Worst Storm Experience

[schpiff]

Hi All,
Read about the disaster at the Country thing up in Canada and got to wonderin about other's stories about riding thru a storm.
My own was a couple years ago.
Me and SWMBO went to Summerfest in Milwaukee. Had a blast. Bikes get free supervised parking right at the gate. And the choices of music was awsome.
Couldnt believe how many bikes were there.
Anyways.. on the way home heading west out of town on the interstate (scary enough in Milwaukee) I see a nasty looking storm ahead.
I figured we had best find a hiding spot. Wouldnt ya know there wasnt an exit to be found.
When the rain started it wasnt too bad, for about 30 seconds...then KERSPLASH! It rained drops that were like waterballoons.
Couldnt pull over because cars were hydroplaning thru the breakdown lane.
The car in front of me (just a grey blob) was doin about 25mph, so I tried to stay in his wheel tracks. When I didnt the water was well over the hieght of the rubber on my front tire.
I had a helmet on and was drowning from the water blowing up inside it.
We made it thru it ok but seriously had doubts.
Some cars never slowed down! Some pulled halfway off the road. (NICE)
After we made it thru the deluge we found an overpass to stop under so I could get my %^#* together.
I guess there was a funny side to it...
after finding the overpass SWMBO got off and opened up the duffel I had strapped on the back. As I watched she dug out a travel pack of kleenex.
By the time she got it open it was soaked.
All I could ask was what the hell were ya gonna do with that.
Her answer???...
I was gonna dry off your sheild so we can go...
HA! Gotta love her

[Cobia]

That's the Midwest for you...

Hey schpiff,
Heading west out of Milwaukee... where were you going Madtown!!???
I'm a Badger and lived in Madison for about six years. My girlfriend/fiance was from West Alis (sp?)
Many good memories from that area.

[Bigfoot]

I was travelling from Kansas City to Branson, MO with Russ79, Vincer (2 up with his wife) and their friend Brian on a naked sportster. I think it was before we got to Springfield, MO the skies started looking really dark. We pulled over and put on rain gear. Just about the time the last person got back on the bike it was like someone dumped a bucket on us. Lightning everywhere (close). At times visibility was probably around 20 yards (maybe less). I could barely make out the tail lights in front of me. Good thing that whoever was driving the car that we were all following didn't go off the road because we would have all followed like a bunch of lemmings. It kept up for about 30 miles before we found a gas station to pull of at.

I stayed pretty dry with my vetter fairing and frog toggs. Vince had a short windshield that he ducked down behind directing all of the rain right into his wife. LOL. By far the heaviest rain I have ever been outside for, let alone on a bike.

[Pat Kelly]

Worst stom experience...... Hmmmmm.....
Been riding rain or shine for along time, Been in fog so thick you can only see one centerline stripe at a time. Line turns solid and you know an intersection is up ahead somewhere. Can't see the signal light if it's green or red. Listen for traffic and just GO!, Quickly!, and PRAY! Done that in car, on bicycle, and motorcycle.
3 years ago got off work and headed toGamestop to get Xmas presents for the kids. It was pouring. People were sitting in their cars, not getting out because of the rain. I made my purchases, sewaled my rainsuit and donned my helmet. Strolled to the bike and rode off. Got home and wife said she knows I ride ok in bad weather but some idiot will run me over. I told her that I was safest that day. On a nice sunny day no one notices someone on a motorcycle but that day everyone pointed at the guy riding the motorcycle in a downpour.
3 weeks ago I was in my 18-wheeler taking a load to Kingman, AZ. It was a very light load, 9,000 pounds (yet a full trailer). 25 miles from Kingman I could see a thunderstorm up ahead. in front of the t-storm and just to the south was a huge dust-devil (tornadoish, whirly, wind thing). As I got close the dust-devil saw me and headed right at me. It hit the right side of the (light) trailer and pushed me to the left. I heard on the CB someone shout "Dot's going over!". I cut to the left and got back under the trailer then fish-tailed a bit. The CB then said "your wheels wer in the air" (I aasume that was the right trailer wheels). I would have stopped right there but I was almost to my destination so I kept on truckin'.

[schpiff]

Ya der hey Cobia

I live about 30 miles north of Madtown.
Been in this area most of my life.
I would go somewhere else but why?
Then I would be there instead of here..um...whoa...nevermind. lol

[HobbyMan]

The storm I was in wasn't too bad except for the damage it caused to my bike. I was just a few block from home. I had seen the weather report earlier that day at was aware that a front was moving in but wasn't concerned all that much. As I was getting closer to home, I didn't hear the sirens going off to find shelter. The next thing I know, I am getting pounded with actual softball size hail. I leaned forward to protect the tank from getting dented. I was not able to cover the gauges and they were shattered. Some nice frozen ice balls pummeled my gauges and glass shot everywhere. After the hail stopped, It was like riding on big marbles. Luckily I was wearing my motorcycle jacket even though I ended up with lots of bruises. The good news was that my tank made it through ok. You gotta love those afternoon T-storms in Texas.

[madmax-im]

All these years and never been caught in a real bad storm ...but just last week i was doing a NJ Tag game on the ADVRider forum...the tag was along the shore...day was hot and humid...i get the tag and start heading the 50 miles back home when i ran into this thunderstorm. No hail but sheets of water falling out of the skyI had to stop at a traffic light and all around me...and I mean close..lighting was flashing and thunder so loud it sounded like the sky was being ripped open...I had been in this storm 10 mins at that point ...I decided to run the light as it was just too dangerous to be sitting there in the wide open...after running the light Iapproach an underpass where I sat out the remainder of the storm...I did not bring my raingear and I was soaked thru my mesh jacket and pants...10 mins later and the sun came back out...so I continued on home to post the tag(couldn't believe no one else beat me to it) and I was dry by the time I got home...the next day Max had his stroke...LOL

[cueball]

Driving partly loaded B Double through hills two years ago, rain coming in damn near horizontal. only thing that kept me out of trees was six pallets of battery's in front trailer. got out of storm zone and dude on BMW was heading into it, braver man than me

[J.D.]

On the Vulcan 750 with Hellfire windshield, pre-fairing days, the Monday of the weekend Katrina hit New Orleans, coming back from Table Rock Lake in Missouri. Spent Sunday night with a buddy in Hot springs, and woke up to pouring down rain; finally got out about 2 p.m. Get to Texarkana, didn't wanna go 71 to Shreveport as the sky that direction looked rough, traffic's backed up a mile or more at US59, so on to I-30 and US259. Bottom falls out 3 miles from the exit, and a Mercedes convertible pulls in under the next overpass, totally blocking any access for me and the scoot; by the next overpass I'm soaked and can't see 30 feet in front of me. 30 minutes later it's let up enuff I get the raingear on and head out. The next 200 miles to Nacogdoches was ride 30-45 minutes, stop 10 or 15, before the rain quit. 30 miles later, south of Lufkin, I'm in it again all the way to Cleveland. Shoulda been home around 8:00; got in at 10:45.

Last August on the way to Kentucky on the 'Wing, pouring down rain from Diboll to just north of Nacogdoches on 259; hydroplaned when a 18-wheeler going south washed a wall of water across all four lanes, and down I go. Rode the bike back to Nacogdoches with the right handlebar down near the fairing. One person, a rancher in a pickup 3rd back out of the 10 or so vehicles stopped including two 18-wheelers, got out and helped me get the bike back upright and off the road. The rest sat in their cars and stared.

Jim