For the first time ever I parked beneath an overpass to wait out a passing rainstorm. I’ve seen other riders huddled under bridges or at gas stations to avoid the rain but I’ve always ridden on. To be fair, part of the motivation for waiting was I did not want to get the new BMW R nineT wet so it would remain reasonably pristine for photos. But the bigger issue driving the need to be sheltering from rain was lack of preparation.
Normally when I ride I have rain gear with me. On this machine there was no place for gear, tools, or anything else that would not fit in my pockets. There’s another reason though why I’ve never sought shelter from the rain — I’ve never really been caught in a dangerous downpour.
The next day I was in the van when a dangerous downpour presented itself. Like sheltering from rain the previous day I was close to pulling off the road for the first time because I could not see the road ahead and pools of water were forming on the road surface that made hydroplaning a real possibility. Again, like with previous rides, driving and riding through rain wasn’t a reflection of fortitude or courage on my part, I just had not faced a serious weather event that required a decision to be sheltering from rain.
I have to say there was an unexpected payoff to pulling off the road to wait aside from the selfie I made while sitting in the dirt. The sudden, forced isolation coupled with no knowledge of how long it would last was sobering — a lesson in loss of control. When I ride I kid myself that I am in control when the reality is that I am at the mercy of other drivers, weather and fate. I merely have limited control over myself and my machine.
Sitting along the road in riding purgatory offers an opportunity to experience some rather intense isolation. Or perhaps separation from the world is more precise. Either way you’re left with your thoughts as you sit on the earth. With a smart phone in your pocket it would be easy to medicate any uncomfortable feelings of being alone with the myriad tools for escape it provides and I did indulge with radar maps from Weather.com and a few pictures posted to Instagram. But I did recognize the opportunity to experiment with my reaction to sudden isolation.
Boredom, anxiety, and a desire to have control were all mixed together leaving me feeling oddly unsettled. I like to think riding is a meditative process but while I sat watching the rain and wondering when I would get my life back I wondered if riding wasn’t more escape than meditation.
By the time the BMW roared back to life I had found a calm place, one that was accepting of whatever would come along. But even that was probably an illusion since I had to only wait an hour, the air was warm, there was no pressing need to be anywhere and I wasn’t hungry. A few changes in circumstance would challenge the calm.
I have to think having a ride interrupted by weather is uncommon since so many riders are fair weather adventurers. But some of you that ride into the abyss surely have found yourselves sitting and waiting.
What did you find waiting for you?
I’ve been saying for decades to myself, that if I want it to ran all I have to do is ride (or wash my car). I ride – heavy rain, or shine, and I always have my rain gear with me. I’ve ridden in torrential downpours for many thousands of miles by now, and I even spent a full day riding across Texas in a deluge following a hurricane – it was raining so hard that day, that I was cruising down the four lane interstate at about 15 mph – and I was passing all of the cars and trucks, who were going even slower than me, if at all. And I’ve ridden many miles in unexpected snowstorms and blizzards — but those are stories for another day.
I’ve ridden a lot of bad weather miles as well but I think it was the first time I was on a motorcycle that I didn’t want to get wet. It was just too pretty. I’ve ridden other brand new bikes in the rain and didn’t really care. But the BMW R nineT seemed like something that you shouldn’t expose to the elements. Wonder what that’s about…
We have very few overpasses like that around here. Where two highways cross, they usually just put in a stop sign or a light. We probably don’t get the torrential rain that you see either. So I can’t remember a time when I pulled over to sit and wait.
We can’t control the weather but we can control whether we pull over when things aren’t safe.
I think it rains Grizzly bears where you are. And wolves chase you on the road. So that makes up for lack of rain torments.
You’re right about what we do control — our decisions on when to ride and when to pull over.
A timely reminder that at all times the rider is only in partial control.
Yep, partial control. That’s all we have.
It’s been quite awhile since I’ve been stuck in a gully washer so bad that waiting it out was the better part of valor. I will sit and wait for the first 10 minutes or so of most any rain just to give the water a chance to wash off the worst of the oil film that always hangs out on the surface.
That aside, riding in the rain is a more peaceful and relaxing experience than on a beautiful sunny day. Here in the Land-O-Tourists the rain keeps many of the more aggressive sightseers at the indoor attractions instead of stopping on a dime in the middle of the highway to look at any rock, tree or blade of grass that has historical significance.
That oddity coupled with the fact that speed limits are perceived as minimums instead of maximums and the only time folk slow down is for inclement weather….I’ll take the rain, please.
You make a good point about the first minutes of rain washing off the oil and slippery stuff. It’s good to keep in mind how slick the road can be at the start of a rain event.
I’ve always found riding in the rain peaceful and relaxing like you. That’s why it’s so odd that I pulled over but since it was a demo bike, that particular demo bike, I felt I had to. But being stopped and waiting was peaceful and relaxing as well. Weird.
Land-O-Tourists — I like that. Where exactly are you riding?
Sorry about that. I forget sometimes.. Currently I hang my hat down here in Gettysburg, PA
Gettysburg — lovely riding down that way!
Ah, Steve, you’re right – where there is meditation there cannot be boredom. Meditation and intense concentration/alertness have similar effects in that the mind quiets down, but when the reason for the concentration/alertness is over, boredom or mind busyness returns.
Hmm, this BMW doesn’t seem to be your type of machine (a tourer or an enduro would seem a better fit), but hey, at least the forks match your jacket in the photo 🙂 Nice pics, as always.
Sorry, Steve, I commented on this article before being aware of your BMW review below.
I’ve found that riding meditation also calms the body and not just the mind though they’re probably related. Since my heart attack I have to monitor my heart rate and I find that it’s always in a nice place when I’m riding. Last week I noticed my heart rate was 140 and I wasn’t don’t anything other than thinking about an uncomfortable situation. That was eye opening. I always associated heart rate with activity. Now I know.
The prescription is obvious — ride more!
Good post Steve, I’ve been in places and situations where I was surely the only human for many many miles around. The silence, as they say, was deafening sometimes. The feeling of vulnerability can be overwhelming if you’re having mechanical or terrain issues but getting safely back out is always very much a relief!
I don’t spend a lot of time with my thoughts however, there’s always the next curve to explore, the next hill to climb up to the top of to see what’s on the other side…..my motorcycle enables that with little effort on my part except for guiding it’s steering and hopefully, not smoking the clutch!
In Colorado I can imagine you would find places that leave you feeling vulnerable. Around here that’s a rare situation for me. Maybe the heart attack will change that but so far I’ve not felt it. In fact, the last time I recall feeling that way was in Utah and I was in a car.
I have recently added a more complete tool collection to the Vespa that will allow me to repair a wide range of failures and insults — at least the common easy things so I’m not left stranded and at the mercy of strangers. Like you though I’m often focused on what’s around the next bend…
Hope you and your family are having fun in Italy. Your blog posts have great pictures — makes me wish I was there.