Sooner or later when riding you will come across rain. There is the expected rain in which you can prepare or even pull off and wait it out if you want to. This post is going to deal with the unexpected rain, the kind you just stumble across. I have never pulled off and waited for a rain to end in fact I will even leave on time in the rain.
When running into the unexpected rain there are some actions you should not take. Do not pull off the side of the highway especially if there is a guardrail. The reason for this is there is a fairly good chance that there will be a poorly maintained vehicle running half way off the road at a slow speed unable to see through their poorly maintained wiper blades and will take your bike out not even seeing you before impact. The same holds true for pulling off under an over pass. If it is possible to get well off the roadway or on the far side of a guardrail then yes you may do such. A better course of action would be to take the next exit and find a covered parking place, the Sonic Drive In chains works well for this if you can find one.
I handle the rain by pressing on, one of my favorite methods is to find an 18-wheeler with lots of lights and fall in behind it. Maintain a distance where you can stop if the truck hits a brick wall and comes to a sudden stop but do not let it get far enough ahead of you to where you loose sight of its lights. I try to flash my brake lights when I notice a vehicle approaching from the rear and try to spend more time looking into my mirrors as my speed has been reduced and there are people who do not slow down in the rain who may come up behind me not realizing I am there.
I enjoy riding in the rain and I enjoy riding at night but when the two get put together it makes it hard to keep up with all the road obstacles you may come across. Remember that in a lot of storms rain can turn to hail and hail hurts. Remember to slow for large puddles and never become complacent when riding in the rain as your traction is lessoned and braking and turning capabilities are reduced.
Some of my favorite road stories have happened in the rain, most of them safe and funny but a couple were dangerous.
