And since then I've been to Seattle and New Mexico without wet. Was I out of practice, no. As soon as the rain hit and the lights came on, I backed off and gave more space between vehicles. Yet in about 10 miles around Red Wing, I saw three almost-accidents among the prevailingly docile Sunday morning drivers. Cars practically do that for them.
Riders have to constantly predict, think, act.
By the way, someone wrote to say it seems I am opposed to or have denigrated people who choose cars. That is not my intention, but as we swim through our sea we should be most aware of the fish most likely to bite us. A prevailing cause of motorcycle injuries has been cars turning or 'blending' into the bike's right of way. Sunday morning in farm country is slow. Without starting another discussion of who waves and who doesn't, let me observe that some drivers out on the county roads subscribe to the index-finger wave method of greeting as they approach.