Determination

That was what last night was about. It's been raining here now for a week. It's also been windy and has had a large temperature variation from week to week. I wanted to get two long rides in last weekend but both days were pretty much a bust and Monday it was also raining so three days of no riding was getting me riled up.


Yesterday, pretty much all day I was just thinking about getting out of work and getting on the bike. While at work it was gray and cloudy but it wasn't raining and I was feeling confident that I was going to get my ride in. 5 Oclock hits and I start my drive home, I call my wife and as it's ringing .. drip drip drip. What? oh come on! it better not ......... BOOM .. pouring. WTF. It waited all day so that my hopes were high and then it tries to dash my hopes. That is just plain mean. So that leads to a slight fit in the car which includes me cursing the weather gods. But, I make up my mind right there I'm riding no matter what the weather is like ( minus a hurricane, tornado or other such natural disaster).


I get home and it's still pouring, getting dark as well. I walk in. Grab my riding cloths and start getting everything ready. All the while I'm of course hoping it's going to stop after a short period of rain. I pull the bike down, top off the tires. Fill up my bottle and then head up to change. Pull on a long sleeve UA shirt as it's only about 58 degrees out there. Jump into the squeezers and grab some socks. While doing this I'm listening to the skylights in the bathroom being bombarded, it's coming down hard! now. yah..


Now I'm pretty much all set, Angela is surprised I'm still going. "Isn't it dangerous riding in the rain?" "You are going to get sick". I didn't care, I had made up my mind and mother nature wasn't stopping me. I'm so sick of all this rain. Push my bike out the garage and wow it is pouring, I think to myself this is a new one. I'm going to be soaked.


I turn on the Garmin and head off. I am immediately amazed at how hard it is raining, I'm not wearing glasses as it's just a pain when it's raining. But it's coming down good and it's pretty hard to see at first. I make it to the corner of my street and make a gingerly right. The roads are uber slick. This is the first of many thoughts of " WTF am I doing ". I squash the thought and take off. It's cold, windy and pouring and here I am shooting down the road.


I come across a group of little punk wanna be thugs who of course have to start calling crap out to me, the only girl in the group points and moves right in front of me, laughing. It's going to be one of those day it appears. I'm not going to move and just grumble out a "MOVE" as I get close she must have realized I wasn't moving and jumps aside. I was wearing my iPod so I really have not clue what they were saying. It really is amazing. So many people feel the urge to scream and yell at people that really have nothing to do with them. Just like the days of skating, we'd be in a parking lot doing our own thing just to have some goons drive by while screaming out the window. Which worked out well for them I suppose, they really showed us as it mostly just sounded like arrgghhhhhhhhhblluuurrbbbb ahhhhhhhhhh to us. what does that get you? I mean really. Anyway..


I'm about 15 mins into my ride and I can't tell you how many times my brained popped up with " I'm just going to turn around here " but I would just shake it away and keep on going. After 20 mins I realized I wasn't going to get any wetter then I already was so what did it matter. But it was one of those days. The rain, the stupid kids, two fools that couldn't drive pulling out in front of me and the battery in my iPod running out.

With all that it still ended up being a good ride. I felt strong and the rain kept me cool. I road my 30 mile loop and then headed back. I was completely soaked and definitely tired but the ride was so worth it. It's so easy to just call up a ride but when you make yourself get out there knowing it's raining, windy, hot or whatever it makes that ride seem SO much more sweet at the end.