Raining Memories

By: Jeanette Tran

Rainy days used to be the ultimate excuse to cuddle up with your significant other and spend the day inside. A day any girl would gladly look forward to. This year however, I have found a new reason to wish those rainy days away. Seeing as to how my significant other is currently my motorcycle and I cannot seem to convince myself that brining it into the living room to snuggle with is really a good idea, it seems like all of our quality time together has been washed out.

Of course I have considered pulling my bike out on those rainy days, as I sit there in bumper-to-bumper traffic watching riders on their motorcycles zip by me in the carpool lane'but then again, I have honestly only considered myself a fair weather rider. I have always been the type of rider that will make sure to check the weather for rain that day if I was going to go out and ride. So unfortunately, after moving back to the bay area, the typical "look out the window, check for rain clouds" method to judge the forecast is not the way to go anymore. These past few months, my poor bikes have seen more of the garage than the open roads. I never thought I would ride in the rain, but when I accidentally got caught in a downpour, it was probably the most thrilling experience I have had with my bike in a long time.

It all happened one Sunday morning after consecutive days of sporadic rainfall, there was a break in the clouds. Without putting much thought into it, my friends and I decided to go riding. It started out as the typical group ride I have grown accustomed to, everyone meeting up in the parking lot of the local Starbucks, standing around their bikes with a warm cup of coffee in their hands chatting away as the riders trickled in. The weather was a little overcast and chilly, but we were probably all thinking the same thing - who knew when the next opportunity to ride on a weekend would come around.

Eventually we all got on our bikes and start riding south towards the mountains. The further we went south, the darker the clouds seemed to get. The group eventually stops for lunch and as I pulled into the parking lot I got nervous as my visor is getting sprinkled with rain. We take our time with lunch, and by the time we returned to our bikes, a steady curtain of rain was falling down on us. Quickly, we all throw on our gear and start heading back north to try and out run the rain cloud. Despite our efforts, we were not able to outrun the rain and we were suddenly caught in a downpour. As the rain came down harder, I popped my visor open, which I instantly regretted as I felt the wind bite my face. After closing my visor, I then resulted to reaching up my numb hand every five seconds or so to wipe my visor in order the see clearly in front of me. We filed in line behind some cars climbing up the mountainous twisty roads, water back-splashing all over us. Water hitting us from above and now from below as well, it was a complete shower. Slowly but surely, we all crept up and over the mountain leaving it and the storm behind us.

After I got home that day, I found myself laughing with amusement seeing to how I had just survived another one of those crazy bike adventures. Although I have always told myself I would never ride in the rain, I had to do it anyways. Believe it or not, I would voluntarily do it again! Except maybe next time I would have some warmer gear on. So next time you see rain, try giving into your adventurous side and take the bike out for a spin! (Be safe about it, of course) Either that, or, attempting to pull your bike inside the house for a little cuddle would not hurt either.

Published: Feb 21, 2009

Leave Comments