Fridays in the rain

Fridays are great. By around lunch time, I'm bound to get that weekend buzz unless I'm up to my eyes with work. That hasn't seem to be a problem these days. One of the perks of the recession, I suppose. And of course, I'm constantly reminded that it's close to the weekend by the now resident idiot of the week who just loves to cause a nuisance of himself/herself by blocking off the motorcycle spot. Nice one.

Anyway, Fridays are also the one assigned casual day at work. Not a big deal really but it does mean I'd get to freely mingle with the general population without people being able to tell from a mile away what my I do for a living. With that freedom available, I'd normally want to make flying visits all over the city centre for various reasons.


The only problem with that is the weather in Ireland. Well, more specifically, the rain. You see, riding around on the scooter has its benefits but as one might have guessed, it has its disadvantages as well. So, to mitigate the ever-present risk of getting wet I'd seldom leave my armoured, waterproof trousers behind. The trousers are great really but sometimes, just sometimes I wish I don't need to walk down Grafton Street looking like Space Cop Gaban.


OK, I shouldn't be too shallow. After all, safety should be my main priority but still, there must be some way where I can have the best of both worlds?


Well, if it's any help to anyone out there facing the same dilemma as I'm in at the moment, there might be some sort of solution. Theoretically, that is. First off, in the form as protection, one can make do without the bulky armoured trousers and go with Knox's Flex Lite knee guards instead. Admittedly, you're not as protected as you'd be in proper trousers but I'd say they'd be great for short trips around the city centre where there's no chance your speedo would be going above 40-50km/h anyway. The other good thing about these knee guards is that they could be used in warm and humid places like Malaysia and India as a cheaper alternative to full-blown armoured trousers. As one might gather, the trousers can get really uncomfortable in hot/humid conditions as well as cost a fortune for people over there. Better something rather than nothing, eh?


Right, that's that angle covered but I'm still exposed to the weather and whatever it decides to drop on me? For that, I have one solution that will get a resounding Nooooooo! from most scooterists out there. Yes, Tucano Urbano's TermoScud could be the solution especially if you don't mind looking like a fat pregnant woman on a wheelchair. Nothing wrong with looking like a fat pregnant woman, I'd just prefer not to look like one, if that's OK.


But then, Tucano Urbano's Italian and the Italians normally know what they're doing when it comes to looking good. So, how can this be? What sort of dark arts have convinced normally good-looking Italians too look like bloated women while on their scooters?


Seemingly, not much. From what I can gather, the onus for scooterists in Italy (and much of the Continent) is to look good as soon as one steps off one's vehicle of choice. It doesn't matter how awful one looks like while on it. It's the complete opposite with the attitude of scooter enthusiasts around these parts but at least, I now understand why products like this actually exist and amazingly, sell quite well. Beats looking like Japanese alien exterminator walking down Grafton Street.


For the record, I haven't actually bought myself both products but as soon as I get the chance, I definitely will.


PS: I've just been made aware that there's a problem with leaving comments on this blog. Apologies to anyone trying to leave a few words here for the past few months. I've tried to correct this to the best of my abilities. Hopefully, it' all OK now and we can finally start some two-way communication going here...