Inclement Weather

 "We only regret the rides we didn't take."

I personally have never experienced any significant growth as a human being by staying inside my comfort zone. The only real growth I've acquired is when I'm challenged to move beyond that which is comfortable or within my skill set. Growth requires change; I've learned that many times over and in many different ways since my teen years. Discomfort and often times outright pain are necessary as well. 

I like to think I'm a glass-half-full kind of person.

Weather Report: 30% chance of rain.

Me: 70% chance it won't, let's ride!

Weather Report: 40 mph wind gusts

Me: Yeehaw! Cowboy up and ride bitches!

When I started riding in January of '08, I was riding with the Buffalo Soldiers (I know ...right?!). Looking back, I was totally out of my element with that group, but they embraced me as a rider. And if you know anything about the Soldiers...they ride. Before you are accepted as a 'prospect' you have to prove you can ride a minimum of 1200 miles a month (gas receipts/mileage check). I learned to be a RIDER with the Soldiers. No whining allowed just shut up and ride. I remember one particular trip - my first out of town ride - we hit the interstate headed north to Atlanta and rolled at 90 mph, stopping only for gas (better pee, call home and get a snack quick). On the return trip, a tropical storm blew through the south, no time to 'wait it out' as it was Sunday and  most everyone had to go to work Monday morning. Rain gear on - saddle up and ride. I learned to be a fearless rider with the Soldiers.

I knew I wanted to travel on my bike; travel means long distance, long distance to me means I'm more than a few thousands miles from home - one way. Inclement weather happens all across the country. To leave home on two wheels and pretend you will not have to ride in nasty weather is fantasy. I suppose if you have the time and resources to wait it out, okay. I've rode through a dozen tropical storms on one variation of Bessie or another in my travels. Now, if I wake up in the morning with the wind and rain blowing do I ride? If I'm home, no. If I'm traveling, yes. I check the weather map, look where the storm is going and I ride out or around it. I'm fearless, not stupid. The morning I left on my recent trip to Arizona this past June, I checked the weather report only to realize Cristobal was roaring into the Gulf and threatening to slam into the Gulf Coast - right where I planned to travel west. 

My Wingman looked at me over our morning coffee and said: You know there is a hurricane about to make landfall right where you are headed? 

Me: Yeah...that could be a problem. It looks like I can head north though and outrun it before I turn west.

Wingman: That's probably a good idea. (He knew not to try and convince me to delay my departure).

Adapt. Improvise. Overcome. 

I rode 7 hours (470 miles) north  - just west of Atlanta - before I turned west and didn't feel a drop of rain. As I rode around Shreveport the next day, Cristobal was making landfall and moving east...behind me.

My motorcycle has been the vehicle for change in my life. Inclement weather is a metaphor for adversity in general, in life. 'When it rains, it pours.'  If, every time adversity strikes in my life I simply rolled over in bed, pulled the covers over my head and cowered...where would I be? I was a single mom with two kids, I didn't have the luxury of cowering. I hiked up my mom jeans and took care of business. 

On the road when I'm faced with inclement weather, I try to stop and wait out the storm. Or, I choose an alternate route where its not raining! Today, we have weather all over the south of Florida due to yet another tropical storm (Eta). I rode north; the sun played tag with the cloud cover, the air was cool, the gusts were not nearly 40 mph and it was a pleasant ride. I will never forget my ride around Lake Superior and Michigan. I was in Thunder Bay, Ontario Canada and awoke to fog so thick I couldn't see my bike in the parking lot of the hotel. I packed my gear, loaded the bike and went back to the lobby to drink coffee and 'wait till the fog lifts.' As I sipped my coffee a delivery truck pulled up under the hotel portico. When the driver hopped out I asked him which direction he just came from. He came from the direction I was headed and told me 'Oh, its clear just five miles down the road. The bay sorta keeps the fog close here.' Its always clear just a little ways down the road if we are willing to move away from our comfort zone. 

Meeting inclement weather head-on has made me a better, more experienced rider. I didn't buy a motorcycle to sit in the garage. I didn't buy a motorcycle as an accessory. And I didn't buy a motorcycle to ride only when the sun is shining, the roads are dry and the weather report promises clear sailing. 'If you don't ride in the rain, you don't ride.' Do I like riding in the rain? Hell no! But I don't fear it either and I certainly don't let it stop me from enjoying my passion. 

And wind gusts? I learned to love wind gusts on my first cross-country trip while in KANSAS! Wind gusts are like a carnival ride....hanging on for dear life and praying for it to be over. I was sitting in a restaurant eating breakfast this past June in Weatherford, Oklahoma just off Route 66. As I sipped the strong-as-shit coffee waiting on my eggs - the weather report warned of 70mph wind gusts (and 100 degree temps) across Oklahoma, Texas, and on into New Mexico...my route. Buckle Up Buttercup! That first gust hit, blew me and Bessie 2 all the way over to the berm in the right hand lane, lifting me out of the saddle as the wind came up under my helmet nearly choking me! Well damn. I couldn't sit in Oklahoma for a few days (wind is a fact of life across the Great Plains states) so I endured it. I rode in the left hand lane and gave the wind plenty of room to blow me side ways. The gusts lasted ALL DAY until I was west of Albuquerque. When I stopped for the night my neck and arms were so sore I could hardly get my gear over my head to undress. In spite of the discomfort I felt victorious in my accomplishment that day! Then I awoke to 38 degrees....another story about weather!

I continually challenge myself with my riding. I am not careless nor a thrill seeker (but I admit I get excited when wind gusts are in the forecast). I value the experiences I've had with my motorcycle. The experiences have made me stronger, more confident, and fearless in my pursuit of all things in general. Life is too short to sit and wait for good weather.

Debi Tolbert Duggar 
Author of 'Riding Soulo' - Part Memoir, Part Travelogue, Part Spiritual Salvation