A set of unexpected circumstances led me to an invitation to join a large group of cyclists on their planned Saturday ride. I was just leaving my local neighborhood and encountered two of the turning about in front of me. They mentioned that they were forming their final group just down the road and asked if I’d like to join them.
But, I politely declined and chose to keep my original plan for a one hour plus ride alone. With some other circumstances, I would have joined the ride, but they had over 20 people and it seemed like it would be more of a social event than a harder ride. I’m all for riding socially at a gentle pace – but I really needed to get some harder miles into my body. Thus, I chose to be anti-social and go out on my own.
The primary story for the ride involved the unpredictable weather. Earlier in the day it was raining like crazy and I didn’t think I’d get a chance to mount the bike. But, early afternoon offered a small break in the atmosphere that even brought out the sun. The sunshine was a little mis-leading, as there were plenty of smaller rain clouds that were still producing rain drops.
I encountered some really light rain while I passed through Maple Plain. It was more of a nuisance than a barrier, since the temperatures were in the high 60s and the rain was like a lukewarm shower.
As I made my way back from the west metro, I roads were very wet. Apparently, some stronger clouds had blow through in my absence and left a lot of water on the roads. Thus, I got wet from below, instead of the expected showers from above.
This unexpected moisture gave me the chance to learn how my new shoes behave in the rain. One of the issues with my carbon bike is that the downtube is ridiculously large and sprays water directly onto my feet. My older shoes would quickly fill up with water and it felt like I was pedaling inside a swimming pool. The new ones definitely took on some water, but seemed to shed it well and I didn’t notice the classic “squishy” feeling I recall from the other shoes.
It was a good fact to learn – as I actually enjoy riding in wet conditions. Cold and wet isn’t so fun – but when the temperatures are warm, it’s a nice distraction to get wet on the bike. I know that the bike can take it, so I shouldn’t feel bad about how my body (and my shoes) responds.
