Go, wet riders!Making the call whether to ride this morning was admittedly difficult. And given how shockingly inaccurate the weather forecasts have been this season, perhaps I should have known that things wouldn't turn out as expected. But when I woke up this morning and checked the radar, it looked like we might have a few hours of no rain, and that might be enough to get in most or all of our scheduled ride.
So much for that plan.
The four brave riders who hit the streets of Mountain View this morning got treated to a surprisingly moderate to heavy rainfall almost immediately after we started riding. But we didn't let that stop us! We soldiered on, and the rain started to let up.
By the time we had completed 12 miles and returned to our starting point, the rain had stopped, and we were just left with a damp wind that had been slowly building throughout the morning. We all decided that discretion was the better part of valor, and we declared the ride complete and successful after just one of the three scheduled segments.
Indeed, the ride was successful. It reinforced the notion, even for me, that I can ride in the rain when I have to, and it's not the end of the world. It's good to have a reminder of this every once in a while because rain can happen during training rides ... and even on the event itself, as we found out on the infamous Day 6 of ALC8 in 2009 when the day's ride was canceled after hundreds of cyclists had made their rainy way 15 miles up the hill out of Lompoc. Today's weather wasn't as bad as on ALC8, but it was a good example of what can strike almost any time during training season.We did all the right things about riding cautiously, avoiding holes and puddles, watching out for each other, and not riding on the oh-so-slippery pavement markings. And if you haven't done so already, be sure to give your bike a thorough cleaning (not at the high-pressure car wash, please!) and lubrication. Then have a good rest, because you earned it today.
This was my last official training ride of 2010, but I'll be back in January. I might offer the Dumbarton Bridge ride (originally scheduled for today) sometime in early January; watch the calendar for details.
All the best during this season, and thank you for being part of AIDS/LifeCycle.
Update: There was a magnitude 3.1 quake centered in Los Altos while we were riding. We had no idea.
