I rode to SF in a torrential downpour a couple days ago. The weather forecast said "cloudy", and I didn't want it to rain, so I ignored the skies and put on my leather pants instead of my rain pants.

Here's the difference between waterproof gear and rain gear: with rain gear, you stay dry. My regular riding pants tuck into my boots. In the rain, the water merely follows the path of least resistance, generously filling my waterproof boots full of nice road-dirty rain water. My socks became soaked, my toes got cold. After a while I was miserable. Even a pot of hot Pu Er tea with friends at the Samovar Tea House could not help. The first thing I did when I got home was strip the wet stuff off in the garage, run into the house and put on dry socks.

We were rained out Wednesday and Thursday at Infineon (Sears Point) raceway. This was to be the first track day of the season. I have been antsy just to get back on the track, and excited and a wee bit nervous to be on a track I have never ridden before.

Wednesday morning the rain was coming down so hard that even with the windshield wipers going full speed, it was hard to see the road. The trip took about 30 minutes longer than normal. When we drove through the raceway gate, I noticed that a porta-potty had been blown off its base and was leaning against a light pole. While we were waiting for other people to arrive, we heard that a traffic light or power pole on Highway 37 had blown down and was blocking traffic. Many riders stayed home. For those few of us who showed up, the decision not to ride seemed obvious. Of course, by 11am, the sun was out, the track was dry, and stayed dry for the rest of the afternoon.

Thursday morning, the porta-potty was lying completely on its side having been felled by the winds the night before. Now, although the air was calm, the sky blue and the sun shining, a new weather front loomed. More people arrived but uncertainty showed in everyone's face. Two guys showed their optimism by unloading their bikes.

Not quite willing to unload my bike before the vote, I had plenty of time to look at improvements Infineon has made. They have planted lots of trees and shrubs on the hillside that faces the paddock. Part of my brain registered the shrubs, the other part processed the small tree supports as the grave markers of fallen racers. After staring at the hillside for a while I eventually decided that the trees were just trees.

Around 9-ish we assembled for the vote to ride or not ride. Unlike other rainy day votes I've seen, this one was not lop-sided at all. About 20 people wanted to ride, and about 25 did not.

I completely understand the point of view of the people who voted against riding. This crowd had a contingent of AMA or AFM racers looking to get some practice time in before the first race of the season. They know this track and they want to go fast. The idea of riding slowly and treating the wet track as an opportunity to practice wet riding techniques for street riding was not in the cognitive space of these riders. The race track is built on a marsh; seepage during the rainy season is a fact of life. There is no avoiding rivers of runoff water in the section of the track called the "carousel", and, apparently anyone with their adult motorcycle teeth rides the carousel leaning over hard. This is not safe in the rain, especially if your bike has racing slick tires. No one wants to risk their body or that of their bike before the season has even gotten started.

Then there's my perspective. I don't know this track. Riding slowly would have been fine with me, I just want to learn the track. I didn't touch my knee down last year and I don't expect to do so this year. Hopefully by August I'll be good enough to ride in the Intermediate group, but I sure as heck am not ready now.

Fortunately the track day organizer, Keigwins@theTrack, had set up a rainy-day insurance deal for this event. Since we did not ride due to rain, we riders forfeit some amount of our track fee to help defray the fixed costs (ambulance, caterer, corner workers, flaggers), but we do not lose the entire amount. This rain insurance is one of the reasons I signed up; Sonoma (where the track is located) typically gets about six inches of rain in February, signing up for a track day at Infineon (or anywhere in Northern California) is a crap shoot.

It's time for a consolation ride in the hills. My bike is street legal again, the mirrors are in place, the fuses for the turn signals and lights are plugged in, and I've removed all the painters tape from glass casings and plastic reflectors. Next track day is in two weeks at Thunderhill, a track I am familiar with.

The daffodils are blooming along Highway 280 near the Page Mill exit. Whoever tossed handsful of bulbs out there years ago has accumulated much good karma. There are sections of yellow and white daffodils as well as the ponds of bright yellow faces. The daffodils are closely packed, the only way to tell the difference between them and the fields of mustards is the density of the color.

There's a new aroma from the highway, I'm not sure where it is coming from, but there's no question that it is doughnuts, fresh from the fryer. Talk about wanting to follow your nose.