Riiiiiiidin� in the Rain
2008-06-04, 4:25 p.m.

Day 1382

Sux. Just so you know. Got up this morning at oh-dark thirty like normal (4:50 actually), peeked out the bedroom window and made the assessment that it wasn�t raining. Went and finished my morning prep like I was biking to the Y and then to work.

It was all good till I actually got outside. The air was a little beyond moist. There were actual droplets falling. But they were small and the road didn�t look all shiny & wet, so I figured �what the heck � let�s do it�

Pedaled out of our development and hit the main drag. Hmmmm. Seemed wetter. Smoother pavement kinda brings the water to the surface, rather than letting it settle into the nooks & crannies between the stones. I carried on. After all, it�s only 4 miles to the Y. About a mile from the house, my feet seemed wet. Two miles from the house and I could feel the water squooshing around when I wiggled my toes. Forgot my biking shoes were �ventilated�.

Bad move #1. Shoulda bailed then, pulled a U-turn and gone home. Got to the Y, grabbed a locker and headed to class. Didn�t dare take off my shoes and try to wring out my socks. Just went to class and took my lumps. After class, I grabbed a mini cuppa coffee, shot the breeze with a guy doing a triathlon this weekend (Keuka Lake Tri) and took a peek at the sky and my watch.

I sized up my options. It was too late to divert Eric from heading to work, so no chance for the van without a lot of rigmarole (it�s in my spell checker � really). Cindy? I�d get the evil eye for a week if I asked her to come get me in her car and drag me to work. The rain really looked like it was done. My feet were already soaked, I don�t really mind if my legs get wet, my upper body is protected � what did I have to lose? So I saddled up and rode into work. Bad move #2.

I thought my feet were wet when I got to the Y. Hah! Found out what the big problem was. Road spray comes flying off the front wheel, splatters off the frame and gloms onto my shoes when they�re in the most forward portion of the pedal stroke. While I didn�t ride directly through any puddles, the casual water lying on the road was sufficient to make quite the mess.

I have my biking shoes pretty much disassembled in my office, hoping they dry out in time for the ride home. I at least lucked out and had an extra pair of dry socks in my locker here. That will make the ride home a little nicer. At least there�s no rain forecast till tomorrow afternoon.

Tomorrow afternoon, AFTER I get back from my last training ride. Forecast wind direction tomorrow morning is out of the south east. Very odd for these parts. It�s making me think that heading to Perry early morning (going SSW) and coming home late morning (headed NNE) won�t be horrible. Nothing directly into the wind, and the later half of the trip sort of down wind.

Here�s the route:

Or if you want it interactive go here.

Yes, that�s my place the little green box is pointing to. Don�t start stalking me, mmkay?

Time to go think about that ride home. It�ll give me time to ponder wtf Cindy�s recent attitude is all about. Stanley Cup game 6 is on tonight. Go Penguins!!

That last bit wasn't too fractured, was it?

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