This Saturday we had our first rain of the season. And, what was to supposed to be a chance of light rain turned out to be quite a soaking. As you can imagine, the weekly club ride was cancelled since most people do not ride in the rain. However, I’m not most people.
I love riding in the rain!!! There are very few things in this world that make me feel more like a kid again then riding in the rain. To be honest, I originally thought I liked being on the bike in the rain because of its bad-ass factor. I mean the looks from people as they drive by says it all. While I really, I mean really, like the bad ass factor I’ve come to the conclusion it’s the child thing I like the most. Yes, riding in the rain makes me feel young and alive.
As much as I like to ride in the rain I have to admit that it’s almost impossible for me to start a ride if it’s already raining. I mean there’s also something to be said for sitting on the couch with a fresh cup of coffee and watching it rain as well. I guess you could say I prefer to get caught in the rain. And when I say rain, I don’t mean wind-driven rain that’s coming down sideways. I also don’t mean a light mist, which I don’t like at all. No, I’m talking about a good solid rain that’s hard enough that people think you’re crazy but not so bad that it’s flat out dangerous.
These were the conditions Saturday morning. As I sat on the couch, drinking coffee and reading Facebook posts about what all my cycling friends were doing instead of riding, I listened to it rain. Finally, around 9:00 a.m. there was a break in the action and I decided it was time to roll.
I literally felt the first drops as I was rolling down my driveway and by the end of the block it was raining. I could have easily turned around but in my mind the ride had started so I was “caught” in the rain. It didn’t rain very long, only about 3 minutes. I wasn’t even all that wet.
As I rode along I was thinking that was kind of wimpy and I would have liked something a little more substantial. I got my wish. As I was having that thought I looked up the road and you could see the wall of water coming my way. For the next 10 minutes or so I was riding in a complete downpour. You can bet I was soaked by the time it was over.
After the heavy rain, we settled into a nice gentle rain that lasted for another hour. I was in heaven. Sherry said that when it started raining before I reached the end of the street she was hoping that I would turn around. But she knew I wouldn’t because I would be smiling from ear to ear like the child of one of our neighbors who had been riding in the rain earlier that morning. Eventually the weather did clear up and in the end I managed to get in a very nice 35-mile ride.
I know as we head into winter the weather is going to kick my ass more than once. Saturday’s rain came from the south so it was actually fairly warm. Soon, we’ll start dealing with cold fronts from Alaska and it will be a different story. But that’s in the future. As of right now, it’s child 1 – rain 0.
Ciao!
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