Not to trust the Weather Channel

AZDude · 07-18-2005

I learned today to not trust the weather channel website for the weather. I learned that helmets don't have windshield wipers. I learned that major wind gusts at 70+ miles an hour really suck, or for that matter at a dead stop! I learned that driving a car again after only riding a motorcycle for 2 weeks feels really strange and you feel like you are driving on flat tires. And I learned I really don't want to be riding in an Arizona monsoon (i.e. frickin hurricane!)

Ok, I work nights. So being a rider now days I try to keep up on the current weather of course. So I wake up and hop on the weather channel's website and look up both my zip and the zip of where I work which isn't that far away (15-20 miles). I see there "WAS" a severe thunderstorm warning but it expired at 4pm. Cool. NP.

So I pull up the hourly forecast as I always do and check how the weather is and is going to be during my ride to work and back. Partly cloudy, hot as hell as usual, 20% chance of humidity until 6pm then drops to 10% chance until like midnight and then to 0% through all of the next morning. Wind speeds are max of 10 miles an hour. Sweet. The storm has passed and I might hit some sprinkles on the way to work but no big deal, right? WRONG!!!!!

So I go outside, pull the bike from the garage and crank it up. Check the sky and there is a few black clouds but nothing major and the wind is just slightly windy, not bad at all. I figure the clouds are the left over of the storm that is passing by. I hop on the bike, wave at the neighborhood kids that wave at me as I leave and head for the freeway.

I get on the freeway and start cruising along in the right lane at around 70ish (65ish actually as the speedo is way wrong). Everything is great and then one tiny sprinkle lands on my faceshield. I think to myself, "ok here's those sprinkles I planned on, no biggy." About 1 mile later, BAM! I get hit with a wind gust that felt like it was 70 miles an hour plus from the right side that pushes me almost into the lane to the left before I lean to the right and bring it back driving straight down the road leaned way over to the right.

So I'm fighting wind gusts left and right like a major battle between me and nature. Ok I can handle that, I just drop my speed a bit, stay in the right lane and take it one gust at a time and stay relaxed. NP.

About 1 mile down the road from there, BAM!!!! Instant downpour of rain beating me to death and even bigger wind gusts really trying to dump me over! Scared the crap out of me. Ok, so I realize I'm tensed up now and not the most experienced rider on the road. Time to get off the freeway.

I take the next exit (only half way to work now) and turn left heading north figuring I will drive the rest of the way on normal streets and stay away from the freeway as it's too windy. No big deal, I know the rain will be gone in the morning when I leave work as the forecast had said so.

By the time I come up on the first light I see a major traffic jam and road construction and decide, well I certainly aint going this direction and get in the left turn lane to turn into a parking lot. Before I stopped behind a big SUV waiting at the red light I see what looked like half of a tree fly across the road about 10 foot in the air. "Holy crap, what the hell am I doing out here?", I think to myself. Then as I am at a dead stop at the light, BAM! a wind gust hits me from the right and I almost dump the bike to the left it hit so hard. And I was at a DEAD STOP with BOTH feet on the ground supporting the bike!! Ok, that's it, I shouldn't be out here, I'm heading back home and grabbing the car.

I pull into the parking lot and U-turn it around to get back out and stop for a minute to recoup my thoughts and the blood in my hands. I watch another large object fly across the street which confirms my decision. I feel like I'm driving a motorcycle in the middle of a damn hurricane here!

I figure the drive back home won't be so bad as it was clear to this point. So I hop back onto the freeway onramp intending to take the frontage road only to find out there is NO frontage road here, ugh. Ok so back on the freeway I go going as slow as I possibly can without worrying too much about a car running up my butt.

Well the storm had caught up to the nice clear weather I had on the way to that point and it hit me and followed me all the way home. I had to drive through about 3 lakes worth of water before getting to my street and then it was major flash flood time as I finally got home.

Pulled into the garage and pulled the car out and started driving down the road. I felt like I was sitting on the ground and kept finding myself raising up to peek out of the windshield..LOL. After the first turn the feeling of the car turning didn't feel right so I stopped and hopped out and checked for a flat tire to find nothing wrong. All the way to work driving the cage just felt WRONG. This is a car I have driven for over 2 years now and in only 2 weeks I lost total feeling for how it handles. Amazing how fast you can UNlearn stuff.

Anyhow, I had my scared ****less experience for the week and hope I don't have another anytime soon. I puckered so much I almost sucked myself in!

**2WheelFun** · 07-18-2005

Ahhhhh....good ole Phoenix monsoon weather!

I remember seeing the McDonald overpass completely full of water years ago when traveling to work after a downpour. Kids were jumping off the overpass into the muddy water as if the city had just opened a new public pool.

Glad you came out of it in one piece!

tnhunter · 07-19-2005

Does anyone really trust the weather channel?

CTRider · 07-19-2005

Wait....there's a Weather Channel?! Next thing you know they'll be channels dedicated to shopping and game shows. Maybe someone will come up with a 24 hour sports network (i'm sure that would never fly, though).

**2WheelFun** · 07-19-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by CTRider

Wait....there's a Weather Channel?! Next thing you know they'll be channels dedicated to shopping and game shows. Maybe someone will come up with a 24 hour sports network (i'm sure that would never fly, though).

Next thing you know Martha Stewart will want to cook live on TV.

*trikebubble* · 07-19-2005

What about a 24 hour Comedy Network.....oh wait FoxNews Channel....nevermind.

AZDude · 07-19-2005

Well I installed WeatherBug today. Will have something else to compare the weather too in the future anyhow.

southjersey636 · 07-19-2005

The weather in jersey lately has been crazy, scattered thunderstorms all over the place in Penn. Maryland, Delaware etc.. Just little batches here and there.

Honestly, the way I tell if its ok to ride is get the local forecast then look at the local map of the region. You can see within 100-200 mile radius whats around. If all is clear your good to go most of the time.

I wanna go out to the track tonight on the bike to watch, but storms are in the forecast so im lookin at the map and see that there is nothing within our area moving this way but there is some storms to the north and south so its a risk.

azsunsetangel · 08-02-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by AZDude

Well I installed WeatherBug today. Will have something else to compare the weather too in the future anyhow.

Hate to ask but how long have you lived in AZ??? It never fails, when I want it to rain, nothing, when I am wearing high heels, or a skirt, or trying to make a good impression... I get either rain, wind, or more freakin heat than I care to think about... Why do I live here???? It's all my kid's fault......

AZDude · 08-02-2005

I've lived in Arizona for a little over 7 years now. Hmm, high heels and a skirt mixed with a good wind gust or two doesn't sound too bad to me!

azsunsetangel · 08-03-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by AZDude

I've lived in Arizona for a little over 7 years now. Hmm, high heels and a skirt mixed with a good wind gust or two doesn't sound too bad to me!

LOL... okay... not quite the point I was making but....

speaking of the weather... not sure what side of town you are on but I am being down poured on... you just have to LOVE Az weather ..........

AZDude · 08-03-2005

Yeah, wicked storms tonight. Amazed my power hasn't gone out yet. I'm in El Mirage btw.

azsunsetangel · 08-03-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by AZDude

Yeah, wicked storms tonight. Amazed my power hasn't gone out yet. I'm in El Mirage btw.

I am in Central Phx... so when the airport gets it... I get it... and did it hit last night

southjersey636 · 08-04-2005

checked the weather before I went riding today was all clear, then suddenly on the way home It got dark out within 2 minutes me and my 636 got drenched. I knew this would happen soon or later but heck with it, I got to see how good these stock Bridgestone Battalax tires do in rain and they did fine for a sport tire.

tnhunter · 08-04-2005

My buddy never rides when there is any chance of rain. If I have the time and no one is expecting me I am off. If I get wet I just figure its a good reason to wash it when I get home. I still havent had any of those old women come up and talk to me when I wash it yet so I must be doing something wrong.

*trikebubble* · 08-04-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by southjersey636

checked the weather before I went riding today was all clear, then suddenly on the way home It got dark out within 2 minutes me and my 636 got drenched. I knew this would happen soon or later but heck with it, I got to see how good these stock Bridgestone Battalax tires do in rain and they did fine for a sport tire.

Spent a weekend in South Jersey once (I think). We stayed in this funny little town called Ocean Beach or something. It was really cool, sort of. The houses were all similar looking and painted bright colors, everyone was really happy and friendly and there was this massive wooden church in the town square. Had an erie Stephen King novel sort of feel about it.
I don't know exaclty where it was, but it was beside an old amusement park. I think it was Springsteens home town, maybe Asbury Park or something.

Anyway, not to ramble but it was a great holiday, awesome lobster places.

*jukief* · 08-04-2005

I always look at the current radar picture because the forecasts suck. Radar doesn't lie, but then conditions can change pretty quickly.

07-18-2005	#1 (permalink)
AZDude Foil Inspector BTK Beginner Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Phoenix Posts: 116	Not to trust the Weather Channel I learned today to not trust the weather channel website for the weather. I learned that helmets don't have windshield wipers. I learned that major wind gusts at 70+ miles an hour really suck, or for that matter at a dead stop! I learned that driving a car again after only riding a motorcycle for 2 weeks feels really strange and you feel like you are driving on flat tires. And I learned I really don't want to be riding in an Arizona monsoon (i.e. frickin hurricane!) Ok, I work nights. So being a rider now days I try to keep up on the current weather of course. So I wake up and hop on the weather channel's website and look up both my zip and the zip of where I work which isn't that far away (15-20 miles). I see there "WAS" a severe thunderstorm warning but it expired at 4pm. Cool. NP. So I pull up the hourly forecast as I always do and check how the weather is and is going to be during my ride to work and back. Partly cloudy, hot as hell as usual, 20% chance of humidity until 6pm then drops to 10% chance until like midnight and then to 0% through all of the next morning. Wind speeds are max of 10 miles an hour. Sweet. The storm has passed and I might hit some sprinkles on the way to work but no big deal, right? WRONG!!!!! So I go outside, pull the bike from the garage and crank it up. Check the sky and there is a few black clouds but nothing major and the wind is just slightly windy, not bad at all. I figure the clouds are the left over of the storm that is passing by. I hop on the bike, wave at the neighborhood kids that wave at me as I leave and head for the freeway. I get on the freeway and start cruising along in the right lane at around 70ish (65ish actually as the speedo is way wrong). Everything is great and then one tiny sprinkle lands on my faceshield. I think to myself, "ok here's those sprinkles I planned on, no biggy." About 1 mile later, BAM! I get hit with a wind gust that felt like it was 70 miles an hour plus from the right side that pushes me almost into the lane to the left before I lean to the right and bring it back driving straight down the road leaned way over to the right. So I'm fighting wind gusts left and right like a major battle between me and nature. Ok I can handle that, I just drop my speed a bit, stay in the right lane and take it one gust at a time and stay relaxed. NP. About 1 mile down the road from there, BAM!!!! Instant downpour of rain beating me to death and even bigger wind gusts really trying to dump me over! Scared the crap out of me. Ok, so I realize I'm tensed up now and not the most experienced rider on the road. Time to get off the freeway. I take the next exit (only half way to work now) and turn left heading north figuring I will drive the rest of the way on normal streets and stay away from the freeway as it's too windy. No big deal, I know the rain will be gone in the morning when I leave work as the forecast had said so. By the time I come up on the first light I see a major traffic jam and road construction and decide, well I certainly aint going this direction and get in the left turn lane to turn into a parking lot. Before I stopped behind a big SUV waiting at the red light I see what looked like half of a tree fly across the road about 10 foot in the air. "Holy crap, what the hell am I doing out here?", I think to myself. Then as I am at a dead stop at the light, BAM! a wind gust hits me from the right and I almost dump the bike to the left it hit so hard. And I was at a DEAD STOP with BOTH feet on the ground supporting the bike!! Ok, that's it, I shouldn't be out here, I'm heading back home and grabbing the car. I pull into the parking lot and U-turn it around to get back out and stop for a minute to recoup my thoughts and the blood in my hands. I watch another large object fly across the street which confirms my decision. I feel like I'm driving a motorcycle in the middle of a damn hurricane here! I figure the drive back home won't be so bad as it was clear to this point. So I hop back onto the freeway onramp intending to take the frontage road only to find out there is NO frontage road here, ugh. Ok so back on the freeway I go going as slow as I possibly can without worrying too much about a car running up my butt. Well the storm had caught up to the nice clear weather I had on the way to that point and it hit me and followed me all the way home. I had to drive through about 3 lakes worth of water before getting to my street and then it was major flash flood time as I finally got home. Pulled into the garage and pulled the car out and started driving down the road. I felt like I was sitting on the ground and kept finding myself raising up to peek out of the windshield..LOL. After the first turn the feeling of the car turning didn't feel right so I stopped and hopped out and checked for a flat tire to find nothing wrong. All the way to work driving the cage just felt WRONG. This is a car I have driven for over 2 years now and in only 2 weeks I lost total feeling for how it handles. Amazing how fast you can UNlearn stuff. Anyhow, I had my scared ****less experience for the week and hope I don't have another anytime soon. I puckered so much I almost sucked myself in!

07-18-2005	#2 (permalink)
2WheelFun the "fun old" guy Extreme Forum Supporter Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Albion, Washington "Pacific Northwest" Posts: 30,372	Ahhhhh....good ole Phoenix monsoon weather! I remember seeing the McDonald overpass completely full of water years ago when traveling to work after a downpour. Kids were jumping off the overpass into the muddy water as if the city had just opened a new public pool. Glad you came out of it in one piece! __________________ *KING KAHUNA* *2007 V2K LT* ****PICS** 2007 Brute Force 650i **PICS** I love the smell of SeaFoam in the morning**

07-19-2005	#3 (permalink)
tnhunter Way Too Much Free Time BTK Expert Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Nashville "music city" Posts: 1,320	Does anyone really trust the weather channel? __________________ 87 vn1500b 88se Jardine pipes stage 1 jet 87 Gl1200I Goldwing load up, head out.

07-19-2005	#4 (permalink)
CTRider TV Guru BTK Expert Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Connecticut Posts: 8,351	Wait....there's a Weather Channel?! Next thing you know they'll be channels dedicated to shopping and game shows. Maybe someone will come up with a 24 hour sports network (i'm sure that would never fly, though). __________________ 1983 Honda CB550 About Me Answers to your Gadget Questions Gadget Forum

07-19-2005	#6 (permalink)
trikebubble RIP Brother Deron Extreme Forum Supporter Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Okanagan Falls, BC Posts: 18,540	What about a 24 hour Comedy Network.....oh wait FoxNews Channel....nevermind. __________________ 2005 V2K Ltd "I'll ride the wave where it takes me, I'll hold the pain release me"

07-19-2005	#7 (permalink)
AZDude Foil Inspector BTK Beginner Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Phoenix Posts: 116	Well I installed WeatherBug today. Will have something else to compare the weather too in the future anyhow.

07-19-2005	#8 (permalink)
southjersey636 Way Too Much Free Time BTK Expert Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Swamps of South Jersey Posts: 1,135	The weather in jersey lately has been crazy, scattered thunderstorms all over the place in Penn. Maryland, Delaware etc.. Just little batches here and there. Honestly, the way I tell if its ok to ride is get the local forecast then look at the local map of the region. You can see within 100-200 mile radius whats around. If all is clear your good to go most of the time. I wanna go out to the track tonight on the bike to watch, but storms are in the forecast so im lookin at the map and see that there is nothing within our area moving this way but there is some storms to the north and south so its a risk. __________________ 2004 Kawasaki ZX6R 636 1995 Kawasaki 600R (old bike) 1991 Plymouth Laser

08-02-2005	#10 (permalink)
AZDude Foil Inspector BTK Beginner Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Phoenix Posts: 116	I've lived in Arizona for a little over 7 years now. Hmm, high heels and a skirt mixed with a good wind gust or two doesn't sound too bad to me!

08-03-2005	#12 (permalink)
AZDude Foil Inspector BTK Beginner Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Phoenix Posts: 116	Yeah, wicked storms tonight. Amazed my power hasn't gone out yet. I'm in El Mirage btw.

08-04-2005	#14 (permalink)
southjersey636 Way Too Much Free Time BTK Expert Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Swamps of South Jersey Posts: 1,135	checked the weather before I went riding today was all clear, then suddenly on the way home It got dark out within 2 minutes me and my 636 got drenched. I knew this would happen soon or later but heck with it, I got to see how good these stock Bridgestone Battalax tires do in rain and they did fine for a sport tire. __________________ 2004 Kawasaki ZX6R 636 1995 Kawasaki 600R (old bike) 1991 Plymouth Laser

08-04-2005	#15 (permalink)
tnhunter Way Too Much Free Time BTK Expert Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Nashville "music city" Posts: 1,320	My buddy never rides when there is any chance of rain. If I have the time and no one is expecting me I am off. If I get wet I just figure its a good reason to wash it when I get home. I still havent had any of those old women come up and talk to me when I wash it yet so I must be doing something wrong. __________________ 87 vn1500b 88se Jardine pipes stage 1 jet 87 Gl1200I Goldwing load up, head out.

08-04-2005	#17 (permalink)
jukief I miss you, Deron Extreme Forum Supporter Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Fort Collins, CO Posts: 18,142	I always look at the current radar picture because the forecasts suck. Radar doesn't lie, but then conditions can change pretty quickly. __________________ In memory of my friend Deron Harden. Life isn't going to be the same without him.

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