Riding in the rain

It was absolutely gorgeous this morning. Blue skies, little white fluffy clouds, kind of cool. I didn't really want to pull into the parking lot. A there were a lot of meetings today interspersed with fighting with IP phones. There were a number of times when I felt obligated to take a short walk around West Ridge. By the time 5:00 rolled around, it was pouring rain. I thought it was a great opportunity to see how waterproof my new gear was. It worked great but I think it needs a longer test. By the time the scout meeting rolled around, the rain had pretty much stopped so I did some more walking while the boys cleaned up the road. I didn't quite make 10 miles but came close. Now, the weather is back to clear skies.

Actually, I kind of liked riding in the rain this afternoon. It was a short trip, I was nice and dry, and the roads weren't slippery at all. The air smelled nice and fresh. I wonder if I would feel the same if I was riding in the rain all day? Years ago, I was on a bicycle trip from Anchorage to Valdez on the Glenn Highway and we got rained ok for days. It wasn't cold but the high humidity ensured that everything was damp. That was the worst part. While riding, you just assumed that you would be soaked for most of the day. Not unpleasant at all. On another bicycle trip in Baja, the rain was a welcome change to the 90-100 degree days. You really looked forward to the afternoon showers. On that trip, you were completely dry in about 10 minutes feeling completely refreshed.