The rainy season has descended, just in time for the annual motorcycle show in San Mateo this weekend. For the past two years, the first day of the show has been accompanied by pouring rain. Free parking for motorcycles wasn't a good enough incentive for me to put my bike on the highway with cars that haven't been on wet roads since February. This year the weather for the event was warm and dry. I rode, but did not park in the bike pen with the hundreds of other bikes; I could just see myself backing into somebody's brand new Ducati, and causing a domino effect.

Art Friedman has an excellent article on riding in the rain. He covers the fundamentals: traction, seeing and being seen, staying warm and dry. Two items to add to what he says are sunglasses and a rain-repellent glaze for your squeaky-clean visor.

Some sunglasses manufacturers offer a frame with swappable lenses. My riding sunglasses have dark lenses for bright light, orange-tinted lenses for low light (overcast, foggy) conditions, and yellow lenses for night riding. All polarized, of course. The advantage is not having three pairs of sunglasses all trying to dive to the deepest corner of my bag. The disadvantage is having to fuss with the lenses to swap them in and out of the frame, and to keep the pairs of lenses in correct slots their little protective bags.

Most women my age get cold hands and feet easily. If my bike didn't have heated grips, I would be looking into a conversion kit. Warm hands make a big difference. I am very happy with my waterproof, moisture-wicking Seirus Stormsocks but managed just fine last year with a thin pair of polypro liners inside fleece socks. And, for that icy cold butt that even men experience after riding a few hours in the rain, there's always the heated seat option on BMW's 2004 K1200 GT.

The availability of women's gear in general has improved enormously in the past couple of years. Widder and Gerbing manufacture heated gear that runs off the bike's battery power, and, they have women's sizes. Some bikes have an accessory port. For other bikes you can purchase a cable set up that lets you jack your vest and socks directly into the battery. Just make sure your bike puts out enough power to support these items.

For rain riding, waterproof boots are a given. Wet leather is okay up to a point. Beyond that point (believe me, you'll know when you've reached it), rain pants and jacket, or a one-piece rain suit are a must, along with a second pair of dry gloves in the tank bag. If your tank bag isn't waterproof, I recommend putting everything into sealable freezer bags. Double up the bags for good measure, you can keep your wet gloves from soaking all the dry stuff. Oh yeah, black is nearly invisible in fog, it's time to put that high visibility, fluorescent-colored vest back on.

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As for the motorcycle show, I'm experiencing bike lust for that K 1200 GT. Yes, it is more bike than I really need for commuting to the dojo and work. The CS is more than fine for that. I could ride cross-country in shameless comfort on the GT. I've been thinking about connecting the pieces of Route 66 and visiting my sister on the east coast. There are a couple of Route 66 books available, the original one by Michael Wallis, and a newer guide by Drew Knowles that Michael Wallis gives a "thumbs up" to.

Interrupting my fantasy of riding the 4-cylinder, 130 hp machine from Los Angeles to Chicago is a little voice asking me if I really want to ride a 661-pound wet weight bike. And I'll need a few snappy comebacks to the inevitable question, "what's a little lady like you doin' on a big bike like that?" Grinning from ear-to-ear?

The commerce gods are showing some kindness. After being under-employed for about four years, I have started working full time for a local software company that is less than five miles from my home. The BMW is complaining because we never get going faster than about 45 mph. I pass two school crossings at 25 mph, that's stall speed.

I'm working in an IS organization for a company that does product development. People who work for product development have god-like status, people who work for IS are equivalent to pond scum. I know, I've been a product development engineer and a thorn-in-the-business'-side IS person. I'm hoping to be with this company long enough to see collaboration replace siloed behavior. The holy grail for large companies is "knowledge management", the ability to share information, knowledge, and experience across organizations. This project could be a second career-time high.

The universe gave me an excuse to trade in the BMW. Perhaps I over-reacted to the CS's engine suffering an electrical failure on the highway, especially since it turned out to be a blown negative post on the battery, but more on that later. CalBMW saved me from my K1200RT delusions and introduced me to my new ride, the Sprint ST. It wasn't even on my list, but it met my requirements:

• the bike fits me and we communicate with each other
• the bike has a reputation for reliability
• the bike has enough ooomph to help me keep up with Peter on his VFR, and, ride cross-country
• maintains my relationship with a dealer that is 3 blocks from my home, whose staff treats everyone with respect, and, they know me
  

The bike is so easy to ride, it practically reads my mind. Even a year ago I would not have had the confidence to ride this bike, an inline-triple, 955cc, 118 bhp delight. The combination of the BMW F650CS and the Honda CBR600 F3 has brought me a long way, and there's still plenty to go. I have dreams of riding the Silk Route on a dual sport bike. First, I ought to get myself across the US and back.