I sat up in bed, taking inventory of the morning's crop of stiff joints and muscles. One calf muscle in particular was complaining, amid the usual dull cacophony of reluctant leg and back muscles. I remembered what Bob Perrin had said to me once when I was first starting to notice the effects of aging (which was over twenty years ago now). "It takes a long time to warm up old meat." He followed it up with something like, "Just wait until you hit 40." Indeed. I stepped out of bed and felt a sharp but familiar twinge in my right hip. It's been acting up lately. Although there's always the temptation to give in and pull the covers back over my head, I know better. Nowadays, it seems the moment I stop moving, I start to rust. Five minutes later I was out the door.
Up on the levee it was the usual quiet Friday morning ride with just four of us. I rode alongside Donald most of the way out, probably one or two mph faster than I would have gone if I'd been alone. The sky was just a bit overcast today, and I was enjoying the temporary reprieve from direct sun, especially after we turned around and headed back to the southeast. As we started back I noticed some dark clouds off to the south, but they seemed far away and not likely to interfere with the morning ride. By the time we got to the bridge I could see that those clouds were building very rapidly into a big thunderstorm. I looked over at Scott and remarked, "Man, those clouds sure are building up fast!" In the span of five minutes we went from a normal summer morning to the edge of a thunderstorm. Suddenly we were hit with a strong cold downdraft and crosswind that threatened to blow us right off the levee. We picked up the pace a bit, passing Vivian, hoping to beat the inevitable rain. I split off at Oak Street and looked up at the sky. It seemed a bit improved and I didn't have the feeling it would rain right away, so I decided to stop at Zotz for a quick coffee before riding the last mile or so to the house. Sitting at one of the little tables out on the street, I had just finished checking my email when I heard a loud clap of thunder behind me. Not good! I jumped up, grabbed my coffee cup, and hopped on the bike. Thirty seconds later I felt the first raindrops. I'm racing down Oak Street and Carrollton and then Spruce on wet streets in a light drizzle with a cup of coffee in my hand, hoping I don't need to stop suddenly and just waiting for the sky to really open up. Luckily, I made it home before I got very wet. Then, of course, the rain stopped completely. On the plus side, my ride to work was a lot cooler than usual today!
Up on the levee it was the usual quiet Friday morning ride with just four of us. I rode alongside Donald most of the way out, probably one or two mph faster than I would have gone if I'd been alone. The sky was just a bit overcast today, and I was enjoying the temporary reprieve from direct sun, especially after we turned around and headed back to the southeast. As we started back I noticed some dark clouds off to the south, but they seemed far away and not likely to interfere with the morning ride. By the time we got to the bridge I could see that those clouds were building very rapidly into a big thunderstorm. I looked over at Scott and remarked, "Man, those clouds sure are building up fast!" In the span of five minutes we went from a normal summer morning to the edge of a thunderstorm. Suddenly we were hit with a strong cold downdraft and crosswind that threatened to blow us right off the levee. We picked up the pace a bit, passing Vivian, hoping to beat the inevitable rain. I split off at Oak Street and looked up at the sky. It seemed a bit improved and I didn't have the feeling it would rain right away, so I decided to stop at Zotz for a quick coffee before riding the last mile or so to the house. Sitting at one of the little tables out on the street, I had just finished checking my email when I heard a loud clap of thunder behind me. Not good! I jumped up, grabbed my coffee cup, and hopped on the bike. Thirty seconds later I felt the first raindrops. I'm racing down Oak Street and Carrollton and then Spruce on wet streets in a light drizzle with a cup of coffee in my hand, hoping I don't need to stop suddenly and just waiting for the sky to really open up. Luckily, I made it home before I got very wet. Then, of course, the rain stopped completely. On the plus side, my ride to work was a lot cooler than usual today!
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