Rainbow Ride
Here in Florida, the weather is probably the biggest factor in our motorcycle riding. Like a lot of folks, one of my most-watched TV stations is the Weather Channel. Every morning, I check the forecast, to see if I can ride the bike to work that day. If the rain chances are 30% or less, I'll throw my leg over the seat and ride. (And sometimes, I'll stretch that to 40% if I've really got the Motorcycle Jones.) Of course even then, it doesn't always work out; after all, a percentage is just a gamble, right?
So one morning not long ago, I checked the Weather Channel and saw that it was a typical forecast for a summer day in Florida: Partly cloudy, high in the low 90's with a 30% chance of afternoon
thunderstorms. Well, if you don't take a chance on days like that, you'll never ride your bike between May and November, so naturally I hopped on the scoot for the half-hour ride to work. During the day, every time I walked by a window, I'd
check the skies to see if I'd be able to stay dry on the way home. It was looking pretty good until right about the time I had to leave. I could see rain in the distance, but I figured I had time to beat the wet air if I hurried. I zipped on
out to the parking lot and slapped on my helmet. I'd loaned my rain gear to my son one rainy Sunday not long before, so that option just wasn't available, but I was thinking I might still stay dry, if I was lucky. Right. This is the same guy
who's been playing one lottery or another for 30 years and never won more than a free (losing) ticket. So, it should have been no surprise when just a few hundred yards down the road, a bolt of lightning flashed at almost the exact same time
as a blast of thunder startled me so much, my butt cheeks squeezed a permanent crease down the middle of my seat. Just then a single rain drop, about the size of a golf ball, slapped against my windshield. Immediately after that, the skies
opened up and I had the distinct impression I was riding through a solid wall of water. Though the windshield kept the rain drops from actually drilling holes in my face, when there's that amount of water flying around, there's no part of your
body that isn't soaked within seconds. With no overpass or even an awning in sight, there was no sense in turning back into the heart of the storm, so there wasn't any choice but to either pull over and wait, or slog my way through it. I could
almost see a ray of sunshine up ahead, so I decided to keep going. Sure enough, Niagara Falls soon slowed to a minor torrent, then to normal rain, and finally to sprinkles that stopped completely. However by then, it was too late. My clothes
were pasted to my body and I was pretty sure there was enough water in my boots to float a small battleship. I just wanted to get home and get dry. But my ride wasn't over yet. In my haste to get off the road, I was apparently going a little
faster than I should have been. I saw the white cruiser with the bubbles on top too late and he pulled in behind me, but didn't put his lights on. I thought, "Crap, he's just toying with me." He let me get all the way to my driveway, where he
stopped and patiently waited for me to park the bike and peel myself from the seat. As I walked back to his car, water was actually squishing out of my boots. He just looked at me for a second. I noticed he had an expression that was a
combination of amusement and sympathy. Before he could get a word out, I said, "I'm sorry. I know I must have been speeding. I got caught in a storm and I just wanted to get home." To my absolute amazement, he replied, "Got caught in the
rain, eh? Well, instead of giving you a ticket, I'm just going to tell you to watch your speed." When I recovered from the shock, I was appropriately thankful and as he pulled away, I made my soggy way back into the garage to take
off my boots. As I poured the water from them, I couldn't help thinking that as miserable as the ride home was, there was a rainbow at the end of that storm after all.
