Lightning and Rain

Oh Florida, such good times spent under the sun. Beautiful beaches, ample roads and crazy car drivers. You learn to keep as far away as possible from them. And riding up and down from Sunrise to Miami day in and day out gives you some training for survival. This includes weathering the Florida stormy skies in the middle of storm season.

 Living in Venezuela and riding an R90S, you get the idea that bad weather is really something you can sort out as long as you can see where the hell you are going through the fog inside your helmet. So, rain was more of a nuisance. Something you get used to.

It was normal to be out for a ride out of the city and come back to it in full rain. We could for hours and for miles and we had our fun. Many rides were uneventful but the level of wet you’d get at the end of the day reached you places the sun never shows.

 I remember a brand new beige Boss shirt that I wore under a very light black light (non NOMEX) jacket one day. Had been a present of my girlfriend who was riding with me that day. That shirt came out black at the end of the day. So did my underwear, often.

I mean, that’s how many hours we spent under a tropical rainstorm. But, rain is what it is. You cope with it and provided you don’t take a fall, it will give you very necessary riding skills to avoid that.

 But nothing prepares you for the fury of a simple summer storm hitting Florida. And if you are riding your bike that day, well you really have to suck it up. It can be the worst nightmare. Not counting that you are the lightning catcher all the way up that I-75 on a late afternoon. I mean, bolts would touch down sooooo close to the highway you would never believe it. Those and the wind gusts were so tough to handle your concentration got fierce as you can imagine. But of course, you guys know it. Nothing new. And, my first BMW helmet (the original full/open face) would get wet inside. I wore then, a wonderful Winlit leather bomber jacket that took the battering.

 I’ve thought of that jacket many times now that we developed our own brand and who knows in the future we might take up the challenge of having one in our collection. But right now I’m so glad I ride with my Tobacco Road series jacket. Made from our own experiences and mishaps. Hope you connect with us riders. Stay tuned for more of our stories. A lifetime of them. Enjoy.

by Christian Porras Brunberg