It was sprinkling when I left the house, but I figured it wasn't bad enough to have to avoid taking the scoot. I took it out only to here these words as I got out of class,
"Did you bring an umbrella?"
"It's raining???"
Uh oh. I guess the guy didn't notice my motorcycle jacket. It's not like I'd be using an umbrella for much more than the brief walk to the bike. I got out there and it was sprinkling a bit heavier. It was far from completely pouring, but wet enough that my visor didn't last more than 2 seconds w/o getting drips all over it.
I packed my laptop in the seat and off I went. The tires worked surprisingly well!
...and so I thought! Though I had been warned by my buddy David that scoot tires and Muni tracks don't mix, I didn't think much of it when I road over them. To my shock and awe, the tire slipped. Yup. I quickly changed back to the non-track lanes and continued on my way.
Luckily there weren't that many cars out. The whole time I was thinking how stupid I was to take the scooter that evening. Rain. Rain and more rain. The front of my pants was drenched before I got home.
Before that, I braked hard to a stop sign just to test the brakes in the rain. Not too bad except that I didn't stop in a straight line. The bike swerved to the side and freaked me out a bit. It's a bit ironic that the worst experience I had on the scooter going less than 5 mph and didn't involve any other vehicles around me.
I learned my lesson quickly and continued riding super safe - avoiding the brakes as much as I could.
Then came the chore of wiping the thing down. Didn't want any rust, but I had to visit my grandfather to pick up some mail. As soon as I got back, I wiped that thing down and felt greatfull that I made it home safe.
No more riding in risky weather. It's either sun or it's none.
