I'm only happy when it rains...

And well, I got my wish on my ride today. Yippee!!! Ok, it was a cold, driving rain/mist, and in the mountains it actually froze onto my bike. Pretty neat to have an extra 5 pounds of ice on your bike ans steam coming off your body.

I tried to get out early befor ethe rain. That was the plan, and as Steinbeck said "the best laid plans of mice and men..." (I actually forgot the rest of the quote. Isn't it something like "often go awry"?) and I'm no exception. So about 3 hours into the ride I was up by Phoenecia and heading to Hunter. Good plan, expecting precipitation, head higher. Duh! Anyway, the mist became floating ice, then it became some freezing rain and snow mixed. By the time I worked my way back across the mountains to the Rondout Valley, it was a cold, drenching rain. Not hard, but steady and merciless. Needless to say I was a bit cold and frozen, but another 5 1/2 hours in the saddle will pay big dividends come race season.

Ok, so it sounds like I was miserable. I actually wasn't. I honestly love riding and racing in the rain. It's a great equalizer. Some guys can't handle the cold or limited visibility, others have no confidence in their bike handling and ride more conservatively. Most just don't enjoy slogging through the wet for hours. Which is why I love it. Hell, we're all suffering like crazy, so my theory is I might as well control how much. Thus, I normally go to the front and start riding hard to spit as many people out the back as possible. Besides, it's better to be in front ahead of the crashes...

Today is also my Dad's birthday, so I sent an email to him. Last April I was riding with him while visiting and he crashed his bike, breaking his hip in the process. Not a good thing, but he's mostly recovered. His bones were so good that the ortho surg just put pins in and had him do therapy. By July he was playing golf again. Of course, he still has a slight limp, but it's not bad. Hopefully, if I go back down to Hilton Head to visit this year, nothing like that will happen again. Maybe we'll not ride together...

Time to clean the house and take a shower. Such the exciting life I lead...