Riding in the rain

I huddled in bed as long as I could this morning, it was cold and wet outside. My knees ached from riding all week. Finally a little before 7am I drug myself out and got ready. Taj had left for work so I could not beg her to take me in instead of my having to ride in the cold (did I do that on purpose subconsciously?). I hurried and got my laptop packed into the pannier after complaining on facebook about how cold and wet it was. I pushed the bike out of the garage and made sure the house was locked up.

Then it started to rain. It wasn't a heavy rain, but seriously??

Well nothing else to do but get going. I probably could have called in to work and had someone pick me up on the way in but I honestly didn't think of that at the time. My old route down 257th is going to have construction happening until sometime next year as they widen it so I have started riding through the neighborhood instead. It doesn't add much to the ride as far as mileage goes but it is pretty quiet.

There are a lot more traffic lights on Orient Dr than there used to be when I was a kid. Of course when I was a kid there were no traffic lights on Orient so I guess it doesn't take too much. When I first started riding I had to stop several times along the way to work. Once around 11th and Kane, again at the top of the hill Orient and 24th (to be truthful I had to push the bike up the hill from Barnes to 24th the first few times), and once more right after the hill at Welch and Orient. That was as long as none of the lights along the way went red on me. I made it to work today with only one stop, right after the final hill at Welch and Orient. I think my right knee was complaining to me about the lack of a break but my left knee was drowning him out if that was the case. My hands were numb, partially from the cold (42 degrees this morning) and partially because I was gripping the handlebars so hard to get up that last hill. Of course as I round the final corner and begin that final flat straight stretch to work the sun comes out and the rain stops.

I could have used that on the last hill thank you very much.