Rain Riding tip #2

First a little explanation: (for those who do not go out in it)

Rain is liquid precipitation, Rain requires the presence of a thick layer of the atmosphere to have temperatures above the melting point of water near and above the Earth's surface. On Earth, it is the condensation of atmospheric water vapor into drops of water heavy enough to fall, often making it to the surface. Two processes, possibly acting together, can lead to air becoming saturated leading to rainfall: cooling the air or adding water vapor to the air. Virga is precipitation that begins falling to the earth but evaporates before reaching the surface; it is one of the ways air can become saturated. Precipitation forms via collision with other rain drops or ice crystals within a cloud. Rain drops range in size from oblate, pancake-like shapes for larger drops, to small spheres for smaller drops. Yes it that wet stuff that falls from the sky.

Riding in the rain requires protective clothing, the amount and type are determined depending on the amount of rain. A light rain requires very little, gloves are handy, (cut off or full) because they aid in grip of the throttle and protect the hands from chapping or blistering on long rides (friction).

Except for a light drizzle you will most likely want to cover bare skin areas. Even rain falling gently hurts when you are pushing 65mph or greater on a highway. Leather is a good protection from light to moderate rain. You can stay pretty dry on a bike with a fairing but sooner or later you will slow or stop and you will get drenched. In cooler weather you want to stay dry to maintain body temperature, the mix of rain and cold or cool wind can zap your body of heat.  In Heavy rain a full set of rain gear is desired, dumb looking, but functional.

A point to remember, leather coats, gloves, chaps and boots are dyed. When ever you buy new leather goods it is a good idea to wash them thoroughly to remove excess dye. The dye that turns the leather (cow skin) black does the same to human skin and unless you want to walk around for a week explaining to people why you have black hands it is a good practice to get the excess dye out right away.