It has been a whole bunch of gray, rainy days lately–15 days in a row and counting, to be specific. I’m still riding my bike every day, but to be honest, I’m getting pretty tired of riding in the rain. Wednesday’s ride home was a total drag–I was tired, didn’t feel like climbing the hill on a good day, and there it was, more rain, getting my glasses wet, decreasing my braking power, and turning drivers into, well, drivers. I waited it out for 10 minutes or so, staring at the internet, wondering if it was possible to wait it all the way out, and deciding nope, no way out but through, get on the bike and get riding.

So I did, and I kept my head tucked enough to keep my vision clear and still straight-enough ahead for safety. And it wasn’t bad–not my favorite riding conditions, but a ride in the rain beats the bus any day of the week. I took the lane up the west side street, made my right and left and right again before turning on Park Avenue for the second third of the trip home (take the same way over and over again, and your body breaks it into pieces). And it was clean, smooth, black asphalt. These few blocks have been a rutted mess for months–I don’t remember them any other way–but on this day they were slick and shiny with rain, and I smiled so big, pedal, pedal, pedal, new asphalt is magic. And then it was back to the ruts, but those blocks were a good reminder, again, of just how many small pleasures there are in this world.  I rode the rest of the way, tucked my bike in the basement, changed in to dry pajamas, and settled in. Nice to see you, end-of-the-semester. I trust the sun will come out someday.