Rain, Rain…
OK, I’m not allowed to say it, I’m not allowed to complain about the rain. We’re in a drought, and even though it’s been pouring non-stop for what feels like forever, I need to be thankful that we may actually have some water in the reservoirs come July. The road conditions have been pretty tough. I heard a quote yesterday from the Tour of California, I think it was Levi Leipheimer who said, “Turn your shower on as cold as it gets then stand there for four hours. That’s what it’s like.” That about sums it up. Maybe I should be thankful that I’m sick and working at home this week. Kudos to the hardcores out there roughing it in the monsoon.
10 Responses to “Rain, Rain…”
portlanders aren’t allowed to complain about rain, either, unless perhaps their ancestors came on the oregon trail and the family never left. californian transplants, especially, if they complain: that’s like bitching about the food at a thanksgiving dinner a native american family invites you to. don’t like it? get. out.
LOL..
I moved to Seattle from California in 1979. I made the mistake of moving in November. Besides the fact that it rained for 4 months straight, the days were short because of the northerly latitude. I’d take the bus downtown in the dark and rain in the morning, enter the office, and by the time I left work in the evening, it was still dark and raining. It was as if the sun didn’t exist, like a scene from Blade Runner. Somehow I survived that first winter and stayed for 10 years. Now, after being back in California for more than a decade I’ve gone completely soft..
I will say it! I am soooo glad i didn’t bike today! Especially after the 5th round of horizontal hail!
Thanks, Adrienne. I feel better now that someone has said it… :-)
If we wish to continue loving our bikes we must learn when they are not to our advantage. Hail is just that time :-))
There is no bad weather, only bad clothing selection.
Unless you live in Minnesota.
There’s bad weather outside of Minnesota. Hail is pretty hazardous to unprotected humans. Freezing rain is a bad scene on a bike without studs, and probably isn’t a whole lot better with studs. Arguing with the laws of physics is never a good plan. And in some areas, you can end up with 3-6″ of rainwater on the road surface, which is unfun and sometimes flat out hazardous. Depending on terrain and geology, that is enough to wash out a road and conceal the washout. Riding in a lightning storm is also a bad idea, and in some parts of the country, a lightning storm can last for many hours.
It’s good to be aware of what conditions are truly hazardous, so you can make good choices about how to deal with them.
This last week of rain left me wishing I had spent more time working on the velomobile. I feel like the little bird that played all summer and didn’t build his nest for the winter.
Interesting the perceptions of rain. I was working in Mobile, AL back in 2005. We had a consultant on site from the Pacific NW. We questioned one of his design parameters for storm water drainage, his response was: “I am from the Pacific NW I KNOW what rain is” Uhuh…Seattle gets an average of 38.5″ over 158 days. Mobile gets an average of 65″ in 125 days…there is rain and then there is RAIN BTW we got a change order to correct his design mistake after Hurricane Katrina came through. ;>D
Aaron
@Aaron
Yeah, I think it’s the number of weeks that go by without seeing the sun, rather than the actual amount of water that falls from the sky, that colors our subjective perceptions of how much rain falls in a particular area.