Tales and Tall Stories
2003 and earlier
click to go back to newer tales
Post your wet butt experiences, send me an e-mail ( wetbutt@wetbuttriders.com ) and it will go on the site for all to read.
(The newest stories are on top - makes it easier to read the new ones.)

Tater - Maryland - I've been wet so many times that I've lost count. The most recent was an SCRC meet & eat. As soon as I got off work, I went home to mow the lawn, then got cleaned up & headed out. Cloudy skies, but nothing ominous-looking. When I got to the meeting place, I looked around, thinking "where is everybody?" Well, I walked in carrying my helmet. A friend asked "you didn't ride here, did you?" Well, YEAH, duh. Seems no one else rode their bikes cuz the forecast was for a "line of strong thunderstorms moving thru the area". So I stayed, ate, watched the Tstorms & finally decided to head out after the lightening dissipated. Got what I thought was my rainpants outta the saddlebags. Turns out, that for some unknown reason, I had put in my bag a pair of rainpants that I had cut off at the knees (don't ask me why...I have NO idea!) The friend with me was laughing & said she was sorry she didn't have a camera~good blackmail photo potential . Needless to say, those half-pants weren't worth a crap & I was soaked by the time I got home. Oh yeah, it was my first "night-rain-solo-35 mile" ride. I'd done each type of ride separately, but that was the first combo-type trip. Didn't care for it, but I made it safely home.
 
The other "wet butt" ride that I won't forget-on a trip to Roanoke, hubby's bike broke down & had to be towed home. I decided to ride home. Cloudy skies & after the incident listed above, I learned to carry a complete rain suit in my bags at all times. So I put the suit on for my approx 5 hr ride home. Got 5 mins away from the gas station & the skies opened up! It was so bad that cars were actually pulling over. Found an overpass that was already filled with bikers waiting it out. Finally got on the road again & got "spritzed" on a few more times. Couldn't figure out, tho, why my butt was wet since I was wearing a full rain suit. After I got home, I realized that the right rear pocket flap was open (and the pocket itself was just mesh material). Now, I make sure that ALL openings are securely fastened!

Lobo - Washington - It was one of them weather experiences that truly prove that you are alive and on the road. I got into Vegas on my 5th day out, like I said I was on a real tight schedule, and got a room at a casino for $30 a night with garaged parking and a security patrol of three guys going thru the garage 24/7. Right on. I went out to enjoy the town and expected to see all my pocket change disappear in about as much time as it took me to unload my bags in the hotel room. Instead the gods of the slots dropped me a $400 tip in less than an hour. I kept most of it for gas and food to get with home with. Anyhow, left Vegas on a Sunday heading north on 95 towards Reno. Started out at 106 degrees and got a little warmer as the day went. That changed, sort of. Cruisin' up the road enjoying the mistake of only having brought about 48 ounces of water a "cool" breeze kicked in about Goldfield. This little breeze became about a 60mph side wind. Now Nevada isn't exactly known for the lack of dust on the road, so here I was sweating and dusty and now the dirt was streaked sideways across my face. Had to pull over a few times to catch my wind, leaning sideways just to stay upright wears you down over a couple hundred miles. It was dark now and I began to see the light at the end of the tunnel, or so I thought. I was just turning onto 50 to jump into Reno and try to get a good meal, lose some money and maybe call it a night. Well the next thing to hit was a nice thunder/lightning/hail storm. Sky gets bright against the black, blinding. The ground almost seems to shake, deafening. And the icing on the cake, being pummeled from the sky in a way that makes a biblical stoning sound relaxing. Beat up, dusty, my face smeared with the dirt/sweat mud and my face glowing red from the sunburn and the airborn barrage, I walk into a casino, the Cal-Neva. Walked right up to the restaurant where I was lined up behind the Blue Hair Society, all of whom were whining about the lack of non-smoking tables available. The hostess looked over at me and in a frustrated tone asked "Do you want nonsmoking too?". I looked back at her and could only reply "I'll take a T.V. tray and a stool in the kitchen if need be." "Right this way, sir." as she led me to a table in the smoking area. My waitress looked me as though I had a dead cat on my shoulder, brought me some coffee, and suggested that I pay a visit to the sink and mirror in the little boys room. The sink had a thick brown haze to it by the time I left. The next morning I awoke to the sounds of birds chirping and to welcoming road with a warm blue skied day. Nice easy ride the rest of the day. Yeah! Right! Don't get me wrong now, I was less than 800 miles from home and the day was looking really gravy, and it was.. all the way to Tri City. Hmm, what was missing? Oh yeah rain, and not just a little sprinkle or some showers but it was just dumping almost non-stop. I was wet when I found my way to a rest area (not too many bridges in that part of Oregon) I really didn't want to try to jump back on a road that was going 70, in the rain, limited visibility and no head start. I had done enough construction in my time to know that when it's coming for you like that, all the rain gear in the world won't keep you dry. So instead I lit a cigarette and strapped on a bandana. Once in Washington I decided that I needed rest and a good hot meal. Drying off was pretty much out of the question. I rolled into this little place, a restaurant/truck stop called the 99er that was located, oddly enough, at milepost 99. It was about 8:40 when I walked in the door. It wasn't very crowded there but this drowned rat got a couple of good stares. The people that worked there were really cool. I sat down a ordered coffee to drink while looking at the menu and when the gal brought it she brought a towel for me to use when washing up and drying off. I leaned back, cracked my neck, and ordered up a steak. People had been progressively filing out of the restaurant until I was the only patron in the place, 9:30. Food came and the people working were cleaning up the bar and sweep-vacking the floors. Couple of them stopped and asked about my trip and even suggested that I call it a night. No way! Not more than 75 miles left. Stop? You've got to be kidding! The waitress came back to inform me that the restaurant had closed at 9:00 and that none of the people working there really wanted to turn this wet puppy away. I finished up and paid them for the meal and left a good tip for the extra service. And it was back to the road.in a heartbeat. No jokes at all. This is the kind of stuff I live for. Not for the rain, etc., but for the true feel of the road that you can only get with two-down. "Live to Ride" stated prominently on the back of my scoot. The thing that I have to say about it all, rain & hail & wind & heat & thunder/lightning & dust & mud, is that it was an absolutely incredible ride. I new that I was alive the whole time and this was truly as good as it gets. I loved it and would do it again in a heartbeat. No jokes at all. This is the kind of stuff I live for. Not for the rain, etc., but for the true feel of the road that you can only get with two-down. "Live to Ride" stated prominently on the back of my scoot. But wait, there's a problem... Dear God, You forgot the snow...

Scootie - TX - Several of us rode to the hill country this October for the Hill Country Rally, That's down around Fredericksburg for those of you not from Texas. We camped about 4 miles from Luckenbach, Tx. Yes , same place as the song. Anyways we had this tripped planned for months. Nothin like riding up and down the hills with all those great twisties! And we thought since it's not near as HOT in October we would all campout on our road trip. We left that morning the radar called for rain and lots of it. We rode all the way there, not a drop fell on us all the way. The skies kept teasing us but we were dry. An afternoon of sightseeing and eating we felt pretty safe. We all went to our tents for a good nights sleep. We woke at 5:30am next morning. Everyone got ready, stopped and had COFFEE and breakfast. We where ready to roll by daylight. Skies looked a little grey but nothing to worry about it was that way yesterday. All excited been looking forward to this trip for months. Here we go up and down twist and turn. We get to Bandera and it starts to sprinkle, just ever so lightly. We decide to stop at the station and let everyone who had rain gear put it on if they like. Most did. So off we go again, by the time we got Frio Canyon it was RAINING. Stopped in at the Frio Canyon Motorcycle Stop for COFFEE, since it was COLD and WET. The rain wasn't letting up, so we head out again going towards Kerrville. But first a quick stop by Stone Hendge in Hunt. It wasn't that far out of the way, and what did it matter by this time we were all wet anyways. You see by the time we got out of the hills and found a place to eat, because we were all starving,with what should have only taken a few hours had now taken ALL day to ride because of the rain. The water on the roads was up to the FOOT BOARDS on all the motorcycles. Not one rain suit, whether it was a Wal-Mart or a Harley Davidson was dry. We where ALL soaked! Every sock and boot and BUTT. I know the kids working at the Jack in the Box probably wanted to kill us. We finally made it back to Fredericksburg, to the KOA where we were camping. We could have tried to pack up and leave, but what was the point, We where wet and we were going to stay that way, and we did. But we rode anyways. To the rally ,to Luckenbach,and all points in between. It finally slacked up enough by the next morning that we could pack our wet tents, wet motorcycles, and wet bodies and head for home. But you know not one person complained and everyone had a good time inspite of the RAIN.

Sabra - Oklahoma - Being a biker you never know when your gonna get a wet butt. This last July we took a rode trip to Tennessee to a Fourth of July biker blowout. They were predicting rain most of the time we would be on the road but we decided nothing was gonna stop a long time planned trip. We rode seventeen hours straight shot and there was not one sign of rain the whole trip. It wasnt a week later I road my bike to the beauty shop. Of course, Im always on my bike. It was a beautiful day out and the sun was shinning. I was in there a total of thirty minutes. I came out straddled my bike and down it hit. I was drenched riding home and it was raining so hard I couldnt hardly see and it stung as it hit my skin. That had to be one of the greatest feelings Ive ever had. The great feeling of a wet butt.cTony - Tennessee - We took a motorcycle ride for vacation this year. My wife and I and another couple went all the way up the east coast starting in Bristol Tenn. then to Va. Beach, on up the coast to Chincoteague Island, through Penn. & so on. On the way back we took the Skyline Drive to the Blueridge Parkway on to Wytheville Va. Well, we hadn't had any rain to speak of the whole trip until we left Marion Va. We hit a rain squall that left cars hydroplaning off the road, lightning, thunder, and exremely high winds! We got seperated from the other couple, but both of us found shelter and it eventually passed on by. I just knew it was too good to be true that a 1900 mile ride would not include a rainy spot or two, but this was a little more than the average motorcyclist should have to endure.

Old Guy - Washington - It was my first ride to Colorado from Washington state on a Suzuki 1400 Intruder. One thinks that August in Utah would be dry. But, this day was not. The first rain of the day, about 9 am, was near Tremonton, northern Utah, where I, being from wet Wa. put on the rain gear. Usually clouds like these mean rain all day. But, to my surprise, it only lasted a short time, then dry again. By noon, it had rained 3-4 times for a short time, then warm, and dry. After lunch in Salt Lake City, at 87 degrees, I decided that 2 minutes of rain followed by 30 minutes of warmth did not mean rain gear needed to be worn all day. So, in my shirt sleeves and chaps over shorts, I headed out on I-15 S. The next 2 showers were just like the morning ones. But then the third hit so hard I had trouble seeing 100 yards ahead at 70 mph. At last, a bridge!!! But under there were already 2 cars, but I fit, and waited. Pretty soon the cars left, but it was still raining too hard for me. About a half hour later, I too ventured out. 20 miles down the road another 'Toad Strangler' storm hit again, and I was still wet from the first. Another bridge, and another half hour, I decided to reapply the rain gear, and continue. I knew I wouldn't dry off in the plastic, but also might be a bit warmer, and no wetter. I turned East at Spanish Fork to Price over Soldier Summit. Near the top is a Rest Area where I stopped to remove the rain gear, as it had stopped raining by then. I was told by an attendant that a hill had slid across the road a few days earlier, and that there was construction cleaning it up, and to expect 'some' mud. An understatement to be sure. So, now I am not only wet, and cold, but muddy too. The last 200 miles were cold, and wet now as the sun had gone down. When I finally reached my destination in Grand Junction, Co., about 9:30 pm, I was still cold, and damp. When I removed my chaps, my legs were blue from the dye in the chaps. I still go to Co. in August, but try to read the skies better.

Rustler - Texas - My g/f was on the back and as we left a group we rode the beautiful sunny day with we headed into the mountains on the way home. In 30 seconds a thunder head rolled in and opened its' drain. So bad I stopped and made her get off so I could turn it around on the narrow 2 lane road. Drenched we ride into the nearest town and go to a motel. No vacancy - it is the frist day of dove hunting. So in this air-conditioned office I'm freezing to death it seems while she calls around trying to find us something. 30 miles away she finds the LAST vacancy for 100 miles. Off we go in the downpour. We get there, check in and I ask who delivers food in the town. NO-ONE. So off we go to the first choke and puke we come across. I told the girl at the counter to bring our food outside when it was done cause it was warmer standing in the rain than it was being wet inside the Dairy Queen. We ride back to the motel and I go ask the gal at the counter if we can borow the motels dryer to dry out our things. She says "well you could but there was a fire and the laudry room is still not rebuilt." Ok, can I borrow a blow dryer - "They were all in the laundry room when it caught on fire!" So we go to the room, strip and hang everything in the bathroom which has a heater!!! YEA!! Then we find out the heater is on a timer - 15 minutes at a time, and when it gets too hot it will not work till it cools down. Everything was still wet the next day as we rode home under sunny skies.

Rowdy - Texas - October 9, 2003 Cruisin For The Cure Run Southern Cruisers Riding Club, The "Rock" Chapter 4:00AM Got out of bed and it was RAINING. Left at 4:30AM for the TA Truckstop on Hwy 30 in Rockwall, Texas, still RAINING. Met with 5 more bikes for a total of 6 motorcycles at 5:00AM, still RAINING. Left Rockwall at 6:00AM going East on Hwy 30, STILL RAINING. Did not stop raining until we got to Texarkana for breakfast. Left Texarkana and it did not rain for about the first 25 miles, then R A I N. It rained all the way into Memphis and the farther we went the harder it RAINED. Thank God my wife was tailgunning in our car, she saved all of us from the crazy drivers numerous times. I had a great time and the rain finally stopped in Memphis.

Mr Clean & JoJo - JoJo - Texas - My friend and I were heading back to Texas. The skies were blue and it looked like a great ride home until we neared Pensacola FL. We got hammered without warning. We found an underpass to try and wait it out. The end never showed, so we put the rain gear on and pushed through. The rain finally stopped and we thought ok we can ride on, until we hit Louisiana, then with the darkness of night and hard driving rain we found a hotel and called it quits. It rained throughout the Daytona Bike week with only one day of good weather, but all in all it was a great trip

Marvin - North Carolina - It was the morning of May the 23rd. It was our plans to ride to Washington DC this weekend for the annual Rolling Thunder Rally. This was my first time and I wasn't about to disappoint my friends by not going or by caging it. There were 5 hard core bikers that day and two passengers. I had just bought a new rainsuit so I thought I would alright for the 6 hour ride to DC. The rain suit held strong for two hours. Then I started feeling the cold rain seep into my boots, shirt and pants. The next four hours were rather uncomfortable. We all made it to DC safely and I went the rest of the weekend with wet boots, but enjoyed the rally. I would like to go again next year, but without the rain.

Wildstar - Sweeden - From a member that rides as a roadcaptain in a swedish organisation called: yamaha-custom-club. In my part of the country in the south, we are 110 members that rides from march-october and we used to be between 5-25 people and take our trips 2 times every week. Last sunday we were 5 people but on 3 bikes that got together as we used to do even if the sky was more than dark. We agreed that now at this point when we come to our meetingplace, a small harbor in the south part of our city called helsinborg, we can’t go back home, so we started our small trip, 120km. After about 2 km. heaven opend up and the rain didn’t start to fall, more like the raindrops where shot down from above with some kind of heavy weapon. when the rain hit the ground it didn’t stay down, instead it bounsed back up about 1 feet and now it was to late to return. We did all agree 5 minutes ago that we should make our ride. After an 20km. my friends gave me a signal that meant, can’t we stop and take a coffebrake and maby see if the weat from above could be maby a little bit lighter. Oh no, not so soon, we have to ride some more km. before brake and we went back to the backroads again.(we never rides on big roads or highways, and never faster than 55 miles/h). So, back on track we went and because of that kind of people that use the stuff called tobacco we had to take a small break so they could satisfie there nicotinhabits and we other toke a chance to straight out our leg(was that correct ?). The ciggaretpeople stood in a small shelter, that normally been used to people that “wait for the bus”. When I stod in the rain about 10-15 feet from there, it looked that the hole shelter was on fire, they used 5 min. and 7 ciggarets and that coursed the “firelook” of the shelter, what a wiew ! Still heavy rain and after a while we arrived to a small summerrestaurant by the seaside where we should take a break.the place opened at noon and we arrived 4 hour later and we where the first guest of the day. The 2 girls working this evening looked at us with open mouth (and probably still standing there) and must have wondered whats happens with us, why are they riding to the seaside such a bad day. We had our coffe and desided to use the chairs inside this day (you can sit outside if you want and they even got parasol if the sun should be to intence.) the girls wondered if it woulden’t be better to sit inside and so we did. One hour later we left the place and tock the shortest way back to town and we had a wonderful trip even if the sun was somewhere else. The temp of the day was about 25*c, so no complain. There is no bad weater only bad clothes, a wonderful jearny among good friends. Excuse my not aboluthly perfect english. ride safe. wildstar-albin, sweden.

FTHHog - Illinois - 7/11 2003 crappy weather, new bike and eager to get the 1000 mile inspection done, so I needed 300 miles. Several of us had put off a ride from one side of the state to the other for five days and finally friday 7/11 looked like no rain till late evening so away we went. 120 miles west of home (NE Illinois) we had a light sprinkle, but oh well. Ate lunch in Savannah Illinois during which there was a fairly heavy rain. We dried off our bikes and the rest decided to visit the lookout at the Illinois Palisades State park and then head home. The roads were a little wet but sunshine was bright and drying fast. We made our visit and took some pics and then headed east. After going back through Savannah about five miles east of town we caught up with the storm but since it was only a small dark spot in the sky we decided to run through and get ahead of it. We ran about 30 miles in torrential downpour with bb sized hail and finally through the storm. When we hit Mt. Morris Illinois someone had to make a pit stop so we did. during a 10 minute pit a storm traveling 15 miles and hour caught up to us doing 65 miles an hour and so we hot footed outta there to keep ahead. We stayed out of the rain all the home but the following day on a short ride had a reminder with a WET butt retained in the stitching of the seat. I guess its all part of the adventure.

Thumper - Georgia - Hi, just got in from a 4 hour/1 hour ride. Living in the southeast we are blessed with an abundance of rain this year. I set out to try out my new get seat to determine suitability for my saddlesore 1000 later this summer. I told my loving wife I would be gone only for about an hour. Headed north from Macon to Forsyth to run the twisties on Highway 18 when I got stopped by a train practicing his backing I guess. Waited for twenty minutes before the clown was finished and could go on. Got through Forsyth and right at the start of the twisties, in started to rain, hard. I now see the advantage of a closed faced helmet. The pain was brutal and filling my glasses so I could not see. I finally pulled off under some trees to wait out the downpour. A nice lady with her family stopped to offer me an umbrella. A nice gesture to be sure, but something else to carry when I got the chance to run. There was no end to the rain, so I started back up the road. So much for the twisties, it was now a matter of survival. Heavy rain, 18 wheelers diverted off I 75, no rain suit ( never thought I needed one before) and near blind with water build up and 6 miles to the nearest gas station. After about 20 minutes of this misery, I saw the station ahead. The over head cover at the pumps was full of Harleys and no room left for my thumper. I parked in the rain, waved toward the "bikers" and was greeted by laughter. I smiled and moved on to the inside of the store. I apologized for the trail of water I was leaving behind as I got a hot chocolate and went outside to wait it out some more. Just as the rain was clearing a girl and her two children pulled into the parking lot with a flat tire. Fearing that my Grandmother would exit the grave a haunt me forever if I didn't offer to help, I changed the tire and a minute of pleasantries. The cleared sky was looking dark again, but I pushed home toward Macon, GA. A mile and half up the road, the bottom fell out. I was greeted by a solid wall of water and once again it was like riding underwater. The next save haven was five miles ahead and very little cover with the wind, rain and now lightning popping all around. I was able to stay damp until the rain slacked off enough to ride again. I had to get to a phone and tell my wife that I was still up and running, just trying to dodge the wet. A quarter mile up the road, and a store with a phone and another hot chocolate. This time the sky was clearing, yeah!! A nice couple on Vstars stopped in to shake off the rain at the same store, and I was able to share nice conversation with Darius and Freda from Atlanta. They were out zigzagging across the state for the weekend and spending the night in my town of Macon, GA. I showed them the short cut to there hotel, and was on my way home. A one hour ride can quickly become a four hour adventure when the weather is right, or wrong. Ride wet, ride dry, but by all means ride safe and friendly.

Thumper - Baltimore - left work riding in a slight drizzle thinking "damn,this ain't bad at all !!!!!" made a stop on way home and came out to find that a torrential downpour had come from out of nowhere,leaving me to face a ride home sitting in the middle of lake Corbin. did I tell you how much I hate wet underwear LOL

X2DR - Missouri - It took me almost 3 hours to get from Ft. Leavenworth to Belton (60 miles) this afternoon. When I left the parking lot of the PX on the base, it was steadily drizzleing. By the time I hit the 63rd St. exit on K7, I could not see more than 50' in front of me. Ducking down behind the windshield allowed me to get that far but once the hail began falling, it was time to seek shelter. Already soaked, I was only concerned with visibility and that painful crap falling out of the sky. After a little while, I left the gas station and proceeded west but was cut short after 5 minutes due to another batch of hail. Once that passed, I tried once again to get home. Well now the cross winds were well in excess of 40 mph and the rain hitting me in the face was hurting as much as the hail was earlier so again I had to get off the road. Once things seemed to calm down a little, it was time to see how far I could get before having to stop yet again. Well once again the hail managed to find me and under an overpass I stopped. All the while it is still raining and my visibility is around 35%. Now came the worst part, every road I headed down was impassable due to flash flooding. Even trucks and SUV's were having to turn around. I ran through several patches of standing water deep enough to form a wave that was hitting me in the chest. That water was cold I tell you. Still raining but finally no hail. Eventually I headed back north a ways and turned east. What started out as almost fun, quickly turned into a frustrating and almost a concerning issue. My boots were long filled with water, the shirt under my leather coat soaked, even the inside of my helmet wet. I could not have absorbed any more water had I jumped into a pool. I passed several bikers along the way who dared not press on and I knew I was really pushing my luck in the heaviest parts of the rain but I kept telling myself the only way to get home was to just get home. While it was quite an experience, it's not one I'll be foolish enough to repeat any time soon.

Hollywood - Indiana - Gee, which one should I tell? The wettest ride I ever took was on the Foothills Parkway in Tennesee on an SCRC Poker Run in 2001. I had been hauling my rain gear around the whole week with nary a drop, so that Saturday morning I took it out of my saddlebag. OOOPS! The ride started out dry, but by the first stop up on the Parkway, the fog was so thick you could'nt see more than about 40 feet in front of you. Then the clouds started to sprinkle. Add to it that I was wearing a T-Shirt and jeans, and had no jacket or sweartshirt with me, not only was I wet, but COLD too! A soul unknown to me offered me a windbreaker, and Jarhead offered up a denim jacket. Well that helped keep my warmer anyway... but when the skies opened up, I got DRENCHED! When the lightning and thunder came, we pulled over at a gas station (200 bikes in a gas station parking lot!) and waited out the storm. After about an hour, the lightning had stopped but not the rain. We pushed on. The real trouble started when we were trying to get through some traffic lights. I held traffic back and waved the whole group past me in the pouring rain. After the last bike passed, I tried to catch the group. I never did. Now in unfamiliar territory, I tried to navigate back in the now even heavier rain. I don't know where I ended up, but one of the Knoxville members of the SCRC had to come rescue me! The laughs went around for a few days wondering how I had gotten SO FAR from the last checkpoint. I never even made it back by the time all was said and done, I just went back to the Hotel. Jarhead got his jacket back, but I still have that windbreaker! Forutunately, I had another set of boots, because I ad to pour the water from the ones I was wearing into the toilet back at the hotel!

JoeT - Kansas - Well, my latest wet butt experience did leave us more frazzled than what we've ever been. I've ridden in rain and fog but this latest took the cake in my book, for my wife and I anyway. Took our summer vacation a couple of weeks ago and camped out at Estes Park, CO. After setting up the camper we rode Big Thompson Canyon, no problem there, a little rain but nice ride. Wife thought it was pretty cool seeing all those twisties. Next morning I decided to take her up Trail Ridge Road, Rocky Mountain National Park. It did look clouded over when we started....an understatement to say the least. The temperature was in low 60's starting out if I remember right. As we climbed up the temps obviously started to come down so I finally pulled over and put on the wet gear over the leathers. Kept on going and first the rain came, light and manageable, then snow started falling, also light and manageable. But then it became heavy old snow flakes and blowing straight into our faces. The windshield got covered, no problem since it set for me to look over the top anyway....but then my glasses started getting covered too. Ok, so I would reach up and wipe off, and that worked for a bit. Wife took her glasses off but said that was a big mistake so I kept mine on. Anyway, got to where I'm cocking my head sideways looking under the rim of my left lens. I'm now keeping the bike where I think the middle of the road is and only moving over when I see headlights coming our way. We have a 8-10 foot wall of snow on the right and a several hundred feet to thousand foot drop on the left and no place to pull over. So we proceed on in this little slushy mess until finally we reach the visitor center. I sort of knew from where we were that it should be coming up but man that was the longest stretch in my life...at the time anyway. Managed to make it there and park without losing the bike. Thought we were there for the night the way things were going. Waited it out and luckily the snow stopped and we were able to go back down with no problems. Next day we drove the truck up. Wife said she was kind of glad she couldn't see after all that day on the bike as after seeing the drop offs she might have been more scared. Anyway, another wonderful experience on a bike and we lived to tell about it. Still riding with big grins on our faces. Of course some of our friends think we're nuts. And they're probably right but who cares, right. Keep on riding....keep the chrome side up....enjoy life, you never know when it'll end for ya.

Goose - Arizona - I live in Phoenix, where you can ride virtually all year long. It is great. But it never rains. How can you belong to the 'Wet Butt Riders' when it never rains. Easy. Just ride during the summer. Before I joined (or even heard of the group), I always called it 'damp ass'. The end result is the same, but I don't need the rain to help (Grin)

Singer - North Carolina - I had been planning for a coupla months to go see my son in Rome Ga. And as the time got closer the clouds got blacker. Sure enough the day I was supposed to leave it look like Niagara Falls had moved into North Carolina. As a matter of fact I even called New York to make sure they hadn't lost their falls. But alas it was in fact rain, complete with lightning so you could see the rain clearly, and thunder so's you wouldn't fall asleep and miss the show. I had once made myself a promise that if it was raining at the start of a ride I would not go. So being the kind of guy that honors his word I patiently waited for a break in the rain before starting. Fortunately a gust of wind blew up and pushed the rain away from the door for a coupola seconds sooooo no rain lets go!!! As I tore off down I 95 the rain actually stopped so when I hit South of the Boarder, SC I stopped to celebrate with a coupla tacos and other various belly bombs figurin to keep myself warm for the rest of the trip. Well no sooner did I get back on the road when the rain commenced to pouring. I have a cut down Memphis Slim on my scoot. Slows the wind down fine. It don't do squat with rain drops. Being well prepared I of course was wearing my good ol 1/2 shell helmet, a pair of sunglasses, a vest, chaps, and water proof boots. Did I say water proof boots ? Well they are, the problem was that so much water went in the tops that I ended up wearing swimming pools around my feet. Those boots held the water in reeeaal good. The rain was pounding on my face like 10,000 needles. My gloves got so wet that when I tried to wipe my glasses they got wetter. My hands turned black from the dye, that was good dye, it didn't come off for days. I gotta say that the beltline around Atlanta is profound in a rainstorm. I honestly think that it was a good thing I couldn't see the road ahead more then maybe 50 feet or I would have been scared of all those semi trucks screamin around the highway. 14 hours after I started I pulled up at my son's house. I got off my trusty steed and squished up to his house got a sloppy kiss from the dog, a hug from the wife and a belly laugh from my son. I spent 3 glorious and rainy days with my family, got to play "Cool Dude Grampa" with my grandkids. Got up on the day to leave, looked out the window and couldn't see the road for the rain. My son asked me what I was gonna do. My answer...I'm goin riden !!! see ya next year.

Dan - Connecticut - A little over a year ago, I bought my first Harley, my ex says it was mid-life crisis, maybe she was right. I had gotten divorced, a month later my father died and several months after that, I was told the plant where I was employed would be closing. I was laid off on May 3rd and the next day packed up the bike and traveled from CT to CA and a whole lot of places in between. I went as far south as Tuscan, AZ and as far north as the US border at Glacier Nat'l Park adding 18,000 miles to the odometer before returning at the end of July. Crossing Arkansas, I made camp one night as it started to rain. It rain most of the night but stopped just before dawn. After giving the tent a chance to dry out a little, I broke camp saddle up and continued west. I had not gone any more than 30 miles when it started to pour. I was riding an FXDWG, which other than a windshield and saddledbags which I added, has nothing to protect you from the weather. Within minutes, my butt and legs were soaked and my boots were filled to the top. My leather jacket managed to keep my torso some what dry. About two hours later, I road into a Mickey D's to get a hot cup of coffee and something to eat. They had to mop up the seat and under the table when I left. It continued to rain until about 3pm that afternoon and by the time I found a campground about 6pm that evening, everything was dry but my feet. That was the only time in the 3 months I was on the road that I got wet like that. It rained 2 or 3 other times, but they were brief showers and only wound up with a wet butt and shins. The only thing that could have made that trip any better was if I had a female companion to share it with.

Slowmo - California - When the planning for the 3rd annual SCRC San Diego Iron Butt started there were roughly two dozen riders ready to scream across the desert just to turn around and come home. By the time the scheduled start was upon us there were 10 hardy bikers ready for the journey. We left Escondido, Ca at 9:45am as the sprinkles were just starting. The group thought was we would easily outrun the rain and have a great ride to Benson AZ. At the first gas stop, roughly 100 miles from the start, the rain was so bad one rider missed the turn off, my glasses had somehow broken and we were seriously questioning our sanity. The thought that we could outrun the rain was gone, now we hoped the mountains would hold them off! As we dropped into the California desert the rain ceased and we had miles of great riding! We stopped for a short rest on the way home in Pheonix, as we were preparing to rollout our good friend the rain greeted us. We rode until sun up in the rain, then after a brief hailstorm, the sun was once again out and warming us. We completed the 1000 mile trip with 20 minutes to spare. After a relaxing lunch we were on our way home in small groups or individually. The southbound group was treated to the hardest rain of the entire trip! After an hour of steady rain the weather eased just as I put the bike in the garage.

Cindy - Georgia - -Last year (April 2002) my husband (even with a treat of divorce) bought a bike. You see I work for a graduate level nursing program at one of the top 10 medical schools in the USA (Emory University) and we have always called them 'donnercycles' (actually the transplant services is part of our Dept.). Anyway, he finally talked me into riding behind him and by July 2002 I had bought my own bike. Thinking that it would sit in the garage and I would still ride behind him (I have put 8,000 miles on this bike to date and now do not like to ride on the back). I was scared but started riding it and on my first ride (going more than 5 miles from home) it came a downpour. We pulled over at a bank drive through (they were closed) and waited it out. Of course being the novice that I was I had not yet purchased any of the gear that goes with riding a bike so I immediately burnt my leg (you could hear it sizzle). I now a pair of knee high boots and call this my inauguration scar. Anyway, it stopped raining and we started home and low and behold if it didn't come a storm harder than the first--and it was getting dark. Fortunately I was too new at riding to know how scared I should have been. My husband told me later that he just knew I was going to bust my butt but I didn't. I was just grinning and riding (he now tells me that if I don't quit smiling that I am going to have to pick bugs out of my teeth). We have been caught in the rain since then but nothing will quite ever hold a candle to that ride and you know, even with the burnt leg I still just smile when I remember it.

Shug - VA - My first wet butt experience. I rode 680 miles from Blacksburg VA to Daytona, actually Thunder Gulch Campground. It was raining when I arrived so set up my tent in the rain and camped in the rain swollen muddy rutted road place for 3 days. On my return trip back home, I had one 75 mile stretch on wonderful I-95 in GA in downpour and 50 more on US 1 up thru SC with wet jeans and shorts. Yukky for awhile but my butt finally warmed up the water, so I laughed "so what, I can endure this." When I reached the large eat-in country quick stop, I spent an hour changing clothes, thawing out, hot coffee and warm food and just chilling out......well earned and wonderful to become once again dry and warm. My Stearns wetsuit from Sam's will be replaced with Frogg Toggs ASAP. But I learned my butt can take it. Another biker experience.

TheBaldGuy - Georgia - As a single man, I saw no reason to purchase two rain suits. Well, not right away anyway. I had just purchased my bike a few months earlier and had other priorities. I was dating a lady approximately 100 miles south of me and we enjoyed cruising every chance we got. We wanted to see a nephew of mine's band play a gig close to my home, so we rode up in the afternoon to attend the gig. There was no mention of rain in the forecast, and after all, one can trust the weather man, right? We left the gig a little early, not wanting to ride too late after it got dark. We had approximately 100 miles of interstate ahead of us. After about 50 miles, we decided to stop for a coke and snack. Darleen asked me if that was rain she felt falling just prior to our stopping (I thought I felt some also) and I told her there was no forecast of rain. She was worried that we might get wet before we got to her house. I assured her that we would be dry when we arrived there. Upon continuing our trip, and riding for about 5 minutes, it started raining, not a downpour, but enough to certainly get wet at 65 mph. We stopped under a bridge for cover and waited out the rain. It only rained for a few minutes. We waited until the road was a little drier from the traffic then proceed on to her house. It was necessary we arrive as soon as possible, her dog had been locked up in the house most of the day and would be needing to go out. Before we even got back up to full speed, it came one of the worst down-pours I have ever experienced. There was no warning or easing into the rain. It was like driving into a waterfall. There was no need to stop for the rain suit for either of us, we could not be any wetter than we were. We continued on at a much slower speed. I was wishing I had windshield wipers on my bike and also on my face shield. I was having to look around the windshield to have what little visibility I could obtain.. Of course, all the big trucks didn't help either with the spray coming off of 18 wheels. We continued on very carefully, with Darleen remembering what her Mother had told her so many times, "You ride one of those motorcycles and you're gonna DIE!" She told me later that she was beginning to think that her Mother was right, "I'm gonna DIE, I'm gonna DIE!" She found a new use for my "love handles." It was very obvious to me how nervous she got by her grip on my sides. We finally arrived at our exit safely. We only had about 2 more miles. Then about 1 mile from her house, we had to stop for a traffic light. Rain still pouring down. The road to our left at the intersection was all uphill. Do I need to explain about gravity here and what happens in a heavy downpour on a hillside? As we were waiting on the longest holding traffic light in the state of Georgia, the water rushing down the hill was literally running over the top of my sneakers as I held the bike up waiting on the never coming green light. People were driving by tooting there horn at us. Gee, I wonder what they thought about us sitting there in the rain. As we finally proceeded across the highway, I found that only a small portion of that "river" coming off the hill was running over my feet. The middle of the highway produced some gigantic splashes of water from the front wheel. Thankfully, two adults on a 700+ pound bike made it through without being washed away, but the bike spit and sputtered the rest of the way. Can you believe, that when we finally arrived, she would not go in and get dried off until she help me cover the bike? That impressed me very much about this lady. She knew beyond a shadow of doubt that she was going to die. She was wet. She was cold. But she insisted on helping me cover the bike. Now, here I was, 100 miles from home, soaked to the bone, with no dry clothes to change into. She had to loan me a pair of her sweat pants to wear. I know I was so cute in them. After we both were dried and comfortable, we had a laughing party for quite some time. Oh, what happened to our relationship after that? We got married! How could I not marry a woman that was this adventurous when it comes to biking? We have upgraded our clothing now to two complete sets of electric suits and four rain suits.

Idolfan - California - It had been, an El Nino fall and winter in California. One of the worst on record, wet, wind, even homes falling into the ocean in a few locations. Still, some of us on the not so horrible days were riding. Had been planning to visit a friend north of San Francisco to show him my bike, go for a ride etc. The forecast called for afternoon rain. but, I knew I would be back well in advance. Things never go as planned, and, what I got caught in was horizontal rain, and wind that had me truly scared. But, if I didn't continue there was no way home. No buses from that area, no train. nothing. So, I made the decision to press on. how much worse could it be. I found out really quickly how much. Coming up over the last rise and through the tunnel looking down at the famed Golden Gate bridge I realized I was no longer in the protection of the mill valley hills from the full force of the wind. What greeted me was a nightmare. a mixture of blowing leaves and branches and rain, clouds that turned 3pm into the dark of night. i was stuck, out in the open and a half mile from the bridge. The wind, howling in between the golden gate gap between San Francisco and Marin counties and into the bay. When I was just getting on the bridge and leaving the last speck of protection I was hit full broadside by winds that turned out to be in excess of 80 miles and hour. It pushed me in an instant from the far right lane across the left lane and into the lane of on coming traffic. I was lucky, there was none, I leaned the bike like I was making a hairpin turn and got it back into the left lane of my direction, when I noticed that the hwy patrol officer that had been parked at the foot of the bridge when I got on was now travelling at 25 to 30 behind me lights on. Well, I figured I was being pulled over for stupidity and rightly deserved it. My target was the large bridge office building on the SF side of the bridge. Creeping along, with my escort behind me, I finally made it. Kick stand down, and the cop out of his car next to me. Bridge workers coming out of the office gathering around me. I had no idea I was being pulled over. In fact, that officer had been clearing the bridge. CHP was everywhere not allowing traffic on the bridge. I had been the last across. There is a video to this day, somewhere in the golden gate archives of the day they closed the bridge due to wind and rain. That video shows the 3 foot rise and fall of the bridge, the 18 inch sideways movement. And one lone crazy biker leaned at a 45 degree angle just to go straight crossing the bridge. That day I was brought inside. Dried off. Two chp mechanics wiped down and checked out my bike, Officers telling me I was the luckiest person they had ever seen. And the stupidest. I still ride in the rain. But when the wind kicks up. I'll see ya later.

Peaches - Texas - We had a ride planned to the Aardvark Rally in Seguin, TX and only myself, and Gecko and Red (our F.O. and his wife) showed up to go. (The sky was rather threatening and all of the other tough bikers wanted to stay warm and dry!) I swore up and down the whole way there it wasn't going to rain on us, it just looked nasty. Well as you all know, that type of talk guarantees that rain will abound. It didn't rain until about 10 miles from the rally and then it didn't quit until we got home that night. We did the poker run, bike games, visited vendors, and chatted with friends in the rain the WHOLE DAY. We were going to camp, but when I looked at the ground and realized that there was standing water everywhere so I decided better of it and we headed home. I came up with all sorts of wonderful money-making ideas from that wet ride home such as the A.T.W.S. (Automatic Toe Watering System for those dry, thirsty feet) and the Peaches 65MPH Facial Peel (for that dull, lifeless, biker skin). I got home, got off my bike and my boots actually made cartoon squeaky, squishing sounds when I walked. All in all, a great day and a wonderful (wet) learning experience!

Elmo4fun - upstate NY - I had the pleasure of going to my first major rally this past summer in Laconia NH. Now, I think everyone who attended this years rally would qualify as a "wet butt", lol, but here is my story. the first day of our trip we left western NY in the morning and it was HOT sunny. After hours of riding through some of NY's better back roads, we were in Mass. We stopped to spend the night at my moms house in Springfield, with hopes that the next day would be as great a ride as the first. When we woke up the next day the skies were gray. We left out of moms around 1 pm. After topping off the bikes we were on the road to Laconia again. We weren't on the road more than 10 min and the skies opened up. we rode in the driving rain all the way into Vermont, then into New Hampshire. Now most would say the slow going made for a boring trip, but I say it made it better. The rain forced me to slow down and allowed me to appreciate just how beautiful the area we were riding through was. By the time we reached our campsite we were pretty well soaked and of course as soon as we got off the bikes the rain stopped. With the exception of friday, the rest of the trip was on and off rain, but nobody seemed to care. its a trip I'll never forget.

Rustler - Texas - Not too long ago we had a flood and a friend lost everything so we set up a poker run as a benefit. The run went great, makes you feel good to see a 'bad ass biker' choking back tears as he and his wife expressed gratitude. The skies clouded up and we took off trying to beat the rain. Wasted effort! It started to pour, my SO, Keeper, just learned to ride last year and this was her first time in the rain so I was watching the mirrors more than normal, and too I was still wearing dark wrap around sunglasses - that's my story and I'm sticking to it (ROFL). So we top a hill, I see a blinking yellow light at the bottom, I slow down going down hill in the rain. A car pulls out from the intersection to my left and turns in front of me. Now a panic stop in the rain downhill is not something I want to try, so I slow as fast as I feel I can and start hitting my horn. I've re-wired my bike so the horn flashes the high beam so I know this dude was aware of me. He takes his time picking up speed. I missed him by about 2 inches. Later at a gas stop I ask Keeper if she saw the silly f*** turn in front of me. She says, "Huh? you ran a red light! And the pickup truck behind him almost broad-sided you!!" Talking about it, it turns out that best we can figure is that I saw the light turn from green to yellow (blink) as I crested the hill and I saw it turn to red (blink) as I headed downhill - but with the rain and my sunglasses I didn't see the red!!!

FiremanRic - North Carolina - Being a proud Wetbutt, myself, (even before I joined the WBRA) for a few years, I am proud to say that my Daughter who just turned 18 is following my, well should I say she earned her right to become a member. She and I took off on a Sunny afternoon from Fayetteville NC going to ride in the mountains of NC, Enjoying a nice day, eating lunch, and having just a great Father / Daughter ride, we arrived at Lake Lure, NC just as we were pulling into town the rains came. We went and found our place to sleep and she wanted to ride some though the area, so in the drizzle we went riding, met several friends from the Southern Cruisers and the Rhinoriders and then back to the cabin where we watched the weather channel, RAIN all the coming day. We got up and hit the road with 2 other friends, we decided we would take the interstate and possible beat the rain. WRONG!, just after leaving the town of Lake Lure, we started in the rain, We would ride, stop to eat and ride some more in the Rain. Never once did I hear her complain. We made it back to the NC / SC State Line on Interstate 95 where as you would know the Rain stopped. We had 50 miles left of the 300 miles (1 way). When I dropped her off at her mother's and we were all just talking. She told her mother "It was raining so hard, I couldn't see Daddy" She was on the back of my bike and saying that, I guess the rain was pretty hard on her. Well We laughed, and she proceed to tell her mom of the fun she had riding in the rain. I ask her if she wanted to do it again and she smiled and said, "Maybe, Will you buy me a raincoat". Dang now I guess you know what I got to get. She is a Natural Wetbutt Rider.

GEO --Maine: My son-in-law and I went on a run this Saturday (Aug. 24 2002). It was called the NE661. 6 meals in 6 states in 1 day. Started out in Kittery,Maine, then to Concord,N.H., then to Brattleboro,Vermont, then to Deerfield,Mass., then to Strafford,Connecticut, and finally to Providence,Rhode Island. There was 17 bikes in all and we put on 400+ miles. The ride from Maine to New Hampshire was awesome. As we started to leave New Hampshire it started to sprinkle so we all put on what rain gear we had. By the time we reached Vermont it was raining pretty good. While we were having lunch it seemed the rain had stopped. As we were getting ready to leave it started raining again. On the way to Deerfield, Mass it was raining so hard visibility was very bad. We pulled into the Yankee Candle Co and everybody was pretty much drenched. My son-in-law went into the restroom and took his boots and socks off and put them one at a time on the hand dryer to try and dry them out. Didn't dry them very well but he said they were a little warmer anyway. Also he had noticed that the riding gloves that he was wearing had bled when they got wet and his hands were all black. We drove on to Connecticut where we had dinner and then on to Rhode Island. It was pretty close to midnight as we stood around at the local Mobil quik-mart eating ice cream talking about the ride. We all agreed that even though everybody was pretty much soaked, we had a pretty good time. I know I met some really nice people and saw some awesome motorcycles. When we finally got home to my son-in-laws house, I went down in the basement and took all my rain gear off. I was really sort of dry except for my feet. My socks were sopping and we had to put my shoes in the dryer. The next morning I noticed there was a puddle on the basement floor. Looking forward to next year. Hope it doesn't rain

daFonz - Georgia - In 1978 I decided to use the GI bill to go back to college. I didn't own a car at the time just a Harley . So here I am this older, long haired, biker guy with all these young co-eds hanging around kinda curious and excited (don't know who was more curious and excited me or them - LOL). Eventually I asked the cutest girl, and man she was a knockout sorority girl, to go on a ride with me. After about 3 weeks of constant persuading she finally agrees so we plan it and head off on a picnic one Saturday afternoon. I picked her up, swung by a chicken joint to pick up a couple of "dinners" and then rode to the local state park. The picnic area was across the spill way (or dam) from the entrance to the park and you have to drive through running water to get over there. I was "putting" very slowly across the spill way in about 2-4 inches of water when a jeep, with huge tires, and 4 young college guys starts across from the other side. No problem - right!? Wrong! ...as the jeep got closer to us the passenger leans over and said something...the driver then hit the gas and as they passed us we were blasted by a *wall* of water that I bet I could have used a surf board on! That beautiful coed on the back of my scooter was drenched, screaming, and pissed. I pulled in to the first picnic table and that's when I realized that her hair (no helmet law and none on) was now plastered to her head, her make up was all running and washed half off, and she looked like a wet mouse. It was then that I learned the lesson that heavy make up will "make - up" for some really bad looking features. Needless to say I didn't date her again (her choice not mine) nor any other sorority girls after that. But it was a really good laugh at the time.

Sharkie - Michigan - While two of my riding buddies and I were out gallivanting, checking out bike shops, and having lunch, it started to rain. Now, I've ridden in the rain before, and without incident, so I was not worried. But when the leader signaled to turn/slow down, I put my foot on the back brake. I know, the front brake should come first, and I can't say why I did that, but I did. The rear tire came around to the right, and the bike proceeded to lead me right to the pavement. Not seeming to slow at all, and starting this fiasco at a modest 50 mph, I was on the ground and had turned 180 degrees, speeding along me-first right in the lane I was supposed to be in. As I was moving along in slow motion I thought of nothing but the fact that I was moving along in slow motion and that the screech of the metal on the road must mean my bike is totaled. Head-first, on my back, I slid straight down the road (fearing that at any moment the road would simply tear up the back of my shirt in order to mince my back, that my jeans would wear completely through) toward my buddy, stopping only feet away from him. But it didn't hurt at all. In fact, it felt like I was doing the world's longest Slip-N-Slide (water slide). Having come to rest, I discovered that I was virtually uninjured! (Having suffered only a tiny scrape on my left elbow.) The guys helped me out from under the bike and we assessed the damage: The bike has a few scratches to show for it (okay, it looks as though someone took a belt-sander to a couple of spots, I'll admit), damage to my shirt was unnoticeable to the human eye, and a couple of back-pocket stitches were sanded off of my jeans, but the wet pavement really "saved my ass". I got back on the bike, got it started with the help of my entourage, and we went on our way. Man, was my butt wet for the rest of the day, but I didn't care. I was still alive!

Choppers Down Under - Australia - back in 82,..I was work'n with a Boogie & Blues Band as a sound & light'n man, on th' Murry River North of Victoria Aust'.... I decided tu ride there coz th river area is alwayz Hot n Dry, least thatz whad I thought,.. south was clear skyz n warm,..ssooo off I go'z on gettn nearer to th' destination a whole shit load of weather come across so i heded for some cover, a oll hay shed,..rode in parked th' scoot and sat back on a couple a bails a hay,..thinkn HA! no wet ass,..Th' storm broke after an houre or so,... ...I was real happy no wet bike, no wet ass - so I thought, when I went over to th' ride I discovered the only holl in the roof is were I parked th' scoot,..FERK! the Bloody saddle was soaked,.Anyhow me & th' babe jumped on an set off,.. th' rage was start'n soon an I had tu do sound & light'n,....a few miles up th' road & there was no road only water as far as th' eye could see...Ferk! again,..I ride a 836 powered Hoonda Choppa thats 16" Low in th' saddle an we had tu moter through 8 Fugg'n miles of flood,...I was pissed to th' max,...an it was cold man I mean real cold,...icical cold,...anyhow we got there a liddle late but in one piece,...thay organised a fill in sound & light'n man while Me an th' splitail get ourselfz some worm me up,... I spotted some hot collz from a previouse fir so I decided I'd warm me tozeze up by stand'n in th' collz,..after a bit I was wondered wuddafuggz everyone loog'n at,..this wen on 4 a bit when wunna me ome Bro's said 'Hay Speedy! look down,.. Ssoooo I did n saw Great Flames from me bootz,....I got me feey warm though,...only cost me a near new set of Jonny Rebz.

Buster -- St. Paul, MN -- Riding from the Twin Cities to Red Lodge, MT I pulled into a gas station in Miles City, MT to gas up, and oil the chain on a '77 Honda 750K loaded with camping gear. I discovered the rear wheel had 3 broken spokes, and the 2-week trip through the mountains wasn't starting out very well. The closest Honda dealer was 150 miles away in Billings. The mechanic would be leaving in 2 hours, so I had to hustle to get there. I told my 3 riding buddies where the dealership was, and I sped off. As soon as I got on I-94 it started to rain cats and dogs. I rolled on the throttle to 80mph and prayed that my rear wheel would not fail. It rained so hard there was standing water in the freeway, and I was hydroplaning most of the time. The bike handled the rain without any problems. I got to the dealership in less than 2 hours. The mechanic could not believe that I made it there as fast as I did. I didn't have a fairing on my bike, so I felt like a human sponge. Even the money in my wallet was soaked. I gave the mechanic a very wet tip and continued on our ride. I had a guardian angel watching over me during my high-speed ride through a gulley-washer of a rain storm.

Neil...AKA...Neil - Brick, NJ - We went to North Jersey to the 7th annual Fathers Day / Kelsey Charity ride. It was way to nice to just blast down the highway on the way back, so we headed south and east by any back road available. That's the riding I like the best, 45-50 MPH on curvywooded country roads. I could see the clouds getting ugly but they were well to the west and I was headed in the opposite direction. We hit a particularly flat and straight piece of road and were motoring along nicely when all of a sudden there it was, a wall of water coming right at us. I knew I wasn't getting away from it so I just let Tommy know he was about to get completly wiped out and I drove on. Almost as soon as the first drops hit the windshield we were completely soaked from head to toe. No overhead cover as far as I could see and no shoulder. We just pushed on for another 15 minutes till we came to an intersection where there was a small convenience store so we pulled in there until the rain let up. We didn't have to wait long, about 2 minutes after we stopped so did the rain. The Sun came out and we were off. We picked up 195 east towards the shore for some 65 MPH drying. We were home in 30 minutes and almost completely dry. My wife asked my son what the most fun he had all day was and he said "gettin wiped out in the rain".

Mike(007) - Wichita, Kansas - The KSMR was formed on Delphi in May of 2001. To commerate our first anniversary, we elected to ride to Salina for the weekend. The skies were cloudy and there was a 100% "chance" of rain but that stopped no one. As we left the restaurant, it began to sprinkle a bit so we pulled over and suited up in rubber. Of course it quit raining at that point! But not for long. Close to 5 miles out of Hutch, the rain began in earnest. We would be traveling right along with the heart of the storm that had formed and it was a slow moving one...cold, wet and of course windy. We stopped first at the Harley shop in Salina and then checked into the Best Western. I think we dimmed the lights in Salina with all the use of hair dryers in attempts to dry out boots, socks and gloves! That evening, with rain seemingly coming down even harder, we took off for Abilene (25 miles distant) where we had dinner reservations. I'm sure the folks at the restaurant really got a kick out of seeing that many bikes pull up in their parking lot when it would have been more appropriate have seen boats! Couple of "lessons": Get plastic bags from any grocery or convenience store to wear as "socks". Do something to keep your hands dry! I didn't and my hands were the only part of my body that got cold. My rainsuit? A $19 two piece "Farmer John" type storm suit obtained from a surplus store. Kept me bone dry. Ugly as sin though. Great time, wouldn't have missed it, hopefully we won't have to elect to do it again! But if the situation repeats, we will be back out with fins and snorkels enjoying the ride!

Toad - San Antonio, TX - I was supposed to meet a college buddy and a friend of his from Shreveport, LA in Dallas, TX for a motorcycle show. The time came for me to take off. When I walked out of the show, it had just started. Big random drops, but not many of them. I had left all my stuff in in the hotel room, so I just wanted to make it there with out getting entirely soaked, which I was able to do. I packed my bag, suited up and headed out. I didn't even make it out of town when the sky let loose. It rained the on me entire 400 miles to San Antonio. The scariest part was the cagers around me. At times I could not see more than 30 feet in front of me and was doing 10 MPH on I-35. I kept having to dry off the inside of my visor to see. By the time I got home, I was soaked to my underwear and my hands were black from the die of my gloves. My waterproof boots were soaked as well as my socks and feet. Seems my buddy had it no better. They left the following day, and he said they had parts of I-20 closed due to flooding.

Poncho - Aspers, PA - I stopped riding in 1973, just about the time I returned home a second time to the real world. I had not been on anything with exception to a dirt dabber now and again. A "young" friend and compadre of mine talked me into getting another bike....so, I did. Well, then the young lad talks this old fool into some lengthy rides, to get my feet back under me again so to speak. Well we set out like the noble lords, conquering new frontiers (or at least trying to revisit the old). We are on a lengthy journey down freedom's road, and returning home when the heavens opened up and I am quite sure I observed a large wooden craft with muti animals on board floating by..... The drops were the size of quarters and stung like silver dollars. Of course not riding for twenty seven years didn't help matters any. The young guy, oh he was laughing and hooping and hollering, he was having a good old time at this old man's expense! It WAS an experience...and I would never tell the fella, but I sure did enjoy it...I never realized 'till that moment what I had given away when I stopped riding for all those years.....God Bless! Safe Rides to All!

BosDawg - Black Mountain, NC. - In August of '99 my wife and I were preparing to go to my brothers wedding. The weather channel was calling for light showers from NC to GA. Candi asked me if we were going to load up the bikes and drive down to St Simmons Island GA. Of course I said NO repeating what the weather channel had said (Light showers). Also reminding her that we were going to a BIKER WEDDING, did she really want to show up in the truck with bikes in tow! Unfortunately I won, now you've got to remember my brother is a member of a local Harley motorcycle club. (they frown on any body that rides anything else) Well the trip went well just a little spitting of rain all through NC & SC, as we entered into Georgia within the first mile the bottom fell out!! Within 2 miles we were soaked and couldn't see a thing! Candi pulled off the interstate (not even under a overpass) and told me that if I ever did this to her again she would ************* me! LOL I reminded her that we were close but hey we are already wet! So on we went, by the time we reached our destination her attitude was a real problem. When we pulled in, the rain stopped and the SUN came out! Of course when we pulled in everybody came outside and couldn't believe that we had ridden 385 miles in the rain! Got us alot of respect from that club, had to keep the wet clothes on untill we could dry out our dry clothes. Well it was fun, other than having to run 65 - 70 on the interstate just to keep from getting run over. The trip home was great rode the whole way back in vest and t-shirt.

Mouse - Madison Heights, WI - I had just had my bike about a month, got my M on my dirvers licence and decided to hit the road with my girlfriend and go from Lynchburg Va. to Hampton VA. to surprise my family. It's about a 4 hour ride if you only stop for a gas and go. My girlfriend had only been on a bike once and was scared to death. Well we left Lynchburg, sun shining, about 75 degres, went about 70 miles and the bottom fell out of the bucket. We stoped at a store to wait out the rain, we got there before we really got wet. Well after about 2 hours the rain let up to just a sprinkle, so we decided to take a chance and hit the road. By the time we got to Charlottsville we decided to stop at a leather store and buy some chaps because our legs were soaked from the spray off the front tire. We got suited up and hit the road again, about 2 miles down the road the bottom fell out again and I said the hell with it and rode straight through only stoping for gas. We rode from c-ville all the way to Hampton on I-64 in the pouring down rain, no windshield, tractor trailers and cars passing us doing 70mph+. We finaly got to Hampton about 8:30 that night after a 7 hour trip. We both looked like drowned rat's, every thing we had was soaked. 2 days later we had a nice trip back. Now even if there is just a slight chance of rain my girlfriend won't even think of getting on a bike but I'm an old motocross nut and I'll ride what ever the weather. Bring it on!!!

Big Guy - Cape Cod, MA - I ride 20k a year on 2 wheels and have been through may a rainstorm. About the wettest ride I've ever taken had to have been the ride home from Laconia's Bike week 2001. Normally it takes me 2-3 hours to make the trip from Cape Cod to Weirs Beach. I decided to wait until Sunday to make the return trip, along with the 300,000 other who had the same thought! Got up loaded up the trailer and van (I rode the scoot) and just as we headed out the rain started. Looking at the clouds coming around the mountains I figured we would just skirt the heavy stuff. WRONG! Within 15 minutes of rolling I had water coming over my handlebars. For the next 8 hours I was thinking I was a U-boat commander. The only thing the rain suit did for me was hold the water close to my body. I guess that gave me a little warm insulation, kind of like a diver's wet suit. I had to keep emptying my goggles as the rain was so hard that it was gushing into them from what was running of my forehead.