Riding in Rain . . . AGAIN!

8/9/14 251lbs, 57 pounds lost since 8/30/11
35 minutes in the rain

Today we woke up to a soft, but steady rain here in El Paso. The weather report indicated that the rain would last throughout the morning, and then the sun would come out. So, my plans - initially - were to wait until the afternoon to go for my bike ride.

But the last few rides have been in the rain - and (as I indicated in the blogs) all of these rides were extremely enjoyable. So, at about 10am, after a great breakfast made by my Bonnie, I decided to ride in the rain anyway. I mean, after all, think about it - The only possible "negative" is that I would get wet, and that's really not a negative at all. Of course, at 61 years of age now, my 3 kids and my poor wife think I'm going to catch pneumonia and die just because I get wet. I try to convince them that diseases like this happen to people because of viruses, not warm, gentle summer rains. But one of the facts of life is that logic does not work on blood relatives, so I just shrug my shoulders, climb on the bike, and ride anyway. Then, a couple of hours after the ride, they realize I haven't died, so they feel better.

It's probably a little more dangerous to ride a bicycle on city streets in the rain, but not enough that it would keep a person off of the bike. There are two major considerations:

1. Corners are slick, so cyclists need to slow down more than usual when turning. I slow way the heck down, never pedal in a corner, and wait to accelerate until I've completed the turn. In 1979 on my trusty ol' Trek 520 touring bike I started accelerating mid-turn on a rainy day and the wheels slipped right out from under me. It hurt, folks, and I learned my lesson.
2. Be more visible. People driving cars cannot see us cyclists as well during rainstorms. My bike has the most amazing array of lights of any bike I have ever seen - so when it is raining I have all my lighting on high and I am as visible as a lightening bolt. If some cager plows into me and sends me straight into the arms of Jesus, it won't be because he or she didn't see me, that's for sure.

Interestingly there were no other cyclists out riding through the rain in my neighborhood this morning, although I imagine there were lots out later in the day. Edgemere Park did have lots of walkers and joggers, though.

I did get very wet, but I did not die of pneumonia today.

See you on the bike!