Sometimes I ride in a group. They don't like to call it a club--it's mainly made up of folks that I don't really have too much in common with. Lately much has been said about riding in the rain, riding at night, riding on the interstate and riding long distances. It's the general opinion that riding is supposed to be done between 7am and 5pm, in good weather on slow back country roads of perfect condition. You should never take your bike out in the rain on purpose, never travel where you may run into gravel or get into a situation where you'd be required to exceed 50-55 miles per hour, stop every couple hours and trailer your bike if it would be over a couple hundred miles.
I've come to learn that riding is also about risk management. I have come to know that if you manage your risk by limiting the experience, you shortchange yourself. I gear up, always wear a helmet, and I am perpetually alert and aware of my surroundings when I ride, but on the other hand, I don't let "what could happen" or "what might happen" dissuade me from this two-wheeled mode of transport I love so dearly.
So I say: "You ride the storm, you become the storm." Once you truly own the experience, it is forever part of who you are.
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