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Getting Dry; Staying Dry
20 Things you can do to keep the wet out
You know how it goes, you’re on a ride when sure enough
the clouds roll in, the wind starts to blow and before you know it there’s a
tropical rainstorm right outside your face shield.
If you’re on a multi-day trip, you’ve got your work cut
out for you to get your gear dry before you begin your next day, but even if
you’re on a one day ride, there are some things you can do at the next rest stop
to make things a bit more comfortable.
Photo: Placing wet gloves
and other gear near a wall heater can be useful or detrimental if you don't keep
an eye on things.
Let’s begin by talking about things you can do to get
dried out and then we’ll cover 10 things to do to be sure you ride dry all day
long.
- Leave Your Cotton At Home – When I ride, the
only cotton item I have with me is my handkerchief. Everything else is made
from synthetics like Polyester which dry out about six times faster than
cotton. Blue jeans, cotton tees and socks are a recipe for discomfort when
they get wet. Often a moist polyester t-shirt will dry out during a lunch
break indoors. They’re also lighter and smaller to pack on multi-day trips.
- Air Hand Dryers – Typically the interior of
gloves are the first things to get wet in a down pour. This is because few
riders cuff their rain gear over their gauntlets, or don’t have water-tight
gloves. When this happens you’ll find air hand dryers at many rest stops,
restaurants and gas stations. Nowadays it seems like every McDonald's has
one. Simply punch the unit on, place your glove over the nozzle and let the
warm air do the trick. Don’t completely wrap the nozzle with your glove,
make sure the air goes in and has a space to escape out, this is necessary
to allow the moisture to escape.
Wringing out your clothes
Step 1: Place your wet clothing onto a dry towel
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Step 2: Fold the towel over the top section (like a burrito).
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Step 3: Rool it up (like a burrito).
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Step 4: Place one end of the wrap under your knee and twist the
other end tightly (never try this with a burrito).
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- Towels – So while I don’t have any cotton on
the ride, when I get to the hotel or back home there’s always a plentiful
supply of towels I can use to dry my wet gear. The interior of saddle bags
and tank bags can be patted out and will usually be dry by the morning. For
clothing (and this trick comes in handy when you’re doing your laundry in
the hotel bathroom, too) you can place each article into a towel, roll it up
and then wring the towel. You’ll get more leverage and a tighter wringing
effect if you put one end of the towel between your knee and the floor and
use two hands to wring the other end. For gloves, place a dry wash cloth
into the glove, wrap the outside of the glove with a hand towel and wring it
out. You’ll be amazed at how much water a cotton towel will absorb from your
gear. If you’re using plastic map cases be sure to check them for moisture
as it can occur by way of condensation inside.
- Hair Dryers – Better hotels and motels have
hair dryers. These can be used to dry gloves as pointed out in the air
dryer section, but you can also use it to dry out luggage interiors, your
helmet and so on.
- Wall Heaters – Now we’re getting into the
tricky stuff. It’s tempting to place your wet gear next to a wall heater in
a motel or hotel, but not too close. Unattended clothing might dry out too
much and, heaven forbid, catch fire. If you’re sleeping then consider your
gear unattended because you won’t wake up until it’s too late. Wall heaters
do have a way of drying the air out in your room which over several hours
will help dry your gear just by wicking the moisture by virtue that you’ve
dropped the room's humidity.
- Dry Zone Gear Dryers – These handy gear dryers
just came on the market a few years back. They’re bags about the size of a
cucumber that are filled with silica beads that suck the moisture out of
anything wet that lands near them. You can use them in your gloves, boots,
helmets, luggage and virtually any other textile item that gets wet. It
typically takes about 8 hours to dry a pair of boots or gloves using them.
They’re a bit cumbersome to carry when touring, but if you’ve got the space
what the heck. You can get
them through Sound RIDER!
- Dry Climate Air Drying – If you go through the
desert and experience a torrential down pour, you still might be in luck.
Once the clouds clear, even if it’s in the evening, the humidity will drop
and you’ll have good conditions for drying your gear. A combination of the
towel wringing trick and air drying in an arid climate works every
time.
- Fire Pits – Ohhhh – you thought the wall
heater trick was dangerous, you really better be careful attempting this
one. But when you’re camping what else can you do? Lots of guys think it’s a
good idea to lay wet socks and gloves on the stones of the fire pit near the
flame. More often than not the results are not good with holes getting
burned into socks, boot heels melting and so on. Don’t ask me how I know
this. You wouldn’t throw fresh caught salmon directly onto the
coals, but you could use a similar process used to cook salmon and
vegetables. Begin by warming a few stones in the fire for an hour or so.
Then wrap your wet gear into tin foil, poke a few holes in it, get the
stones away from the flames and roast your wet gear on the stones turning
about every three to five minutes. For boots, wait for the stones to cool a
bit, wrap them in tin foil and place them into your boots, moving them
around just as often.
- Sleep With Your Clothes – An old back packing
trick I learned as a kid. Get your clothes as dry as possible and then take
them into bed with you. Most of your body heat is coming from your core, so
place them near your chest when you go to sleep and move them around during
the night whenever you wake up.
- Find a Laundromat – Just about everything but
your boots and helmet will tumble nicely in a dryer and just about any town
you drive through has a laundromat, so take advantage and perhaps you can
grab a bite to eat or a cup of coffee while you’re at it. Again,
Polyesters dry much faster in a commercial dryer than cotton.
And now for the tips on how to keep from getting wet
- Water Tight Boots and Gloves – If you plan to
ride in the rain and your boots or gloves leak, throw them away now and stop
being so cheap when you buy motorcycle clothing. For the same cost as a
quality motorcycle jacket you can get a quality pair of boots and gloves
that don’t leak. If you spend less than that, you’ll pay the price later.
Your feet and hands are the first things to get cold on your body. If they
get wet, they’ll get cold sooner, much sooner. That’s because water is the
ultimate transport system for heat, and when it’s cold out you don’t want
your body heat stolen by water. If you spent $300 on waterproof boots and
gloves and they leak, go get your money back.
- PVC Rain Apparel – Rain suits are an essential
part of your riding arsenal. A leaky rain suit is about as good as not
wearing a rain suit at all. Again, don’t ask me how I know this. After a lot of
testing I’ve come to the conclusion that a PVC coated rain suit is the only way
to go. Better manufacturers such as Nelson-Rigg make this gear. When you’re
buying a set, be sure the seams along the crotch are accessible and can be
re-taped easily if one should open up. You can get more tape at an outdoor
or fabric store. A lot of riders think that because the manufacturer said
their regular riding jacket and pants are waterproof, they don’t need a rain
suit. We’ll talk about the reality of that when you have a chance to ride
through the pelting rain for an hour or so on your way to the resort at the
top of the beautiful mountain which isn’t so beautiful that day. Even if the
regular gear is waterproof, the exterior shells takes on about ten pounds of
water weight, which incidentally is about seven pounds more than the weight
of a quality rain suit.
- Cuff Your Glove Gauntlets – I mentioned this
earlier, but now I’ll explain why. When you put on your rain gear, be sure
to place your cuffs over the gauntlets of your gloves. This way the water
won’t run down your arm on the outside and into the gloves at the cuff
point. Sometimes it’s not easy to get the second cuff over the other hand
when you have a set of gloves on…but the person behind the cash register at
the gas station will help you out.
- Seal Your Neck – And while you’re cuffing your
gauntlets, make sure you seal the top of your rain gear around your neck so
the water from your helmet doesn’t pour into your upper body.
- Waterproofers – Water proofers such as
Nikwax
allow water to be repelled away from textiles when it hits them, rather than
immediately penetrating them. Keeping the water away from the inside of your
luggage, gloves and boots is critical to keeping dry.
- Luggage Covers – Better manufacturers of soft
motorcycle luggage include rain covers that are PVC coated like
that rain suit you swear by. They do the job until the wind gets up under
them at which point water can follow or they can blow off your bag at 60 mph
on the interstate. Find a solid way to secure them onto your luggage. I
often use a Rok Strap or two to secure my luggage cover on my tail bag.
- Dry Bags – Soft saddle bags often have zippers
on them that allow the water to get into them. If that’s the case with your
bags, purchase a set of lightweight dry bags and put all your belongings
into the dry bags, then place them into your saddle bags. Better safe than
sorry. Lightweight dry bags can be purchased alongside the meatier ones at
outdoor and marine stores. This is also handy if you want to leave your
saddle bags on the bike at night because you can just simply grab the dry
bags out and easily carry all the gear inside to your room or tent.
-
 Plastic
Map Cases – Plastic map cases are critical to keeping maps and other
paper essentials such as phone contacts dry. Their only drawback is that the
air already inside them can condense and get stuff wet anyway. Simply wipe
them out with a paper towel now and then along the way.
- Scott Cloth Your Face Shield Before You Ride –
The best anti fog cloth I know of so far is the Scott Cloth from – who else
– Scott, the same folks that make ski goggles. The cloth has a solution on
it that keeps the moisture that condenses on your face shield from obscuring
your view. Without it you’ll find yourself having to open your face shield
from time to time allowing water droplets onto the inside of the shield.
Typically one rub down last a day, but in really wet weather you may need to
reapply it a few times during the day.
- Carry a Seattle Sombrero – This all season
utility hat is critical when it comes to rainy or sunny weather. It allows
you to do tasks like loading luggage without having to wear a helmet to keep
your head dry. Its diversity also allows you to remove your helmet and have
sun protection whether you’re just gassing up, taking photographs or
checking your route. The hat is made by
Outdoor Research and you can get
them through Sound RIDER!. Much more useful than a baseball cap.SR!
Patrick Thomas/Fall 05
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