December 31, 2021
It's a rainy end to the year
My phone has two weather apps. One shows a clear spot in the AM for three hours (right now). The other shows it being clear from 1-3 PM. Whom do I believe? My own eyes. Looking outside, it is raining steadily at the moment. NOAA radar shows an insignificant, spotty cloud over Tucson. Perhaps I can ride this afternoon?
I do have a raincoat and fenders. If we were moving from town to town, I could ride. 80 degrees and wet is one thing. 50 degrees and wet is another. Here I sit! I am getting softer as I age!
Later - The sky suddenly cleared. A small patch of blue grew larger and larger until I couldn't see a cloud at all! What? I wasn't ready! I went from thinking I wouldn't ride, to scurrying around getting ready. I at a tamale and yogurt with fruit for breakfast. I thought to myself that it wasn't enough, but I was planning/hoping for 30 miles. That should be a sufficient breakfast. I didn't even take an apple, I was in such a hurry to take advantage of the blue sky. The trees were swaying in the wind, but I was mentally emphasizing the blue part of the day.
I followed the same pattern as of late, it suits me. I stayed close to home, just in case. I rode this way, and that way. There were few cyclists, with more walkers, but not too many of those. It seems most of the walkers had small children. Perhaps they had been cooped up inside too long?
The longer I rode, the better the sky looked. I kept doing the mental math on my desired 600 miles for the trip and how I could make that happen with bad weather days. I extended my ride from 30 miles, to 35, 38, and then 42. As I was taking the last spur to push me over 40, a passing cyclist commented that he thought we were going to get wet. Wet? The sky was blue. Wasn't it? I had been looking everywhere but at the sky. It was indeed threatening. Hmmm, maybe I should go on home. No, it will be fine. Famous last words. I was three miles from home when I saw a flash of lightning in the distance. I was slated to turn around at this point. Good timing. That's when it started to sprinkle. The sprinkles soon turned into serious rain. Most people facing me on the path had grim looks on their faces. Only one man returned my giant grin at the predicament we were in. As I turned onto Dodge Street, the rain was coming down in waves. Of course, I got stuck at the traffic light and sat there FOREVER. I was certainly soaked then. There was no point of bothering with a jacket, only a mile from home.
Jacinto wasn't there to tell my tale of woe. He went to the gym. I had made a special phone call to tell him what a great riding day it had turned out to be. But, he wasn't swayed. Now he will probably tell me he was the smarter of the two of us.
My bike is all wiped down. I'm not bothering to wash my riding clothes. They are dripping dry!
It is still raining like crazy outside. The drops are bouncing in the puddles. I'm happy I got a great ride in to finish the year. It wasn't drudgery, this ride was totally in the fun zone.
Happy New Year!
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2 years ago
2 years ago
2 years ago
Today's ride: 44 miles (71 km)
Total: 529 miles (851 km)
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2 years ago
2 years ago
Happy New Year to you - did you see the full rainbow? I got a crummy photo, I'm sure Scott would have gotten an excellent photo.
2 years ago