Steve,
I totally respect your decision. You shared some really wise words in the process.

It’s vital for us to see what’s really there. The actual truth and not information that’s colored by our preconceived notions.

I’ll bet you were pretty tired by the time you got home, though. It’s amazing how much riding in bad conditions takes out of us.

You’ve matured greatly as a rider, Grasshopper. Just don’t forget to have fun, too!

And my wife and I were just looking at a cabin for sale a couple miles upstream from where the Vespa was in the picture. We were trying to imagine life in the woods…

Orin: Way upwards of 450 in my case. Everything you wrote is right on target on how to manage slippery roads. Someday I am going to get out to that city of yours and go for a ride!

Harv: I’m always misinterpreting but I didn’t find anything wrong with what you wrote. It just got my brain a turning…

Gary: Great to hear from you! I was looking at Rush Hour Rambling over the weekend and wondering how you were doing. I sent you a message at the old address I had. Hopefully it still works and you’ll get back to me.

Cliff: I certainly understand the pull to soldier on but I’ve gotten to the stage where I feel content in where my skills are and will file them away for emergencies only.

At least that’s the plan right now.

Ride well,
=gc=

Harv

Of course, you go more slowly; under conditions like you describe, I’m more afraid of the actions of impatient drivers (esp. passing too closely) than my ability to navigate the bike through the conditions at hand. The racing experience comes into play here–you want your control inputs to be deliberate and economical, and you don’t want to be surprised, so you look way ahead.

Luckily, living in the city means I have many, many alternate routes…

__Orin
Scootin’ Old Skool

Not for me. The top heavy nature of my rig would have had me on the ground in two seconds flat. I wouldn’t trust my legs to hold bike upright either. But I have two friends who have managed it. I guess it takes a great deal more confidence thn I have, or less experience with a bike on top of me.

Great pictures as usual. I am determined to get more pictures like yours… Shots that calm the soul.
I went back to look at the previous post with your scooter alongside the creek. I just like the whole idea of it.

Fondest regards,
Jack
Twisted Roads

That said you still need to, as you rightly point out, be honest in assessing your own ability. We all have limits and I certainly have mine.

Harv: More chance that I’ll succeed than fail. That’s what I do. The problem is the percentages for each and how accurate my predictions are. Would you ride somewhere if you believed your chances of success were 60 percent? Or 70?? That’s what is occupying my thoughts as I reconsider this ride.

Baron’s Life: You probably aren’t the only one who thinks this is nuts to ride in. All I can say is that the roads yielded more traction than the pictures may indicate — a combination of temperature, the quality and amount of slush, and a knowledge of what I could do with the Vespa on my specific ride home. I’ll tell you that my biggest concern was not my own ability to keep the rubber side down, but rather the other vehicles abilities to stay in their lanes and not try to rush when conditions weren’t at their best. Another risk to consider.

Heinz N Frenchie: I’ll be careful. Don’t look for anymore rides like this one. I’m going to apply a lot wider margin of error to the weather forecasts.

John Ashford: Riding in conditions like this find me hyperaware. Everything is running. It isn’t a matter of courage or fortitude. But you’re right, in the future I need to err in a different direction.

Joe: You raise an issue that will be the subject of a future post — how much risk to take. If I have any concern about my posts it is that someone will think they should be doing this. I don’t. I believe that as I gain more experience I will make fewer errors in judgment regarding weather and not have to make the decisions like the one in this post.

cpa3485: Thanks for your kind words. I talked with someone yesterday and they felt that “yeah, you calculated the risk but came up with the wrong answer”.

I need to consider that statement carefully.

Well done!!

– Joe at Scootin’ da Valley