Rain Day
Generally, I dread rain days on the bike. But after a week of constant work and little cycling, I looked outside to our East coast weather to see the usual suspect, Rain again. It has been a unusually wet spring here in Pennyslvania. Maybe it is actually the usual Belgium/Luxemburgh type rainy spring and I just forget previous years because I want to forget, but once again the rain is falling steadily. I leave out a slightly audible groan as I peer down at the dogs who have no desire to leave the bed to go outside today. I begin to gear up and decide to take a short spin despite the wet conditions. So out comes the Dawes bicycle. My "grass track" project bike that I really enjoy when riding laps at the local horse track or fields. Today, it won't be seeing any offroad.
It is warm outside but not too hot. The temperature is just right as I head down the road make small circles with my legs. The rain is steady with small droplets, not too harsh at all. I head down to the Lake and see the usual hardcore fisherman weathering the rain and searching for the catfish cache. I seldom ever plan a ride anymore because it just takes that element of suspense out of it for me. So as I spin along, I decide whether to shoot left or right usually at the last moment. Today I head right and on up a short climb past a dairy farm. The cows are all laying silently in the field and all turn simultaneously to peer at the odd sight of me riding past. I laugh as I remember the old saying my grandpa once told me, when the cows are laying down it is going to rain...no kidding i think as the rain patters off my helmet and sprays off my front tire.
The feeling of the rain spraying on my legs feels good actually, soft and warm like a gentle shower. The bike itself is silent...that's what I love most about the fixies...the silence. That passive existence they have on the road. The purity in looking at them, unobstructed and well defined lines, no distractions. Just the sounds of the rain around me. Ahead of me I spy through the blur of my glasses a large green hulk making its way down the road, a smile and nod are returned as a farmer on his tractor meanders past. I imagine he probably feels the same as I do in his own little way. Going about his daily chores as normal with little thought for the rain that falls around. Maybe that is how I should be more often, don't peer out before a ride, just head on into the weather...don't dread the rain and wet. Just enjoy the oppurtunity to get out there and power through the elements. No sense in fretting what cannot be controlled. Just embrace the surroundings and enjoy the ride.
At the spillway of the lake, I see a family of Canadian Geese, newborn babies follow the mother in a lesson of catching minnows and fingerlings swimming below the surface. No concern for the rain that falls around them. This is how I am feeling now. No concern, just enjoying the senses. enjoying the sights and the life that continues around me. I begin to notice details around me, everything is so green from the springtime rain, quite different from past moisture deprived years that left the forests brown. Everywhere you look are new colors sprouting up, colorful and bright flora dot the surrounding landscape and buzz with life. Insects dance from flower to flower, birds scatter into the trees and bushes as I roll past. The sounds of songbirds fill the air and springtime peepers chirp and chatter there continuous tunes from the streams edge. Life hasn't stopped just for the rain. It has awoken and embraced the falling drops.
I turn the pedals ever so quickly, hardly noticing the riding at all with everything that goes on around me. No thought involved, no distractions or worry to shift, just keep riding and enjoy nature around me. I climb homeward and watch the water as it trickes from my helmet, off my nose and chin. a inevitable smile graces my face.
One day later...I awake once more, take the dogs outside and the dogs hesitate and drearily look up at me as the proceed into the yard for there daily duty. They quickly scamper back to the door when finished. I look out, smile and say, I will be back in a little while. It looks like another good day for a ride!