It was just a couple of days ago that the temperature was 94 degrees at my house, so I was looking forward to the first real winter storm of the season, especially for the high desert area, as there was barely any thunderstorm activity out that way, last summer. The weather app predicted that the high at Boulevard would be 48 on Saturday....a bit on the chilly side when there is wind and rain in the mix, but I didn't care. I had rain gear stowed in the jeep, and I know how to dress for these sorts of conditions.
Things didn't look so good as I drove out. The wind, rain and finally sleet or hail were all pretty fierce. However, the weather is often more benign once you get over the pass on I-8, so I was hopeful. But it was not to be. There were a number of people in the staging area when I arrived, but the rain squalls and wind had most of them loading up their bikes and gear at this time. Also the weather app was incorrect about the temperature. It was 38 when I got there, and never got any warmer than 41 throughout the day. I wasn't certain that I wanted to unload my bike and hit the trail at this point. To make things worse, I discovered that my rain gear had not been put back into the Jeep after my last weather ride, some two years ago. I had brought a nice waterproof enduro jacket and gloves along...but I didn't think my legs would stay even the slightest bit warm without my rain pants. I decided to drive back home....then there was a momentary break in the weather, and I discovered an old pair of Frogg Toggs rain pants in the car. I had just enough time to get suited up and pull the bike down before the clouds broke loose again.
What a day. Perfect dirt, torrential downpours intermittently broken up by periods of sunshine, extreme wind gusts....and a slightly clammy and cool rider. You can never stay completely dry. Water wicks up your sleeves and into your glove liners, water puddles and perspiration does the rest. If you layer your fleece garments right, they will keep most of the moisture wicked away from you, and keep you from getting uncomfortably cold. I was dressed to keep from getting too cold by a good enough margin. The cheap rain pants soon began to melt on the exhaust side, in spite of the heat shield on the pipe. I had to stop and roll that leg up to the top of my boot to avoid any further weird "melted plastic" smells, and synthetic goo getting stuck to the rear portion of the header. after that, the ride was blissfully uneventful, and was just a fun wet weather jaunt.
I spent a few hours happily bumbling around with the 501, only coming across one other group for the day. By the time I made it back to my Jeep, everybody else was long gone. I hope we have a lot more rain this season.
Things didn't look so good as I drove out. The wind, rain and finally sleet or hail were all pretty fierce. However, the weather is often more benign once you get over the pass on I-8, so I was hopeful. But it was not to be. There were a number of people in the staging area when I arrived, but the rain squalls and wind had most of them loading up their bikes and gear at this time. Also the weather app was incorrect about the temperature. It was 38 when I got there, and never got any warmer than 41 throughout the day. I wasn't certain that I wanted to unload my bike and hit the trail at this point. To make things worse, I discovered that my rain gear had not been put back into the Jeep after my last weather ride, some two years ago. I had brought a nice waterproof enduro jacket and gloves along...but I didn't think my legs would stay even the slightest bit warm without my rain pants. I decided to drive back home....then there was a momentary break in the weather, and I discovered an old pair of Frogg Toggs rain pants in the car. I had just enough time to get suited up and pull the bike down before the clouds broke loose again.
What a day. Perfect dirt, torrential downpours intermittently broken up by periods of sunshine, extreme wind gusts....and a slightly clammy and cool rider. You can never stay completely dry. Water wicks up your sleeves and into your glove liners, water puddles and perspiration does the rest. If you layer your fleece garments right, they will keep most of the moisture wicked away from you, and keep you from getting uncomfortably cold. I was dressed to keep from getting too cold by a good enough margin. The cheap rain pants soon began to melt on the exhaust side, in spite of the heat shield on the pipe. I had to stop and roll that leg up to the top of my boot to avoid any further weird "melted plastic" smells, and synthetic goo getting stuck to the rear portion of the header. after that, the ride was blissfully uneventful, and was just a fun wet weather jaunt.
I spent a few hours happily bumbling around with the 501, only coming across one other group for the day. By the time I made it back to my Jeep, everybody else was long gone. I hope we have a lot more rain this season.
