Well, I Tried.

The forecasters were calling for rain some time in the early morning, but I woke up a little late and rushed to get out the door, so no chance to check the weather channel.

It was dark. A little too dark, in fact, as I rode out to the levee. By 6:15, it was just Richard and me as we headed up the river, trying to get a glimpse of the skies in the early morning darkness. I commented that we must have been the only ones who didn't check the weather radar. We had gone only about a mile before we felt the temperature drop. It must have plummeted 10 degrees in a matter of seconds as the wind shifted. Very impressive.

At first, I thought it was just a cool breeze blowing off the cold river water, but it wasn't. We went another mile before we felt the first little raindrops. We rolled on just a little farther until the little raindrops suddenly turned into bigger ones. We immediately decided it was time to beat a hasty retreat, but it was too late - way too late.

By the time we had made a U-turn on the bike path, we were being pelted with huge, cold, stinging raindrops. The rain soaked through my shoes and socks within seconds. The only bone that the Weather Gods threw us was a nice tailwind. I rode home as fast as I could, knowing that if I slowed down I'd freeze for sure. Half-way home, flying down partially flooded Oak Street in semi-darkness, wondering where the potholes were. I could hear the water rushing into the storm drains as I blew past the movie crew that was cowering under the awnings and balconies along the way. A sympathetic van driver flashed his headlights so I could make the off-camber turn onto Carrollton without stopping and I rocketed over the wet streets and through the rapidly growing puddles.

I have to admit, it was a blast! There is always something really neat about getting caught in one of these sudden downpours, and knowing that I would be home well before I would have a chance to get really chilled made it all the more fun. When it's dark and raining and the road is sketchy and there's water spraying in your face you have one of those rare chances to focus all of your attention on one thing. In the moment, full concentration. You feel like you're going much faster than you are and you get a certain sense of invincibility - taking the turns maybe a little faster than safe, feeling the tires slipping and sliding just a bit, balancing on the edge of control. As Mario once said, "If you feel like everything is under control, you're just not going fast enough!"

The weather is beautiful now. My abbreviated morning ride had been precisely timed to coincide with the movement of a cool front across the city.

Good luck or bad, at least I tried.