It has been raining allday, and I am not looking forward to the ride home from our cabin. The rain clears as I start preparing for the ride, but as I shut the cabin and put up the fens arund the terrace to keep the sheeps off the premises i starts raining heavily again.
I do most of the dressing indoor. With wet hands it will be difficult to put on the goves. The biggest challenge is to get underway without the inside of the visor getting wet. I succed – allmost, but as I have to open the visor to avoid mist on my glasses on the slow ride down to the main road some rain enter the inside of the visor, but without disturbing the view.
Once on the main road and with asphalt under the wheels and the speed rises the water repells from the newly polished visor and I have a clear view despite the heavy rain. The ride from Haglebu starts with some demanding turns and I ride carefully and with great concentration. The Bridgestone tyres grips well, very well. I increase the speed and give the ride full concentration. I know this road very well and use all my experience and knowledge to keep a smooth line and to keep on my side of the road so I can meet oncoming cars running wide without having to change my line in the many blind corners.
The water flows from the visor and I have excellent visibility. I keep to the my ideal line and I am in the flow zone. I have a fantastic ride, every curve is perfect. I have to be on my toes at all time. Braking into the curves gives me confidence and feeling for the wet asphalt, and as I accelerates out of the corneres I enjoy the power from the big twin.
I catch up with a couple of cars, they are slow and I pass them quickly. Then two motorcycle tracks are visible on the wet. Two Swiss on Harleys. They are in the water mist behind a slow-moving Volvo V60. I don’t envy them. It is noteasy to pass a car on this road if you do not know the possibilities and it is extra difficult if you are in the water mist behind a car and have reduced visibility. I pass quickly and continue at my pace but feel with the two Swiss.
I know exactly how boring it is to get behind cars on an unfamiliar road and not trusting the grip. If you start driving slowly it is easy to lose control of the grip on the wet surface. You start being extra coutious, and feeling how slippery the road is instead of feeling for the grip.
The best motorcycle trips on wet roads are the ones where I am actove and offensive. I had some amazing wet rides on my previous BMW, the R 850R, a few on the 600 Fazer, and now I experience the same as with the R 850 R. A bit strange since BMW’s performance is not the best in terms of feedback and steering feel, but it is very good when it comes to roadholding on uneven roads, and the suspension is working well also when braking hard.
In Nedre Eggedal the rain a little less. Below Nedre Eggedal the main road crosses the river via a narrow bridge, here I choose to take the alternativ road straight ahead. Last year I had a couple of nasty slides on the wet road in the turns on Fv. 827 between the bridge and Båsheim. Although the road across the hill on the opposite side of the river is bumpy, I prefer this road when the road is as wet as today.
Then the rain i back again, so hard that the cardrivers clearly have problems with the visibility. I keep a good distance when approaching cars and take a long pass to avoid the water mist behind them. Now it is raining so heavily that even taking precautions I end up in the mist a few times, but the visor is constantly washed and kept clean. I’m still dry on both feet and hands, just a little damp at the neck because my Buff is starting to get wet.
In Åmot, the entertaining ride is over, and it’s transport from here. The rain has subsided and now the water mist from the cars is a problem. I keep a good distance to the cars in front and have a pleasant, but a bit boring ride home. It is still raining and the road is wet. On my way out of Drammen I my feet are damp. I hade dry feet for an hour and a half with relatively tough rain, not bad for 10-year-old and well-used TCX boots.
Tomorrow I’ll prepare the bike to the next trip, it will surely be a good one. It is more pleasant to ride on dry roads and in nice weather, but a wet ride can be a great ride too …