Scooter in the Sticks

Exploring life on a Vespa, Royal Enfield Himalayan, Honda Trail 125, and a Kawasaki W650

Managing Risk While Riding in Fog

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Vespa scooter along fog shrouded highway

Morning rides to work of late have been made in fog.  As much as I love the visual and emotional appeal of the mist, I never lose sight of the risk associated with poor visibility.  Riding in fog, like riding in snow requires thought and practice to understand and manage that risk.  My advice to anyone considering a trek in pea soup?  Don’t.

Much depends on where you ride — how much traffic, the nature of the traffic, the road surface and likelihood of unexpected holes or debris, that sort of stuff.  Riding in central Pennsylvania on a scale of 1 to 10 with the Nevada desert being 1 and the DC Beltway at rush hour being 10, I give our in town roads a 4 and the rural ones a 2.  If there were no deer they would be a 1.

I wouldn’t ride in heavy fog anywhere beyond a 5.  Each rider has to gauge their own skill and risk acceptance.  It’s the key to managing risk while riding in fog.

Vespa scooter in fog

Thinking about special skills or abilities related to riding in fog the following come to mind:

  • Choose time and route carefully — look for ways to minimize interaction with traffic.
  • Adjust speed to account for acceptable stopping distances while not becoming an obstacle to be run down from behind — not always an easy calculation but one worth working on.
  • Don’t tailgate — what is it about motorcycle and scooter riders that makes them want to follow a tail light on a car?
  • Learn how to pull over — there are times and situations you should not be on the road and you need to pull over and let the noise and chaos pass.  If your ego or stubbornness won’t allow this then leave the scooter or motorcycle at home.
  • Know how to keep your visor clear while riding — this is harder than it sounds, especially in heavy fog.
  • Keep in mind the road surface might be slippery — especially fog when the temperature drops towards freezing.  Maybe just stay at home and if not, slow down.  Really slow down.
  • Just take the bus — don’t ride.  This is the best choice.

Riding provides more than fun, it offers an opportunity to engage a personal puzzle that involves personality, common sense and problem solving abilities.  In a world bent on reducing risk to zero riding in general is an act of rebellion to that part of our culture.  Pushing into fog, rain, snow and dark of night, that creates a completely different character of rebellion.  Make sure you know what you’re getting into.

Ride safe.

Thin Grey Fog

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Vespa GTS 250ie scooter near Penn State's Beaver StadiumThin grey fog, one of many types from pea soup to frozen fog, each with their own character, every one whispers, calling me away from my appointed rounds. Diverted, delayed, distracted, I banked the Vespa from the pavement onto the gravel and into the fog.  I can’t resist, in honesty I don’t desire to resist.  In the dim mist a boy’s dreams of mystery, suspense and adventure come to life.

The little ride to work has a bit more bite, a little more grit.

Life on a Vespa is sweet.  A ride in the fog is magnificent.

Just watch out single strands of fence wire strung across open gates…

 

What About Rain Riding?

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Rain riding a Vespa GTS scooter and Mt. Nittany

Should I Ride a Scooter or Motorcycle in the Rain?

The soft light that paints the bedroom walls on a rainy morning is like a sleep drug, seducing the weak deeper under blankets and pillows.  Only a desire to ride the Vespa tears me from the next of dreams and into the day.  Still, looking out the window at the rain I ask myself, “Should I ride in the rain?”.

At best, rain riding on a scooter or motorcycle in the rain means additional work — physically and mentally.  For a recently escaped prisoner of sleep a decision to ride in the rain is not easy to make.

While walking the dog I tested the road surface to see how much of the slippery scum that collects during normal road use was still there or if enough rain had fallen to wash it away.  Giving the road some test kicks with my riding boots confirmed that the roads were wet but not slimey.  So off I went towards town using detours of my own creation.  By the time I stopped to look at Mt. Nittany the rain was beginning to clear.

Vespa GTS 250ie along a wet roard

Riding Risk in the Rain

Out in the sticks the bigger issue with rainy roads is the country debris that can find it’s way into a rider’s path; dirt and mud from trucks and tractors, hay, grass and other crop debris that’s fallen onto the road, and my favorite roadway nightmare — liquid manure that’s dripped from a wide range of manure conveyances.  All of these things combined with a little rain can present like insidious traps designed solely to introduce rider to pavement.

This morning was a tough call.  I wanted to ride but was resisting the extra gear that makes rain riding tolerable.  One last check of the weather radar on my smart phone an I decided to take the risk.

rain clearing during a morning Vespa ride

Visibility, Traction and Other Issues

Aside from the traction issues related to rain a rider must keep in mind the changes in visibility.  If drivers don’t see you in the daylight who knows what they see in the rain.  As much as I love to see the weather changing as I ride I turn up the dial on watching the behavior of others on the road.   That’s everything from the teenage driver talking on their phone to the squirrels and groundhogs darting across the road.

Riding into State College, Pennsylvania this morning was a small gift brought on by the decision to undertake a rain ride.  I may not always be excited by the prospect of a ride when I’m in bed but once I’m on the road, whether rain, or sleet or dark of night, I absolutely love it.

So, what about rain riding?  If anyone asks me if they should ride in the rain I’ll have to tell them I have no idea.  But ask me if I should ride in the rain, I can only answer, “Hell yes!”.

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Riding in the Rain

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Vespa GTS 250ie as it starts to rainLeaving work late only to find it starting to rain and facing a decision to ride without or without raingear.  My Revit rain suit has remained unused for over a year as I continue to choose wet over dry.  Laziness is at work, at least partially as the thought of unpacking and donning the suit seems dizzying.  And a rough part of me just likes getting drenched.  I suppose every rider has a different dance when considering riding in the rain.

rain drops on Vespa scooter windscreen

Riding west towards the setting sun and approaching rain revealed little of what would happen.  Roads wet but not drenched left a slippery film cabable of dispatching the best rider in a weak moment.  Sudden flares of sunlight easily blinds the unprepared daydreamer.  A few minutes inside a store on the way home had me wondering if I would ride wet or dry.

Tree in an open farm field.

Minutes later sweeping along a backroad towards home  confirmed the wisdom of my choice to leave the rainsuit untouched.  The lone trees that punctuate the farm fields throughout Pennsylvania reflect the care and functionality in place by farmers of previous generations.  Those trees were often left in place to provide noontime shade for a team of plow horses while the farmer walked back to the house for lunch.  Few were left with painters or photographers in mind  70 years down the road.

Vespa scooter along a rural road

One last stop to admire the late day light painting the landscape before turning the Vespa towards home.  Some days you get wet and others leave you dry.  I was glad to miss a downpour and the need to pull out the rain suit.  Just a bit too tired and worn to think too much about the rain.

 

Embracing the Grey

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Overcast sky over Tussey Mountain
A grey cloak has been pulled over central Pennsylvania for the past few days forcing a rather dramatic decline in the number of scooter and motorcycle riders on the road despite temperatures remaining in the 65F to 75F range.  The skies have threatened rain and squeezed a few sprinkles of water and an occasional drizzle but otherwise the road is open for those ready to embrace the grey.  Some of the most magical scenes are shrouded in the dim, dull light.

I suppose there are strong reasons not to ride on days like these.

I don’t want to get wet.
Hard to argue with that because even with good rain gear you will still likely get a little wet.

It’s dangerous to ride when it’s wet.
Again, hard to argue with that statement.  I refine it a bit myself and acknowledge the risk on wet roads and in the rain do increase.  It requires an honest evaluation of conditions, experience, skill, and willingness to assume the increased risk.  That process comes through practice and is definitely now something any of us does naturally.

I don’t want to get my scooter or motorcycle dirty.
Yes, it will get dirty, the chrome will have water spots.  What can I say?

Vespa GTS 250ie along PA Route 45

For me, aside from the quality of light on these grey days, one of the attractive reasons for riding is the lessening of traffic in general, at least on a weekend.  It’s not just riders who stay at home, a lot of people take to the couch on the grey days.  I remember some years back the kids and I went to a water slide park on a day like this.  The temperature was in the 80s but it looked as if it was going to rain.  We went and were pleasantly surprised at how few people were there.  Instead of long lines to the tops of the slides we could slide down and run right back to the top and slide down again all day long without waiting for anyone.

A side benefit of grey.

Vespa GTS 250ie heading into Rothrock State Forest

Traffic is so light, especially moving into the Rothrock State Forest, that I can park the scooter in the road for a picture.  Underneath the forest canopy protects the road from some of the rain that washes away the slickness that develops when things first get wet.  The pavement stays damps longer and you need to be careful on these tame looking paths lest the scooter rotate onto the ground.

Photography is far easier on a grey day where the light is completely diffused with no huge range of contrast from direct sunlight battling with deep shade.

Vespa GTS 250ie in the woods.

This picture represents the biggest risk I took during this ride.  Wandering off into the woods for a picture I almost walked into one of the thickest patches of poison ivy I’ve encountered.  The magic of photography belies the darkness from which the picture was made.  Lots of light on the road but nearly black under the trees.  I’m glad my eyes had adjusted enough to see the poison…

Verbascum thapsus plant with Vespa scooter

The ride ended with me having the chance to photograph one of the plants that Kim has helped me learn to appreciate, Verbascum thapsus, or what some refer to as great mullein or common mullein.  It grows throughout the United States but was brought into the country in the 1700s from Africa.  On a grey day it looks great to me and almost pushes the ride from my mind.

So the grey shrouded ride ends or ever narrower paths.  And it never did rain.