I am sitting here watching it rain, and it brought back so many memories of the times I have been caught out in the rain, but one particular time was a Trip that Jackie and I took (Jackie is My Wife) it was in southern Utah doing the Grand circle Tour that encompasses several of the beautiful national Parks in that Area …Zion, Bryce, Cedar Breaks, Grand Escalante, Capitol Reef.barebones mc

It had been a beautiful ride north from Sierra Vista Arizona, the weather was hot and dry, and we were looking forward to some cooler Mountain relief. That area of Utah goes down as my favorite place to ride, scenery is unbelievable, people are friendly and genuine .  Well it was our last day of camping and it had been threatening to rain most of the day, I kept my eye on the fronts as they moved through, knowing that it was only a matter of time before we would get rain, and we had just set up our Timeout Camper got nice and comfy inside and the floodgates opened up and it started raining with a vengeance, I could tell this was not just a mountain shower, this was here to stay but we were ok. We cooked up a quick meal made some coffee and settled in to play some cards, as I looked out the window on that day I seen so many other bikers that were scrambling to find shelter, several had dashed into a small laundromat  with wet sleeping bags and drenched clothing, and it reminded me that I use to be one of those people, but I guess as we get older we realize there is nothing that we have to prove, been there and done that.

Well as I was watching everyone scurry in and out of the laundromat I spied a couple that we had visited with and rode with   earlier that day, they were soaked, I told Jackie I was going to invite them over and she made another pot of Coffee, we will call them bill and carol, they were both surprised and grateful for the offer, carol was really impressed with the room we had and the fact that everything we had was nice and dry, she said right then and there that a timeout was going to be their next purchase for them or she wasn’t going camping anymore. We shared a lot of biking stories and adventures exchanged cell phone number and kept in touch with them many times for several years. Bottom line is this why would you put yourself through wet nights in a tent, or how about those nice sweltering mornings when you wake up in a pool of your own sweat from the sun that has been frying you as you slept, you could always do motels, or hotels, but there is no guarantee that the room above you are not rented out to a family with three kids, and what about a bed? Who slept in it last?  I like knowing that the bed I slept in last night is the same one I’ll be sleeping in tonight. And last and most important if your wife or girlfriend is not comfortable, she is not going to be going on any long-distance trips with you, I got married 50 years ago because I wanted to spend my entire life with her and I have. 

Ray G