle, but would ride my bicycle for long distances. I was a couple miles from home, again trying to beat a storm. I phoned her to say I was pulled over in heavy hail, waiting for a tornado to cross the road in front of me. She ran out back, got a photo of the funnel, grabbed the dog and went into the bathroom for shelter. When I got home she was crying.
The photo and story were on the Weather Channel.
I could have taken a photo with my phone, but the thought didn't cross my mind at the time.

By the way, my daughter is an adult, I am not leaving a little kid by herself.

[Rookie Rider]

Ok, i was going to ask her age. Lol.

[northsidegz]

Whoa. That is a scary story. I haven't ridden in rain yet either and I'm hoping I don't get myself stuck in that situation! Glad you're safe and thanks for the comments on what you learned! It's good to know for a newbie like me.

[dentheman]

Originally Posted by northsidegz

Whoa. That is a scary story. I haven't ridden in rain yet either and I'm hoping I don't get myself stuck in that situation! Glad you're safe and thanks for the comments on what you learned! It's good to know for a newbie like me.

I will add one more thing. When I said I was afraid that I would lose traction on the wet pavement due to the strong cross-wind (item #5), I thought that feeling was just because of my inexperience. But tonight I was again leafing through Proficient Motorcycling, by Hough, and read that it CAN happen!

[vikz250]

Yap know what you mean! I was riding on my way home last monday during a thunderstorm/lightning/wind and rain and it is a little scary specially for a newbie like me and that was my 1st time driving in the rain to!, I just keep saying slow down and watch out for the lightning..

[mrlmd1]

Most of the time thunderstorms are short-lived, sometimes traveling as fast as 30 mph. Better to sit somewhere and wait it out than to ride in periods of reduced visibility for yourself and to cars, get blown or in a slide off the road, get soaked and freezing cold, getting hit by a car, etc, etc. Then when the rain stops, watch out for large puddles and debris/leaves, etc, on the roads.