Friday Follies ~~ Hot

The day started out warm.  The dawn reading on my porch thermometer was 83 degrees F.  And I had a heavy day planned.  There was a stinkin’ lot to do before I would be able to get on my bike and go for the long ride I desired.

I had to cut the grass, and worse, the part that was not shaded.  Better get that done early.  Then there was the pruning and weeding.  If I hustled, I’d have some shade for most of that.  There was the usual host of indoors chores to be checked off.  And the airconditioner was had a case of the colly-wobbles again.

What with a couple of dozen things, and another, it was almost 2:00 P.M. before I was ready to grab shorts, pump tires, and roll.

The weather guys on the radio where saying the temps would not reach 100, but only be in the “high 90s.”  I had no way of checking, but I estimated that it must have been about 99.999999999 degrees F.  And it’s always a good five to ten degrees warmer on the road.  So be it.

I rolled.

I knew it was a day to stay inside myself, not to push hard.  I was drinking steadily, and could tell I would need to refill bottles about every hour.

It was a good day for a solo Summer ride.  I moved steadily, just enjoying the clear sunny mid-Summer day.  It was beautiful out, even if it was too hot for the birds to sing.

About a half hour into my journey, I came to the first traffic light on my rambling route.  It was, of course, at a very large intersection.  With all that asphalt, and all those cars, it was hotter than the hinges of hades.  At the moment I stopped, my body’s cooling systems were overwhelmed.  Sweat poured down out of my helmet, and into my eyes.  I was standing waiting for the light, and totally “sweat blind.”  I had to douse from my bottle to clear my vision.

“Hey!”  a motorist called to me from a powered down window.  “Didn’t I just see you out in Brooks?”

I agreed.

“How in the world did you get here so fast?”

I replied,  “I rode.”

The light changed and we parted.  I was smiling.

The thunderstorm, on the way home was welcome.  The rain wasn’t exactly cool.  It was more like bathwater, falling from the sky.  But it was still a good bit cooler than I was, and it was refreshing.  The shower didn’t last long, and I was dried out, and good and hot again before I arrived home.

All in all, it was a good hot day on the bike.