Many of my loyal blog followers know that I ride a Harley and having had a crash but suffered no abrasions because I was wearing proper gear, I have been a strong advocate for “ATGATT” — “All The Gear, All The Time.”

However, when conditions in the swamp…

… that the DC area is known best as show the dew point close to the actual air temperature, there is just no way I can wear a jacket — even a ventilated mesh jacket — while riding the Harley.

Here is an explanation of terms in case you were not aware:

The higher the dew point rises, the greater the amount of moisture in the air. This directly effects how “comfortable” it will feel outside. Many times, relative humidity can be misleading. For example, a temperature of 30 and a dew point of 30 will give you a relative humidity of 100%, but a temperature of 80 and a dew point of 60 produces a relative humidity of 50%. It would feel much more “humid” on the 80 degree day with 50% relative humidity than on the 30 degree day with a 100% relative humidity. This is because of the higher dew point.

So if you want a real judge of just how “dry” or “humid” it will feel outside, look at the dew point instead of the humidity. The higher the dew point, the muggier it will feel. (U.S. National Weather Service)

My body cannot take the warm, muggy, conditions. As I have gotten older, my tolerance for heat and humidity is less and less. The discomfort from sweating only escalates and does not dissipate when wearing a jacket, even a ventilated one. When the dew point is so high, nothing evaporates. Wearing a jacket in this humidity is like being steamed alive.

So yeah, Ken, go ahead and criticize me for “riding bikes” with my great nephews at 5mph in a t-shirt. Either that, or not ride at all. I wore my jacket to get to their house and wore it while riding back home.

Ya know, regretfully, if my Harley could talk, it would say, “who are you and what have you done with my human who used to ride me?” With significant challenges on my time with having to drive The Spouse to endless doctor’s appointments (average 3x/week), to his mother’s home in Pittsburgh, and in caring for my senior pals, I have no time to ride on weekends.

With the promise to The Spouse and to myself not to ride in the dark, I no longer ride during the week.

And when I get a short break and possibly could go for a ride on a weekend day, the weather is hot, humid, and so bad that I can’t tolerate wearing the gear. So instead of riding shirtless and in shorts and flip-flops, I choose not to ride, leaving the Harley whimpering sadly in the back of the garage, all alone. (That really hurts this biker’s spirit, but what can I do?)

Life is short: managing the struggles of time to ride appropriately geared is more difficult than one may think.