Bad Call

Wednesday afternoon was just starting to wind down when the rain started. This wasn't just some little afternoon shower, this was RAIN - the kind that comes down so fast and so hard that the storm drains, even the ones that actually work, are immediately overwhelmed and the water starts getting deep out in the street. "No worries," I thought. These random summer rainstorms that tend to pop up almost without warning don't usually last very long. It was just after 5 pm and The Wife, who was taking the shuttle home from downtown, had wanted me to get home sooner rather than later in order to deliver some food to the husband of a co-worker who was in the hospital. It was still pouring down rain, so I figured I'd give it another fifteen minutes. Half an hour later it was still raining buckets. Finally, shortly before 6 pm, it slacked off to a light drizzle, so I put on my $20 plastic rain jacket and headed off down Broadway for the 2-mile ride home. I was less than half-way there when I realized I might have made a bad call on the rain thing. About three blocks up ahead I could see a curtain of rain. Four blocks later my Weejuns were already starting to fill with water. Soon water was blowing in through the vents in my rain jacket and my slacks were plastered to my legs. At least everything in my Timbik2 messenger bag stayed nice and dry, because nothing else did.

This morning the weather was a repeat of yesterday's. Hot and sticky with a side order of hungry mosquitoes. There were about a dozen for the early ride, including Woody on a freshly built-up track bike. The pace started moderately enough, but as usual it gradually ramped up as the ride went on. There were four or five guys on time trial bikes today. Maybe they are getting in some early training for the next time trial, which I guess will be in March or April?? When Howard surged at the front, taking a couple of riders with him, I just held the consensus speed, which wasn't all that slow anyway, and after a couple more people took their pulls at the "new" front, everyone was back together again. That kind of defined my role for the day - acting as a buffer for the seemingly random accelerations. Even so, it was a good fast ride today.

We're all still hoping for a little cool-down, since it's October, but it's looking like we'll have to wait a few more days at least. The weather for Rocktoberfest, this Sunday, is still a bit uncertain and will all depend on when the next little front decides to come through. A few hours one way or the other could make a big difference.