Suquamish, WA - 16 Oct 2024
The weather guessers have been predicting and promising rain every day this week. Not just any rain, but the kind that comes down in sheets. An early round of atmospheric rivers. Because of that I have not been riding my bike to work for fear of being washed away.
Riding in the rain isn't that terrible in itself. It takes a little courage to go out when it is raining, but to get caught in it can almost seem pleasurable. That isn't my issue though. The issue is that the mornings are now dark and the sun doesn't creep over the horizon until well after seven o'clock. I can ride in the dark well enough. I leave early to avoid any rush traffic or deadly killer pick up trucks. The problem is headlights. As an elder individual, I don't take kindly to being dazzled by bright lights from oncoming traffic. It sets me blind for a spell and the shoulderless roads I am afraid of ending up in a ditch or wandering out into traffic's path. Having an aversion to being struck by multi thousand pound speed missiles I prefer to avoid such situations. To compound my inefficient night vision, if it is raining with any magnitude, those little beads of rainwater that collect on my lenses act as prisms and magnifying devices sending a flurry of brilliant stars into my optic cortex rendering me even blinder still. There was a time in my youth when such a light show would be welcome, I don't have the same affection for that I once had. But, I digress. To sum it up, I really don’t like to ride at night especially in the rain and make the wise decision to drive in and take a run instead to sooth my need for exercise.
But, the weather folk have had it wrong and every day this week my little corner of the world has managed to escape the torrent from the sky. To rub salt in the wound the afternoons have been somewhat sunny and that alway makes for an excellent ride home. I suppose if I had taken the chance, Murphy's law would have decreed itself and the rains would have come after all. I even had the foolish notion to ride in tomorrow to scoff the gods of atmospheric rivers. To shake my fist in utter defiance of their threats. Sometimes, though, it is best not to fool with Mother Nature. It will not end well and images of the cursing priest from Caddy shack getting struck by lightning for yelling and damning God, make me think twice about such a foolish act.
So tomorrow I will do as I have done every morning this week. I'll leave a little earlier and get in a good run along the shores of Liberty Bay in Poulsbo staying dry, not going blind or being run over by inattentive and impatient motorists.
Keep on truckin'
-Mike