Missing the rain

This week has had a couple days of rain, but somehow I've avoided being rained upon. Each day it rained, it stopped just long enough for me to make the 15 commute by bike to and from work. I much prefer not to be rained upon, but if it does happen I am prepared with my ugly rain suit I can don. I don't like to wear it if I don't have to. It's gray, for one thing, and that reduces my visibility. In an attempt to increase my visibility when I wear it, I've placed some highly reflective tape at certain strategic places on its exterior. But, it looks like just what it is, a home made reflective tape job. It's probably better than no reflective tape, but my already low style points are lowered significantly more by wearing the rain suit. Also, the rain suit has a big rip in the crotch. I guess it's from flinging my leg over the saddle, or just from the friction of riding while wearing it. It's mostly covered by the rain jacket, but invariably if it rains significantly, the crotch area of the pants I wear below the rain paints acquires a v shaped dark spot from wetness. Plus the rain suit is hot to wear and what usually happens is, it'll begin raining a bit, I'll stop and get out the rain suit, put it on, begin riding again only to have the rain let up for the remainder of the commute. I've used a couple cans of 3M Scotchguard upon the exterior of my backpack to repel rain water. It has worked pretty effectively so far.

I'm excited about this weekend. Tomorrow I'm going to ride my bike (the commuter) to the campground where we'll be camping on Saturday night. It's a little over thirty miles on hilly, blacktop county roads. My wife will be driving herself and our two sons there to meet me. Then, on Sunday, I'll be riding back home. I've been wanting to make this a destination for a ride for quite a while. I'd like to eventually carry with me a small tent and sleeping bag with some overnight food to make it a cycle-camping outing in the style of the late Ken Kifer. BTW, visit Ken Kifer's website for an extremely thorough and therefore valuable resource on cycling in general and cycle camping and touring specifically; and commuting by bike as well. It looks like I'll have ideal weather for it and maybe I'll have something to report on Monday. Everyone enjoy your three day weekend, I hope each of you (who is so far no one) gets a three day weekend.

Keep on commuting by bike!

-MWBC