Well it had to happen one day.

I was over at Maltby last tuesday, Getting some bodywork done at Tony skelding's unit.

Set off in the morning, quite bright, do I need a coat? Nope just take the fleece, I'm a man's man me!

A bit of drizzle at lunchtime, laughed off by the pair of us, sling a bit of plastic over the cockpit - no problem.

Come three o'clock it's raining, "I'll hang on a bit"

Quarter past five, it eases off a bit and decide to go for it, wrapping a bit of plastic round my legs. I wave a cheery goodbye to Tony.

Head for the motorway and the petrol station - raining a bit heavier now so I hang about looking at the mags in the petrol station and praying a bit.

Started to get funny looks from the staff so I set off, bloody pissing it down now, I take one look at the spray coming off the lorries on the M18 and decide to go through Rotherham, it's about 12 miles either way and as I'm doing 40 it's not too bad with the screen and sidescreens on, make a mental note to adjust the wipers as they're skipping over the screen and not clearing much.

So I'm getting quite wet but, you know, I'm finding it quite refreshing in a maschoistic sort of a way and I'm making good progress.

Then I came to the traffic jam.

Two round abouts half a mile apart and completely solid - bugger.

Buy now it's really, really pissing down like monsoon, biblical proportions, "find me two of each animal and some wood" type rain.

It's bouncing over the sides now and I had my fleece on.

I was wet.

The rest of the journey was completed with me shivering like a shiteing dog and wiping the inside of the screen with my frozen hand, but I managed until I hit "the puddle"

I suppose I felt it through the steering first, a little twitch towards the nearside.

Then I saw it.

8 feet high and coming my way, just like the sight I imagine a surfer sees as a wave wipes him out.

It hit like somebody smashing me over the head with a side of beef, and I had to pull in and come to my senses.

I've never been so glad to see my village in my life, but I hadn't finished.

I'd left the people carrier in the bloody drive hadn't I?, I waddled like a duck into the house got the keys for the car and the garage, moved the people carrier onto the road, soaking the drivers seat, ran and opened the garage, jumped in the soaking seat of the Locost, roared into the garage, locked the garage, soaked the seat in the car again, parked it on the drive and ran in, all in about 15 seconds! phew

i couldn't have been any wetter if I'd swum home fully clothed.

One long bath and two long beers later I was fine.

Fortuneately the next day was sunny and I took the Locost outside to dry, it steamed for two hours! My car has carpets and cloth seats but it dried out ok and I was able to use it later that day.

moral of the story, don't take the wee out of the TV weather forcasters, and always take a coat.

Cheers

Chris

Its grim up north!

Should imagine there was some pretty smug faces in the Surrounding traffic

Just remeber to look smug back next time your blasting past in the bright sunshine

My baptism happened on the SVA.

2 hr drive to Cardiff in torrential rain. No windscreen or side screens and I hadn't bought any bike overalls by then either! Oh and it was 5:30am as well.

When I got there I had wring my cloths out and my paperwork had been floating on an inch of water in the passenger side (sealed in a map bag though).

Plus side is the car couldn't have been wetter yet everything especially the electrics all worked perfectly and I passed the SVA first time too

get down to lidl,its ok some speak english there,grab a bike wet suit for $10 and stuff it behind the seat,itl never rain if you have that on board

lmao,at least you got home ok

Ive done that too.

Raining as hard as it ever could and all I have on is shorts and T-shirt. No screen, helmet and just a pair of shades to protect me. I had to drive about 15 miles at about 25mph. I wouldn't have been any wetter if i'd jumped in a lake.

i had a similar one on the way to newark show last year, with alan - soaked through but not quite bailing

Yup, coming home from Stoneleigh this year, torrential rain all the way from Coventry to Newark!
I've got a screen, but no wipers so was looking around the screen, which was just as bad as I wear glasses!
Standing water is a menace, feels like someone has thrown a bucket of water over you!

Marcus

been ther, seen that got that very wet tshirt. My overriding memory of ' that trip home ' was the tidal wave caused by a transit coming round the bend at warp 2 through a puddle so big there were 2 blokes in a rowboat fishing in the bugger !

Chrisg, you have such an eloquent way of describing your fun day out - i could picture every puddle in graphic detail. Perhaps it was only a metaphor. Apologies - i had a chuckle. i kept thinking of a penguin slapping a cold fish against your ankles (cant remember what the drink is called in the advert - Tango??? perhaps)

Ha!

yeah it's the tango ad, and that's exactly what it was like!

Cheers

Chris