Call that rain?

[140litre]

Anyone driving through Kent this afternoon?
Gawd,I've not seen rain and spray like that for years. Felt very vulnerable mixing it with the artics and the nutters driving with no lights on.
However,not being a bikeist I was wondering what do you do when the weather changes from dry to monsoon within a mile .
I can't imagine what riding in those conditions is like,it must be damn miserable.

[MGB Boy]

You get wet and slow down.
Easy

[ctdctd]

MGB Boy said:

You get wet and stop.
Horrible

FTFY

[okgo]

I was riding my roadbike through it, felt awesome!

[Biker's Nemesis]

I stop, smoke a few tabs and wait for it to die down.

[N Dentressangle]

MGB Boy said:

You get wet and slow down.
Easy

Pretty much.

The worst is actually fine-ish drizzle - mists your visor up quicker than you can wipe it clear.

I don't want to talk about riding in the dark when it's raining. 'Random' sums it up for me

[Tallbut Buxomly]

Its not really that difficult providing you have a decent car and windscreen wipers. A regular application of a rain x style product also helps a ton.

Winds me up when it rains here in the uk as most retards on the road seem terrified of the rain and slow to 40-50mph in all the lanes.

[Fleckers]

Tallbut Buxomly said:

Its not really that difficult providing you have a decent car and windscreen wipers. A regular application of a rain x style product also helps a ton.

Winds me up when it rains here in the uk as most retards on the road seem terrified of the rain and slow to 40-50mph in all the lanes.

And dont forget turn on every light including front and rear fogs

[Kentish]

I had rain drops the size of tennis balls landing on my screen ......HUUUUUGE!!!!!!

[Liquid Knight]

Head in the fairing and push on or stop for a cup of coffee? If you get fed up with the weather this time of year just wait five minutes.

Whatever the bike adopt a "Supermoto" Paris Dakar-esque cornering technique when it comes to round abouts.

Oh and the tw@s in tin boxes have no consept of braking distances wet or dry so be prepared to beat the living excrement out of a tailgater.

[TheRoadWarrior]

I'm over in Belgium at the moment and the rain last night was increadible! Absolutely chucking it down.. sat in a resturant and there was a HUGE clap of thunder, most of the diners jumped nearly out of their seats

[HalfMoon]

About a week ago we were going up to Gatwick to pick up some friends. Sky looked a bit dark but as I hit the top of the hill on the A23, the heavens opened - about a minute later we were driving through about 2/3 inches of water just sitting on the road. I couldn't help but laugh at the sheer amount of water and at one stage the whole road came to a halt due to visibility being virtually nil. I was in the Disco and at 20mph the water was getting thrown from the tyre over the windscreen.

Our friends flight was landing in this and by all accounts it was a tad bumpy during the descent.

[Ace-T]

One of the best rides out I had was a 120 mile jaunt where it absolutely chucked it down for most of the way. It was a really warm day though. My leathers and underclothes were soaked right through and I could ring out my underwear.

Was a very liberating ride though, once you have ridden in those conditions and understood what the bike is doing and telling you it is very good for developing your riding skills.

Trace

[the_lone_wolf]

MGB Boy said:

You get wet and slow down.
Easy

If it looks like it's really going to hammer then a pre-emptive rain suit works wonders, once your kit is wet a waterproof oversuit turns you into a steam oven, especially in the summer if it's wet and warm

Otherwise it's as above, you slow down and watch out as much as you can for the wallies

With good waterproofing you can remain warm and dry, reduced visibility is just another challenge...

But like previously said, at night it can be genuinely scary, I've had situations where I'm riding without being able to see clearly more than ~10m in front of the bike whereas in the car I'd have a good view, if you slow down to 10mph you'll get rear ended, so you just have to ride on into the unknown and pray the vehicle in front doesn't pull an emergency stop...

[Vidal Baboon]

Ace-T said:

Was a very liberating ride though, once you have ridden in those conditions and understood what the bike is doing and telling you it is very good for developing your riding skills.

Trace

Rode home from Coventry a few months back in heavy rain. My textiles kept me dry for all of 5 miles- rain felt like pins & needles hitting my arms & legs.

Then had to negotiate a flooded section of dual carrigeway on a sportsbike- water level was over the footpegs, was just glad it kept running & didn't get into the ram pipes.

Heavy rain is fine to ride in & like Trace said, it's fun. What isn't fun is the really grubby fine spray that doesn't clear your visor.