RIding in the rain

Original photo by Clayton Plummer

For the Thanksgiving Holiday Weekend my girlfriend and I traveled down to her parent’s house in the San Diego area.  They live on a pretty significant hill that is close to a fun trail system at Lake Hodges.  So, in the spirit of being active I went mountain biking both Thanksgiving Thursday and Black Friday.

On both days I suited up at the house and bombed down the hill to the trail head.  Thursday’s ride was fun and it felt good to be riding yet again after my hernia surgery, though I took it really easy on the technical stuff.  I didn’t feel like risking an emergency visit to the doctor’s on Thanksgiving Day.  I bounced around the trails for about an hour and then headed home.  All said and done the ride was a solid hour and a half in the saddle.

On Friday, the ride started before I ever got suited up.  I was looking out of the windows at the looming storm clouds.  I made comment on the possibility of rain only to be beguiled by both my girlfriend and her mother about how it wasn’t going to rain and that those weren’t rain clouds.

I was skeptical to say the least.  At the same time, even the weather reports I was looking at said that the rain wasn’t going to happen until later in the day.  So, I bet on the rain holding off and went for my ride. I hadn’t made it to the start of my decent to the trail before the drops started to hit me. It was really sparse, so I didn’t think it was anything to worry about.

Just as my front wheel hit the dirt trail, the rain came.  It proceeded to rain the entire hour and change that I rode.  It was actually a lot of fun to ride in the rain, even if it isn’t the best trail etiquette to cause trail erosion.

I made it back home safe and sound, dirty and wet with a big smile on my face and in my heart.

Until next time,
Clayton