100 More Days Of Rain And Windy Commute

It's a wet one.


And it doesn't seem to fucking stop. Sure, I love rain as much as the next sardine, but at some point it starts getting old.

At the start of the winter, I was actually happy about the rain. I was happy when it was raining last summer as well. Now I'm not so sure about my love of rain anymore.



Which is ironic.

I now have rain gear that keeps me 100% dry. If so desired. I have the best rain pants in the universe combined with a jacket that works and shoes that keep my toes dry. One thing I haven't gotten, and probably never will, is one of those helmet shower caps that make people look like idiotic neon mushrooms. No thank you!

This might be the exception

Built-in mushroom cap

It's sad, but true; I am starting to hate riding in the rain. It's just so... wet and cold and unpleasant. Not to worry, I am sticking this one through no matter how rainy. At least there's no snow.

Yesterday was... windy? It wasn't that I didn't see the juuuuge trees outside our office swaying in the wind, but the way I figured it was that the wind would be higher up than I would be on my bike. I was wrong.

The first sign of trouble happened not 200 feet from work where I have to bike across a small bridge. Two gusts of wind almost pushed me right down from the sidewalk. I can handle steady wind because I can lean into it, but balancing between leaning into and then not leaning so I don't topple over in between gusts is tricky.

I made it across the bridge with my heart beating a little faster and I didn't feel much of the wind again until I got to the stretch past Sammamish High School on 140th. Branches were falling all over the place. They didn't seem to be big ones, or so I hoped, but I was glad I had a helmet and was hoping it would be enough to protect me should I get a branch on my head.

I had to close my eyes to prevent dirt from blinding me but at the same time see where I was going. Not easy. Luckily for me, the part of the road not protected by buildings was in between gusts as I biked through it. I am pretty sure had it not been, I would have lifted off the ground and landed on some yellow brick road. Besides, clicking ones heels while on a bike and not wearing ruby slippers just doesn't work.

I now have a pretty good idea of how Dorothy felt or that cow in Twister. I arrived home unscathed to a dark house so we decided to squat at a local diner for a while. I also bought a book made of paper! Boy, did I regret that purchase when the light came back. Not sure what I'm supposed to to with that thing now.