Saturday, June 14, 2008

you don't see many of those any more








friday the thirteenth i took my day at work to chill and drink a bunch of water. hydrate yo. then in the evening we watched 'no country for old men' and had a couple mugs of wine. nothing too wild.

saturday the fourteenth i was up by four thirty a.m. and checking the weather. 60% chance of scattered thunderstorms. i wasn't really too keen on the weather report. i ate some apple sauce and got dressed, let sawyer out and then back in, whispered my good-byes, and was out the door.

the previous day i had looked online and established a loose fitting route for me to take. i crossed the barrancas cut-off bridge and started heading west. i saw storm clouds and lightning further westward. i was headed right for it.

after some minor thunder i decided to adjust my route and i hung a right on patton drive to head back east.

i decided to ride a modified version of the airport loop that we usually ride. it was a good idea as it ended up keeping me out of the rain for the entire morning. i went north east, climbing 12th ave. through east hill and then up behind the airport and headed back south toward the homefront. by the time i got home i had logged a quick thirty miles. my legs felt good, but i had a feeling they wouldn't feel good for much longer.

i had some coffee and hung out until shea left for work. i switched to some dry gear. i opted to switch out my specialized toupe saddle for my trimmed brooks b17 then headed back out to do a nice cool down/slow recovery type ride. the brooks is quite a bit heavier, but a lot more comfortable. i had been experiencing some numbness from the toupe after about fifteen miles.

the sky was starting to get louder and darker by the minute. i headed north east once again as that direction seemed to be treating me well today. i got a couple sprinkles as i headed east, but nothing too serious. by the time i had made my loop back around i found that downtown had gotten soaked. about the time i had this thought/observation the sky opened up for another dose of heavy moisture. i took the oportunity to duck into the cedar street parking garage to wait it out. a couple minutes passed and it was done and it was time to head westward again towards home.

when i returned i found my neighborhood was completely dry. i let the dogs in, started laundry, and now i'm lucky enough to be here with you. it is still thundering and the sky continues to turn a darker shade of gray.

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