50 percent chance

I think I dodged one today.  I should have gotten wet.

A 50 percent chance works it to it should be raining about half of the time.  At least that's one way to look at it.  While I was out it actually rained less than 10 percent of the time.  The "geez it feels like it is going to rain" changed to light mist about 3 miles from home.  At first I was going to continue on the route I was riding for another couple of blocks and then head for home on the street I usually ride from over there in that part of Lauderdale.  At the next cross street the mist had intensified into identifiable drops and I cut off and started the sprint on the shortest direct route to my garage.

The problem being that the shortest direct route led down into a significant depression requiring a long uphill to get home (Roselawn past the University golf course in case anyone wants to know or cares).

The good news is that it only heavy misted like that for about a mile and a half and I was still nearly a mile out when the rain stopped.  The streets never got wet, in fact I never even noticed any drops on any surfaces of the bike.  I know it was raining, I could feel it hitting my skin, but it was obviously a light rain which ended quickly.  I turned off the direct to garage homing device and resumed my just riding around..

I've been looking around for these, this is the first spotting for me of the year.

Everyone should have a NiceRide.

I understand from BikeSnobNYC that NYC is trying to get a similar program started but is experiencing strong dissent from certain neighborhoods.  As usual with the Snob, it's a pretty good read if a trifle snobbish.

I tried to ride south but it is hard to get very far in that direction without dead man's curve and besides that even though the rain stopped the "geez it feels like it is going to rain" came flooding back with a vengeance.  I didn't want to get too far from home.  I did get as far south as the Fairgrounds.  That new building is definitely rest rooms.  Check out the plumbing.

Sinks on one side of the room, um, sanitary facilities on the other.  Both sets of devices require drains and it looks to me like a giant load of PVC drain pipe.

And this had to happen this morning because I have been watching for this too and it wasn't there yesterday.  The corn has been planted.

Check back on July 4, with this late start the knee high thing looks as much in jeopardy as any year when I have paid attention.  On the other hand, the drought is over, there MUST be plenty of moisture in that soil.

I had a nice coincidence at the end of today's ride.

I am not afraid of 6's, or 666's, or any of that stuff, so it was just a fun moment.  It started raining, real raining this time, as I was standing there after taking the photo.  I think I dodged one today.

I checked the cumulative log and 6,666 puts NewLOOK third on the list of most miles ridden on any bike.  I failed to notice late last season when LOOK pushed past my Bianchi into third place.  If you add up the total miles ridden on those four bicycles and divide by four you get a nice average of 10,939 miles per bicycle.

That's kinda fun.

I have already used this line a couple of times but I like it so I am going to use it again.  I went to a book signing last evening.  When I got to the front of the line I asked the author if he would mind doing me a special favor by holding the book upside down for the photo opportunity.

The people behind me in line and close enough to catch the exchange were amused and tittered politely.  As you can probably not terribly clearly see (I am still on a learning curve with the camera in the phone), the author complied.

I was visiting his website earlier.  Many may know that before becoming as he puts it "a commercial writer" he was a newspaper reporter and won a Pulitzer Prize for a series published in the Pioneer Press, Life on the Land:  An American Farm Family.  The series is now available for reading at his website.  As is appropriate for something that won a Pulitzer Prize, Life on the Land is powerfully good writing.

Artist's note:  three different cameras were used in the production of this artwork.