Gray Rainy Day

Today was a gray rainy day, the kind that's damp, cold and dark. I'd been looking forward to a leisurely long ride this weekend, but the weather decided not to cooperate. I let the morning pass by and hoped the afternoon would look better. It didn't, but I resolved that I would head out anyway at least for a shorter ride and maybe explore a little. Riding in the rain has been surprisingly fun lately.

Well I should have stayed home because the gray rainy day got the better of me. The ride started well enough as I took a new road to the same old place I like to go - it had recently been paved. That was quite a treat. I turned a corner and then things started to just feel...blah. My energy faded even though I had plenty of food with me. I looked down and saw that my rear tire was squishy. Flats are something I'm usually able to avoid and don't mind fixing when they occur, but l've had a string of them lately. It happens on different bikes, so I suspect it's bad karma rather than a faulty wheel or tire. This was just one too many. Changing was a feast of grime and rainy road nastiness. The CO2 inflater was temperamental too - I'm switching to hand pumps from now on. I finished and debated continuing my planned ride, but the raw afternoon was starting to get to me, and the darkness was more evident by the minute. Maybe I'd cut short and head home by a good bike shop and pick up a new hand pump - perhaps that would salvage the day. The store just closed when I arrived, perfect. I rolled home and decided to tidy up the bike mess in the basement only to find that my almost new expensive wonderful bike light appeared not to be working at all. Terrific, just perfect.

Most days I think riding a bicycle is one of the most pleasurable activities that I could happily do forever, each and every day without ever getting bored. Today is a different story. After today, I could take it or leave it, and I certainly am not looking forward the next commute or ride or whatever. Some times things just get annoying, difficult and tiresome. One bad day out of many good days is a pretty good record still. The gray rainy day just got to me.