Monday, January 25, 2010

When It Rains - It Pours

This morning, as I stood at the kitchen window grinding my coffee, I noticed the tell tale signs of rain. I was veritably giddy at the sight.

Several months back, I invested in some top notch rain gear from Shower Pass. Since that time I have been eagerly anticipating the opportunity to give it a whirl. Much to my chagrin, I have been continuously thwarted the chance and have blogged my frustration in Paul and His Magic Rain Suit. Today though, the stars aligned in my favor and so did the storm clouds. As I donned my gear, little did I know the adventure that awaited me. All I knew was, it was raining and that was good enough for me.

The precarious predicament into which I rode did not manifest itself until I reached Huntington Park. It was at this point in my commute that I emerged from the protective covering of trees and houses and was confronted with the full force of a southwest wind blowing across the James River and right into my face. At the time, I failed to realize that this was but a cheap imitation of what awaited me when I reached the North Yard parking lot of the shipyard and was confronted with the full, unabated force of mother nature. We are talking sustained winds of 40 mph with gusts as high as 60 mph.

I have ridden in weather conditions of all kinds. I'm talking really bad stuff. However, nothing could have prepared me for what confronted my senses on this day. I shifted to my easiest gear and it required every ounce of my immense strength and pedaling prowess to keep the cranks going in circles and maintain a mere pittance of forward motion. To exacerbate matters, the wind drove the rain at such a velocity, that I was certain the drops would penetrate my face and pierce my brain, causing irreversible damage at best or sudden death at worst. These mentally damaging or life threatening conditions caused me to hold my head down and essentially reduced my vision to a mere 2 feet in front of my wheel.

A lesser man than me would have bemoaned his fate. I on the other hand began to laugh loud and hard. Of course, no one could hear me over the howling of the wind, but I laughed all the same. I was having the time of my life.

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