rain ride

Pacing from window to window, talking to myself.  Looking out the front and the back and this side and that side as though the conditions might be better over here or over there.  It’s the fourth day in a row of rain.

We’re not talking four days of drizzle, we’re talking real, drenching rain.  Today’s total will be 5.75 inches in our backyard rain gauge - added to the one-to-three that we’ve had every day since last week.    

Flash flood watches.  River flood warnings. There’s sandbagging going on downtown.  More storms forecast for the next few days.

The basement is a mess.  The hillside that our house is built into has always been wet, and right now, water is coming in at the base of the foundation from all four sides.  It isn’t just seeping - it’s pouring in as though it is under pressure. I’m worried about it. At what point will the whole backyard become liquified - lose its hold and slide straight down Catherine Street, carrying the house and the garage along with it?

But that’s not even half of my problem.

The real issue isn’t that the basement is full of water, it’s that I’m stuck inside with it.  In the midst of this stretch of rain, Mother Nature has opened a few windows of opportunity - a couple of dry hours here and there.  But for each of them, I’ve been obliged to be indoors, at work, in meetings, a wedding. It is Monday and I haven’t been on a bike since Thursday.

Riding my bike is a part of what keeps me centered and sane.  It burns away tensions and calories, and it’s a magical time of both focus and freedom for my brain.  Ideas come, and clarity, too. I sweat. A lot. Heart and legs and lungs feel better, having blown out the cobwebs and confusions that seem to form every day.  My body needs it, and my mind needs it. Riding is something I need to do.

When I skip a day, I get nervous.  When I skip two days, I get crabby.  When I skip three days, I’m overtly hostile.  For the sake of my colleagues, and especially MSL, I have to get outside and ride.  Today. This is why I’m pacing from window to window, talking to myself - should I go now, or should I wait and see what the weather does later?

The sky is low and gray, and the weather radar is full of splotches.  It is actively raining, but only lightly at the moment. It might get better later, or it might get worse.  If I go now, I will certainly get wet, but it’s a warm rain and right now might be the best chance all day - there’s really no way to know.  

The Weather Channel, Intellicast, AccuWeather, Weather Underground, KCRG - there’s so much information, forecasts to the hour and the minute.  I analyze the data. Ponder the predictions, and look out the windows again.

At the moment there’s no wind, no hail, no lightning. I think it’s time to go.   

Here's what it was like . . .