Spring Shivers

A few years ago, when we had some decent spring weather, a group of us went on a nice Saturday ride. It was near 70°F and clear, so we had to take advantage. We rode to a town about 60 miles away and stopped to have a burger and beer.

While we were enjoying our meal, we talked about how lucky we were to have such a great riding day in April. We decided we couldn't just go home, it was time to ride on. We went another 30ish miles until we reached a small powersports shop. We stopped and we're having a nice conversation with the owner about the new bikes on display when our attention focused outside.

Clouds began to roll in quickly, dark storm clouds. One friend and I took this as an invitation to head home, the others decided to hang out for a bit. When we stepped outside we also noticed that the warm 70° had become a chilly 45! Shit!

We rode for about 5 miles and the drizzle started. Then about 50 miles from home it started to pour. 45° and pouring rain are a terrible combination. My legs were shivering so violently that my feet were coming off of the foot pegs. When I finally made it home, my hand couldn't hold the clutch any longer and I popped it right when I came to a stop.

I was near hypothermic, my lips were blue and I was violently shivering. It took hours for me to warm up enough to be fairly comfortable. One of the guys who stayed behind visited soon after. I asked him how he wasn't as miserable as me. He gave me a weird look and said that he put on his rain suit as soon as he left the powersports shop. Lesson learned! Well, not really since I was too cheap to buy a decent rain suit. Hey, I'll admit it; I’m not the sharpest knife in the drawer! My awesome wife bought me a high quality one for my birthday this year, so no more miserable rides in the rain.

“Nothing burns like the cold. But only for a while. Then it gets inside you and starts to fill you up, and after a while you don't have the strength to fight it.” - George R.R. Martin