Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Caught in the rain

You learn early that when a day is as far out of the average as yesterday was that a storm is usually coming, quite often a violent storm. So it was no surprise that rain was in the forecast for today. Well, I don't like to ride in the rain. So usually the process of ride preparation includes checking Mikey J's weather page and satisfying myself that it isn't likely to rain. And I did that today. As I drove home from work it was still sunny even if quite windy. Rain seemed possible, but what the heck, the sun was out.

So I got dressed and started out. Clouds were starting to roll in and covered perhaps half of the sky as I left the driveway. But the sun was out.

As often happens, I heard it before I felt it. At about 6 and a half miles I heard something hitting the shoulder of my jacket. Very shortly after that I felt the first drop of moisture. It was very light at this point but I turned abruptly and started for home. At about 8.2 there was a rumble of thunder. At about 9 it started to rain. The temperature was decreasing from 60 so it was going to be a cold rain.

Rain is highly motivating and I got in a hammering gear and started to hammer. I was taking all of the short cuts but I was a little over 3 miles from home. I could feel the rain going through my tights within a mile or so, not cold yet, but wet. At a mile to go I could feel it start to work through the jacket onto my shoulders. Not wet yet, but cold. So I kept hammering and made it home. The bike is a bit wet and I got the dirt stripe up the back of my jacket. But it wasn't my worst rain experience.

I get rained on about once a year. Here's hoping that this was the time for this year.

No photo (it was raining), so here's a favorite photo from April 2004:
This the first thing the guide showed us in Paris. Arrive in town at Gare Montparnasse. Check into the hotel. Back to the Gare and onto the Metro. Off the Metro, up the stairs, turn left and boom: France. This is the Obelisk at the Place de la Concorde at the foot of the Champs Elysee.

3 comments:

Santini said...

checking to see if my gmail account lets me use this.

Santini said...

apparently it does. I rode the back waterways today -- the 'keep the water on your left on the way out, on your right returning' route. Very nice. As was Boca Grande and the lighthouse later. Still mid 80's here.

Anonymous said...

changing my name