The Lure of Riding in Fog
I really can’t help myself. When I wake and see fog outside all I can think of is feed the dogs and get the hell on the road. The pull of that magic atmosphere is strong despite the obvious risks. Like riding in the snow, I sometimes hesitate posting because I don’t want to suggest you ride in the fog. Or any other adverse weather condition. While it’s something I’m prepared to deal with and accept the additional risk, it is not something for every rider in every location.
Still, I make the choice to ride my Vespa in fog on three consecutive mornings. This day the fog was particularly dense in places with both visor and glasses fogging up making it hard for me to see and for others to see me. Normally I ride with earplugs to cut down on noise but went without them so I could more readily hear approaching vehicles. This is particularly important when you’re wandering around the road taking pictures. I would consider it a monumental failure to be hit by a car while using a camera.
The Mystery of Riding
Fog reduces the world to basic elements of line and shape as it obscures details. While it came make for interesting photographs it can make navigation and visibility a challenge. There have only been a few times I deemed it too dangerous to ride. This morning came close, mainly because of the increased traffic due to a Penn State Football game played later in the day. But traffic remained light to non-existent on these small rural roads.
Thoughts on Fog and Other Things
Traffic along USS 322 east of Boalsburg, Pennsylvania was brisk. Parked along the road I tried to make sure I was appreciating the magnitude of each vehicle as it passed. No matter the healthy respect I give them it’s impossible to divine the skill or attention level of the drivers. As I think about self-driving cars they may be a boon for for motorcycle riders everywhere. Unless in the collective celebration society deems motorcycles and scooters unacceptably dangerous and ban them from the highway. In our risk adverse country it does surprise me that there aren’t more restrictions.
For now, fog strips away a lot of the visual noise and leaves behind a simple stew of the things that make up the road.
I love fog and riding in it. It both obscures the beauty around you and enhances familiar landscape with a whole new beauty. Sadly, we get very few fog days here. But, again, as usua,l you bring it to me in vivid detail.
We get a lot of fog in spring and fall. Sometimes in winter when the temperature makes an unseasonal ride and there’s snow on the ground. It is beautiful.
” I would consider it a monumental failure to be hit by a car while using a camera.” A really bad exposure for sure.
Yeah, it would be a bad exposure. And difficult to correct in post!
This was my favorite line (made me lol) in a beautiful and thoughtful post!
I always wonder how many photographers worry about getting hit by cars. Especially the ones who photograph from that vantage point so much.
And glad to add some comic relief to your day!
As long as I can remember I loved the fog. As a kid our family owned a cabin in the local mountains, once or twice a year coming down the fog would be so heavy it rendered our headlights completely unless. For some reason my father would not give into the fact that there was no safe way to get down the mountain. We would drive down at a walking pace while following the solid line on the right side of the road at a pedestrian pace until we got below the clouds. For my father it was the call of the next days work.
I have memories like you of being in the car with my parents in fog that was so thick you can barely see. We don’t often get it that bad. Still, it’s magical. It was foggy here again this morning. Another reason to go for a ride.
Autumn is drawing in now. The lights on my BMW C1 are very poor. It makes a similar challenge to you and the fog.
Slowing down is key. But like you I do get a buzz from my mini adventure each day too and from work.
Going slow isn’t easy to do. At least for me. So much is challenging me to go fast — other vehicles, the clock, my brain. Slowing down is advanced riding in my opinion.
Does your C1 have a roof?
When I was eight, we moved to the panhandle of Florida. I have loved fog ever since. So thick I couldn’t see the water beneath the dock. Wonderful how it changes the way everything looks and sounds.
Fog by the water has it’s own special quality. Are there alligators in that fog?
Seems fog riding stretches a couple basic safety rules. SEE and BE SEEN.
I could always see pretty well…it was the BE SEEN part that spooked me.
My 30 mile, daily commute rides… over a foggy mountain ended when I retired…glad you find it interesting…I now ride VFR only.
I should probably adopt some sort of visual flight rules for my riding. I’m careful and deliberate but haven’t ruled much out aside from high winds and lightning.
Awwww….Thats the fun stuff….on a bike…not in the air.
I don’t know…
Love fog for pictures….though I then tend to pick spots even further away from traffic flow….your silver Vespa in fog, I would think it’d be almost invisible!
The Vespa does blend into the scene. I’m extra careful where I park it when making pictures. And often leave it running so the lights are on.
Beautiful images, Steve. The way fog creates flat and layered silhouettes is arresting and has the qualities of a graphic illustration…layers you can ride through.
Thanks Andy. Hard to go wrong with fog. And you’re right about the layers it can create. Becomes even more dramatic if there’s some light creating dark and light areas.
We still need to go for a ride!
I remember one ride a long time ago. I was riding North to South from Oregon to Mexico on the coast road, Highway 1. Even though the ocean was right beside the road, much of the time the coastal fog was so thick I could not even see it.
I think the thickest fog I’ve ever been in was on Highway 1 near Big Sur. Couldn’t see anything, anywhere. Scary.
The only thing I’ve seen that beats fog when it comes to inspriring mystical thoughts and feelings are the northern lights. I saw them once. I was 14. I had no idea how rare an occurence that would turn out to be. 51 years later I’m beginning to understand.
I’ve seen them once while in Maine. Amazing show. Sort of frightening to think of how much time passes between some events in our lives.