Day 348, Saturday 4 August 2018
I joined an Auckland Ulysses ride today, which went over the Bombay Hills and through the northern Waikato sticking close to the banks of the Waikato River. As soon as we got over the hills, we encountered dense fog, and it stuck with us until lunchtime. I don’t much like riding in fog: my visor fogs up, then the inside of the visor misted up with condensation, so wiping the outside no longer sufficed to give me reasonable vision. I raise my visor, but then the same thing happens to my glasses. Wiping the outside of my glasses lenses does help, as they’re closer to my eyes than the visor and I can see through the inner condensation layer to some extent. Also, fog is cold, and raising my visor makes a ride very cold indeed.
Today’s ride was a large one, and I was able to keep the bike in front of me in sight and follow them even though I couldn’t see very far ahead. If I’d been on my own, I would have considered using my hazard lights to make myself more visible to other traffic, but as there was a long line of us I didn’t think that was necessary today.
Photo by Jayne Willacy
Some helmets have anti-fog visors, which have a dual-layer where the middle layer of air acts as an insulator and prevents condensation build-up. I’m told they work well, but my helmet isn’t compatible with this system. You can buy defogging sprays for your visor and glasses. I haven’t tried them, and wasn’t carrying any this morning. I would consider carrying some if I rode in fog more often. Apparently, even dishwashing liquid is effective if you wipe it on the inside of the visor and then polish it off.
Distance travelled: 164 km. Total distance so far: 43,685 km
Motorcycling Streak 