OK all you who love the open road and the wonders of the Wide Open, I salute you and the freedoms we enjoy that allow us the ability to travel. It is that time of year as we look for new and different roads, destinations, and friends, all while trying to avoid the wet, the wind, and dark. The Wet, because it affects the traction on the road, the Wind because it can wear you out quickly even make it difficult to hold the road, and the Dark, because it reduces our visibility, both what we can see and what can see us.
Here on the west coast our weather normally comes from the Pacific ocean from the west and with those big Pacific clouds come all that wet we are so famous for. As the storms head east the different mountain ranges block, hold, and squeeze the H2O out of the clouds and helps support the amazing flora and fauna that surrounds us with the west side of the mountains being wet and just the other side being dry. Understanding that flow of weather can help us as we decide each ride which route to take. always remember the higher and the further east you travel the temps will drop early and late in the day.
There is a phenomenon called "Rain Shadow" that refers to the Lee side (down wind) of mountains that is drier than that of surrounding areas. When the weather is scetchy that is a great pathway to take to escape my bike. Heading south sometimes I-97 is better than I-5 as it lies in the rain shadow if the Cascades. Heading to Florence when the coast is socked in might be drier taking I-5 to hwy 126 rather than the more scenic 101 from Lincoln city.
If you have no destination (I Love these rides!) simply study a good weather report and decide to run from the wet or charge it and punch through the squall line if it looks dry and calm behind it.
This was just the meanderings of an easily destracted mind.
Wed Aug 21, 2013 2:12 pm by Smitty
Subject: Random thoughts from a wandering Mind