Hope You Guess My Rain

Riding in the Rain 03, originally uploaded by Life in Nanning.

Son of a bitch. If it wasn't for the smug satisfaction I feel from being one of those "hardcore" commuters that just spent almost an hour riding in the rain today, I'd be upset.

Where's all the hipster trendies today, huh? Where's their white leather saddles and blemish-free circus props? Are tight-ass girl jeans not the best thing to wear in the rain? Are they afraid of getting grit on their perfect paint? Yeah, that's right. Take that.

Rain and wind in my face on the way there. Just waiting for the ferry for three minutes already had me soaked. Then I started riding. And being too cool to put anything on my bike besides my ass and blinking lights, all the water from my tires flew right up into yours truly. I tied bags to my feet, but it was too late. My $.50 poncho did an okay job keeping the rain out, but it probably did even better as an air brake.

It was actually quite enjoyable. My cycling cap kept the rain out of my eyes and I got to experience the sensation of rain smacking my teeth. It was about sixty degrees, and despite the wind fighting me (producing an embarrassing 15.5 mph or so average speed) the ride went smoothly. No hairy stops, no splashing from other vehicles. Just pedaling and precipitation.

Most of my clothes got mostly dry. My trusty oscillating fan died so I'm trying one I found around the office. It's doing a piss-poor job and I may have to take my corporate credit card and buy a new one. One sock and the top of my undapants didn't dry completely, but I knew that soon it wouldn't matter.

The ride back was a bit more fun. Traffic was a little snarkier, and I did get some spray from a car passing at speed in front of me, but with a graceful arch and a tilt of the head it didn't get me in the face. Also, a car tried to strong-arm past me but I wasn't moving. Spontaneously I went to knock on the rear of his car but he was just out of reach. Share the road, ass.

After busting some smooth butt up The Overpass and catching a green light on the way down, a thought occurred to me: "I'm going really fast, in the rain, on what amounts to a racing slick for the front tire and not much more than that in the rear." I know the pot holes and dips along my route by now, but I still kept a wary eye open. Safe and sorry and all that.

As a testament to wool, after getting soaked all the way through from head to toe, I met The Lovely Girl at the ferry stop and we walked a few blocks to the mall for vitamins. Despite being aware that I was wet down to my skin, I was not uncomfortable or cold. We even stopped to eat and despite a tiny and easily-ignorable wet swimsuit feeling for a few minutes, I was right as rain. Repeat after me: Marino wool, Marino, wool, Marino wool.

Now I'm home and cuddly, with clothes already out of the dryer, and looking forward to what the forecasters tell me will be sunny skies tomorrow.

Get yer asses out there, people. It's a fun world out there.

- David