TheBanyanTree: Holy Mother of God!

[Gloria]

Holy Rain Gods!  I am SO very proud of you for handling that
experience to perfection!  Angel on your shoulder!

Funny how our minds plan our days and nights, only to come across a
sharp reminder that maybe things aren't as they seem afterall.  :-)

I'm in awe... far scarier to me than being in a car on ice and snow.
Well, ok, maybe not ice, but still very scary!

Glo~ee


On 7/24/11, Sachet <MountainWhisper at att.net> wrote:
>
> I just rode through the worst storm on my motorcycle!
>
> Since I had checked radar before I left home tonight, and didn't see a
> storm, I thought the lightning I saw in the distance was just going to be a
> beautiful light show to enjoy on the ride home from Maggie Valley.
>
> I was ok with the rain when it started. I've ridden in rain enough not
> to be scared by it now. Just kinda wished I had gotten to the Shell
> station before I got wet. But I put my Frogg Toggs on under their roof
> and was all set. It was only raining a little bit there and then I hit a
> long dry spot, so again thought it was magnificent to be able to see the
> lightning from this new perspective.
>
> Then it started raining harder so I was really glad I had put my rain
> jacket hood up under my helmet this time. (The last time I rode in the
> rain I didn't do that and the rain trickled down my neck.) The sheets of
> rain were even kinda ok, because I could still see well enough and I
> felt confident that I had control of my bike by not going too fast or
> too slow; to maintain good traction.
>
> The wind as I headed up Rushfork Ridge was a sudden surprise.
> Wow! The word "buffeted" took on a whole new reality. At that
> point, on the side of the mountain, steeply climbing to 5000 ft.,
> there is no where to pull off safely and that's when it got a
> tad scary <----- massive understatement). But when I didn't have
> any viable options I just kept going forward as best as I could
> using the experience I've acquired by purposely riding in the rain
> and at night and a whole lotta muttering under my breath and
> praying that I would be able to stay on the road.
> (Whomever invented the middle of the road reflectors should be given a
> national holiday in their honor!)
>
> I knew once I got past those couple of places (where the snow drifts
> so badly because the wind blows so hard across the road) that I would be
> ok, but it seemed to take FOREVER to get to that more sheltered area.
> And then the thunder and lightning got incredibly worse. And THEN the
> fog hit. Geesh!!!!!! Thankfully, *exactly* when I needed it most, a car
> came up behind me and very nicely drove back far enough so as not to
> make me feel crowded, but close enough to help me see the road ahead of
> me, because coming down RF at night, in a storm, with fog is like riding
> blind. I had to flip my visor up a little bit to be able to even see the
> road in reassuring glimpses.
>
> Once I got past the first curve the fog thinned out and that helped a
> lot. Then it was just a matter of finishing the ride home in the rain.
> Talk about an adrenaline rush overload by the time I got up the driveway!
>
> I am sooooo looking forward to the Highway Patrol motorcycle safety
> class in September. A motorcycle officer rides with you to evaluate your
> riding skills, then you have class time, followed by more road work with
> the officer. All for free!
>
>