Intersting ryde in the rain this morning
Well, I was complaining about how rough life has been without getting any OT, & regularly being laid off 1 day a week, and boom, opportunity knocks. On Friday, my boss asked if I'd like to learn another job so when the guy that does the job goes on medical leave in a few weeks, they can have me cover his position. Wow, cool, ok, so I get some OT to learn, right? Yup,come in 4 early all next week. Cool, 12 hrs a day Mon-Fri, starting at 2:30am . . . . . . OUCH!!! But hey, what are you gonna do? I need the $$. And working 5 12's more than doubles my paycheck . . . . . . . WOO HOO!!!
Ok, so back to the interesting ryde in to work this morning at 2:30am in a pouring down thunderstorm. Being so broke, I've been procrastinating about replacing the rear tire on Teds Red Sled, & we just clicked over 15,000 miles this weekend, & that's in only 4 months. (WOW, I just realized if we keep this pace up, we'll be doing close to 45,000 miles a year, on a SpYder) Well, as most of you know, the rear tire is pretty flat in the center, to the wear bars or even a little lower, even tho the outer tread still looks new. So, as I said earlier, it was a heavy downpour this morning & as usual, I was running a little late. I found this silicone spray wax that works great at wicking the water off the shield & I always aply a coat before leaving if I think I may run into rain. Also aply it to my full face shield as well. Been using it for about 2 months now & so far, no ill effects like fogging or "crazing" the shield as many others have said happens when using products like RainX on the "plastic" shields. So, I applied the wax, donned my rain gear & full face helmet, and off I went. It was coming down pretty hard, with thunder & lightning adding to the drama of the early morning ryde. I switched off the LCD for the Teddy-Cam, in the hopes of prolonging its life as long as possible. Technically, its not water-proof, but the guy I talked with upon purchasing, said he's not had one LCD of his returned for problems due to water in over 4 years of business. Granted, thats probably cause they are almost always used INSIDE of vehicles & not subjected to the elements like the one I'm using is on a daily basis. But I figured the deluge we put it thrue in Lake Placid for SpYders In The Adirondacks didn't crap it out, well, we should be good to go. And, so far, so good. Anyways, the ryde in wasn't bad, but I was being extra cautious, cause at 2:45am, is right when most of the drunks are heading home from all the bars closing. Wasn't really many ppl out on the roads at all, except for of course those dang semi's. Guess there a bikers worse thing to deal with when riding in the rain. They just throw up so much spray & basically just dreanch you as they pass. If I could, I tried to stay a lane away from them at all times, but that often meant I had to go into the far left (High Speed) lane, & wouldn't you know it, it always seemed that lane held most of the pooled water. Ok, no big deal, that is, til I came to a group of 5 semis together, in both of the right 2 lanes of a 3 lane stretch of I75 North, just outside the downtown Cincinnati area. No choice but to go to the far left lane, so I did. Once I did & I began to pass, the leading semi decided to speed up & the A**hole decided to match my speed, first at 60, so I gingerly rolled the throttle up to 65 thinking it would be plenty to get around him so I could get back over to a safer & slower lane, right? Guess this guy doesn't like getting passed by a SpYder in a rainstorm, cause he wasn't having it & yup, he matched my speed again :-X
Mind you now, I have nothing but respect for semi drivers, as my own sister was a Cross-Country driver for many years, til she had to stop due to breast cancer, but as with any group, your going to have good & bad, and well, this guy was just an A**Hole, plain & simple. He knew exactly what he was doing and it wasn't an "honest" mistake, he was just enjoying making me take a bath at his expense.
Now I've got another Semi right behind me, and this AHole on the side dreanching me & a concrete devider about 12 inches to my left & guess what happens? Yup, I start to hydroplane. At first, the rear wheel spins a little left toward the wall, but the front wheels stay almost straight, til I fearfully try to correct & aim a little to the right, which would put me going right into one of the semi's front tires. Then I notice the rear wheel starts going to the right and almost as quickly back to the left again. At this time, I'm thinking, this is it, game over, & sarcastically I'm thinking to myself, "I wonder how much good this full-face helmet & riding jacket are going to help me, when I'm getting ran over by a fully loaded 18 wheeler or two." Hey, I'm not saying its right, but it is what went thru my head. Then of course, I thought about poor Teddy being so spoiled & having to learn new ways of life with-out me in it. Then I just got pissed. I knew if I opened the throttle wider, that I'd probably just spin myself into the wall or the semi, but just then, the Nanny Kicked in & probably saved me. I fealt the Spyder slow a little and with that, the rear tire got traction again and I was able to roll on the throttle enough to gain enough speed to put some distance between myself and the group of semis & was able to get out of that dreaded left lane of death. Once I got out of the left lane, I didn't have an issue with traction & thankfully made it the rest of the way to work with no more drama.
Once I got to work, there was a guy waiting inside for me. Said he had stuck his head out the door, and saw my lights on the bike through the downpouring rain & just had to see who was the idiot riding a bike in this kind of weather, with a chuckle of course. I said that would be me, & I'm a very Thankful & Grateful Idiot to be ryding a Spyder, cause any other "byke" & I truly believe I'd be a dead idiot right about now.
Have I said HOW MUCH I LOVE MY SPYDER LATELY?
errrrrr, correction. HOW MUCH I LOVE "TEDS RED SLED" LATELY? - LOL
opcorn:
but such is lyfe in the mid-west, makes me miss Florida more & more. I just wished I had worn my full-face helmet or at least could have found my ear muffs, as my ears got pretty chilly. Its only a 19 mile ryde (all Interstate) in to work, so its not bad at all. Teddy took his time going potty this morning, so I didn't have time for breakfast at home & decided to run thru the drive-thru on the way in. I ordered my usual, and while I was in line waiting, I noticed the "vanity plate" of the car in front of me & it said 'ALL N HIM' which I didn't get the meaning at first, til I noticed the plate frame advertising St.X. Some of you that follow college basketball may be aware of Xavier University here in Cincinnati, as its awell known Catholic University. Once I saw this, it clicked. ALL N HIM, their belief in GOD "I,m assuming" & i thought to myself, ok, cool. 
So, Im having a Blessed day & hope that YOU do as well :thumbup:
pps:
![2011-09-15 15.17.22[7].jpg](https://www.spyderlovers.com/data/attachments/3/3119-6cbfb721dbb8235325a0980d7bf8ccde.jpg?hash=w9HEwgNR_- "2011-09-15 15.17.22[7].jpg")
