Thank you for waving

[willytheekid]

Let's not forget that in horrible weather any biker you see is a true 100% 365 day a year biker - the fair weather bikers are at home or in a car. With that in mind you can wave knowing you are waving to a kindred spirit that is riding no matter the weather, just like you.

Personally, I'm just glad to not be driving a car in Auckland in bad weather - at least I am moving at more than 5kph! I have ridden in wind and rain and thought - "boy it looks nasty out there" while glad that it is warm and dry where I am on the inside of my wet weather gear. If you don't own any, buy some Rain Off over-gloves - it's nice to have hands that aren't cold & wet. Obviously some good boots, over pants & over jacket are good to have too when it is really pouring down. I'd rather own good wet weather gear than a car even on the coldest wettest windiest nastiest day!
To the other all-weather bikers out there:

Christchurch winter weather!.....-2 degrees the other morning, the wing mirrors kept getting coated in ice, there was black ice in all the wrong places on the road, and every car driver around me was trying there best to be an idiot on the road.....and I only saw one other bike! (was early morning though)
But The frozen hands came up, and in an instance 2 bikers had just shared there morning struggle....completly oblivious to the cagers around us.....they will NEVER understand!

-To the guy on the Yellow BMW...thanks mate! you made my shitty frozen morning and armed me with a smie that lasted all the way into work.

[MarkH]

they will NEVER understand!

People can be divided into 2 groups - those that have 'geared up' and ridden in bad weather and those that haven't. How can those that haven't hope to understand those that do so on a regular basis?

I grew up in the Waikato and to me Auckland seems comparatively warm, even in Winter it feels pretty mild to me. If my wet weather gear is doing its job and I am staying dry then riding in the rain really doesn't seem like a bad thing to me. With all the gear on I don't feel cold and with the waterproof gear I don't feel wet.

This reminds me of a few weeks back when me and a mate were about to leave my place to head over to a local pub to play poker and it was raining. We were taking our own vehicles and he said something about me having the worst of it with the weather being so wet, I said "mate, you'll get wetter than I will!". He had to park across the road from the pub while I parked on the footpath near the front door, I was wearing water proof gear and he wasn't. I got there dry and he was a bit wet from having to get from his car to the door in the rain. How are cars better than bikes?

When I first got the Burgman I kept my car and had both vehicles available with WoF & Reg on each so I could use either as I wished. After a year I hadn't done a thousand KMs in the car and I had ridden over 20 thou on the scoot, I never once used the car just because the weather was bad. So I flicked the car off through trade-me and never regretted it. It isn't a case of 'I ride because I don't have a car', it is more a case of 'I don't have a car because I ride'. I had a car and could have kept it, but I chose to get rid of it because driving in Auckland sucks and I'd rather be riding (no matter what the weather is).

When it is wet and I'm geared up and lane splitting on the motorway I don't know what the drivers in their cars are thinking, but what I'm thinking is "those poor bastards in their cars are going to be stuck here for a while". If I am heading home I can get home and be out of my gear relaxing with a hot milo while the poor suckers are in their cars still stuck on the motorway. Cars suck!

[sugilite:Me]

I don't mean to ruin your day, but I was just wiping the rain off my visor, I was not waving at you.