Monday’s forecast looked hot and humid, a chance for thunderstorms in the late afternoon, just when I’d be riding back up the hill to home. I considered taking the bus, maybe catching a ride home, but I wanted to ride my bicycle, so that’s what I did.

It was hot and humid, and the sky turned just as I got on the school shuttle from campus back into the city where I’d left my bike. I got a text from the ladyfriend–need a ride? Nope. I’d complained about the uphill bike ride in the heat on social media, so many a well-meaning friend reminded me of the thunderstorm warnings, the heat advisory, the negative air quality index. I’ll be fine, I told everyone.

And I was. I got off the shuttle just as raindrops started to fall. I ducked in the gym, picked up some free water because that’s what they give you there when it’s your birthday, and settled into the massage chair. And then the skies had cleared up and I hopped on the bike and headed home. I snapped this picture of the blue sky as I took some gulps from my free bottle of water at Chase and Fallsway. The storm front cooled things down, but it was still really hot, and this sky showed no signs of the storm everyone was so worried about. I rolled up to home 15 minutes later, doused in sweat and happy I’d taken my bike. I’ve been an almost-daily bike commuter for almost a decade. Not my first hot day or summer thunderstorm, and not my last, either. I got this, folks, but thanks for your concern.