Thank you mother nature for the reminder
Yesterday I rode home from Grafton NSW and just wanted to extend my thanks to Mother Nature.
The trip is about 650km ahead, and around 7 hrs ride time not including fuel stops for the '17RTL and myself. I was thinking of linking up with some mates further down the east coast at "bike night" (Newcastle) when I set off, and an hour or so the GPS started warning me of the impending weather - a few mins later it began to rain - I knew my companions at bike night would not join me with any chance of rain. I Get off the motorway and decided to take one of our awesome motorcycling roads that cross the Great Dividing Range here in NSW (the Oxley Hwy.)
Wearing summer gear - mesh jacket and Kevlar Jeans still - I put on light wet weather gear and keep going, then the strong wind gusts (forewarned by the "damaging winds, heavy rain and thunderstorm warning" on the GPS) begin and I get showered with tree debris. Next on the list is Hail, about 12mm or 1/2" diameter peppering me as I ride. Road works with traffic lights ensures I get to see Mama Nature in her glory while stationary. Next on the agenda was an electrical storm, saw multiple strikes around me and could hear it thru my ear plugs. It DOES cross my mind "am I the highest thing that conducts electricity". It rains for another hour or so but I'm still enjoying the winding roads sheltered by the Mountain range from the wind. These bloody traffic lights keep stopping my rhythm.
I come off the range and the road opens to 110kmh/70mph, the rain has stopped, the sky blue so I up the pace. As I travel the temp reading shows 19 deg C and starts to make its way downward - I decide that when it hits 10 deg C I'll stop and put on my winter riding gear. It gets to 10 and I have only 15kms to go to Walcha (the coldest place on earth - well sort of) so I decide to push on. 10kms from Walcha sleet starts - by now I'm really feeling the cold but hold out till Walcha and 4 deg C. The only part of my body that is warm are my feet (thank you ski socks) and the inside of my hands (thank you heated grips).
I find a spot to sit under cover in the main street of Walcha - my T-Shirt is wet from sweating earlier in the day so I strip down to the shorts I wear under my Kevlar jeans. The Walcha wind is showing me its special welcome while half naked, a lady exits store behind me and laughs. She complains "I have to make deliveries in this foul weather, but seeing you, I feel okay about it now. Why are you half naked? What arrrrrrre you doing?" She has a sense of humour - I tell her I expected her to provide better weather for my arrival to her humble town. She said "you never call me, so this is what you get!!"
With winter gear on, I realise I only have my old wet gear - the new stuff is still sitting in the RT622 trailer, at home - the DriRider Jacket and pants did keep me dry in the wet for the 1st 6 months but not nowadays, so my fate is a warm but wet trip home. It's almost dark when I get fuel and the servo operator warns me there is a blitz on by the police towards bikes. By the time we finish chatting all daylight is gone - the sleet has switched to drizzle, but the buffeting wind is making good use of the Perspex spinnaker on the front until the wind changes direction 180 deg. I realise I haven't seen another vehicle on the Oxley for an hour or so, thankful the "caution back ice" signs are still in the council depot.
As I get off the Oxley onto the New England 3 police vehicles await me on the roadside - one is an MC cop. They ask questions about my journey, check I have good tread on the tyres and an approved tow bar. Finally, a cop who is not the MC cop asks me "Why the hell are you out in this in this s%&t weather" The MC cop answers for me with "because we like it" and gives me the nod. The rest of the trip home is uneventful - I was most thankful the wind had gone, and I wished it either stayed raining or stopped. I got home at 9:15pm - jeez the plethora of traffic lights at road works sure added a lot of time.
So thank you Ma Nature for showing me your wind, heavy pelting rain, lightning strikes, hail storm, sleet, freezing temps, and a debris collection in the front ducts any Arborist would be proud of. I am thankful you didn't throw down another huge tree in front of me to check on my wet weather emergency high speed braking skills. Maybe next time huh? You reminded me why I am an all weather rider - because I like it!!!
