Warm, Wet, and… cranky?

We, here in North Georgia, live in one of the world’s perfect climates.  That doesn’t mean it’s ideal, just that things happen when and how they should.  (Kinda comforting, that.  Idn it mayt?)

Two of the many implications of our perfect climate occur at just this time of year.  First, the calendar advances to Late Spring.  With this, the wonderful climate machine goes pocketa-clung ker-zizz chung!  Lots of complex interactions take place,  the temperatures immediately notch up about 5 fahrenheit degrees, and average relative humidity increases noticeably.  None of this is unexpected.  The thing is, it is always sudden.  And we’ve just barely adjusted to the last incremental change, which took place a month ago, when we went from Early Spring to Mid Spring.

The second of these implications derives from the first.  The annual jolt to Late Spring conditions seems to cross some kind of threshold in most of the humans around here.  We don’t adjust well, initially to the increase.  Folks get cranky.  They bitch about the “awful heat.”  (Can it really be true that they don’t remember August?)  There is a lot of moaning about the “Horrible humidity.”  And the every other day afternoon thunderstorms seem to catch everyone off guard.

There are those of us who, by choice or by circumstance, live a large part of our lives outside.  We seem to adapt to the changes a bit more quickly.  Then there are those of them, who live inside most of the time.  This group really seems to be hit hard by the advent of Late Spring.

Now consider, if everyone’s irritability threshold has been triggered, the communal interactions are all affected.  If everyone you meet or deal with is just a little bit cranky, then you tend to become a bit more cranky.

What does this mean to cyclists?  Simply this.  Expect drivers to be a touch more aggressive.  Expect the other cyclists to be a bit crazier.  This is a good time to return kindness for rudeness, sympathy for anger.  It’s also a really good time to raise your alertness level.  Be a bit more cautious and expect the unexpected.  Breath deeply, and relax a bit more.  This passes.  In another week or so, things will be settled down.  And they’ll stay that way until, on or about 21 June, when the climate makes its next ratcheting shift and Early Summer happens.