(NOTE: As promised, here’s the sad tale of the Tuesday morning commute.)
It’s been a long dry spell. I’m referring to the weather. I haven’t had a truly challenging rain ride in a long time. So the prospect of commuting in the rain was actually appealing. Add that it was supposed to be windy, and I was even more enthusiastic. (I love riding in the wind!) I even posted a quick note that I was planning to do it, and was looking forward to it.
Sometimes plans have a way of not surviving contact with reality.
I thought I had stuff pretty well set up for the trip. The thing is, rain commutes are a bit more complicated.
Most mornings, I do an early workout ride. That’s a bit less of a problem. It’s local to my home. I can tolerate being wet, cold, hungry, or dry for a short time, knowing that I’ll soon be home, where everything is. Showers. Food. Towels. Dry clothing.
But commuting involves a bit more in the way of logistics. All of my support stuff has to either be already at the shop, or I have to carry it in with me. If I’m carrying it, it has to remain dry. It’s also best if I can remain as dry as possible. More logistics.
I went to bed with the thought that I had things pretty much in control.
Morning arrived. I suited up for a wet and windy pre-dawn workout ride. That went pretty well. I was soaked to the bone, and chilled pretty good by the time I finished, but there was a hot shower, food, and clean dry clothing waiting for me.
Then things began to go a bit awry.
I couldn’t find the rain jacket I intended to use. The trusty tourist took more trouble to get out and ready than I’d anticipated. (That comes of being mid-stream in a major garage-shop cleanup and reorganization.) I needed to find my tool bag.
Time out from search for tool bag. Make sandwiches. Resume search for tool bag. Interrupt search to scurry around and assemble ride clothing. (And just where in blazes is that [expurgated] jacket!?)
Oh spit! I have to transfer my organizer, wallet, phone, and keys from my pack to the tourist bag! Do it now!
That was the exact moment that one cat chose to get under my feet while another cat decided to knock everything off of the kitchen counter. (I swear they plan this stuff.)
Shoes! I’ll need a dry pair of shoes at work. Go find them and put them in the pack.
There’s the jacket! Was it hanging there all the time?
Gloves! It’s chilly out there. And wet. Where are my full-finger mid-weights? I could use the regulars, but my hands won’t recover for at least two hours. (A less than ideal situation for a mechanic.)
Now, did I already put wallet, keys, organizer, and phone on the bike? What about reserve lights?
What TIME is it!?
There comes a time. It’s a finite calculation. If I don’t leave by X, I won’t have time to ride to work and be on time. But if I don’t leave at X, I have an extra half hour, and the logistics of driving are considerably less involved. At X minus five minutes, I realized it just wasn’t going to happen.
All of the above is pretty much the result of being “behind the curve” on the seasonal changes to my riding habits. I’ve just received a signal. It’s time to re-organize for Fall and Winter riding. Summer invites us to be a bit more casual about our preparations. Fall and Winter rides require more infrastructure. It’s doable, but it takes a bit more planning, and some changes in habit-patterns.
BTW, I did get to work on time, and I did manage a nice rain-ride that evening.
So… Do you have days like this?
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