Rain and Other Roadblocks

June has been a horrendous month for bike commuting. With a four day tour only two weeks away it is imperative to get some miles. The radio weather man said that June had 24 days of rain.

The weekend would have been good commuting for work, but the music festival journaled in previous posts, took preference.

When all is said and done, I will have worked thirty three consecutive days, which could have been a phenomenal amount of miles. But alas, the rain.

The ride takes me through an abandoned State School. Paul Dever, which as I understand was for severely retarded children and adults. The building are sill around as is some of the equipment. Much of the stuff looks like something you would see in a horror movie. I know there was no ill intended, but back then it was what they though was best for the patients.

The buildings on the boundaries are still used as residence homes and I figure that they have problems with kids on dirt biks. There are so many attempts to block the old paths. Besides the two I have pictured, there is also a good sized pine tree that was cut down to block the path. None of the blocks are much of a bother to bicycle or walkers. It just slows us down for a couple of seconds.



I got caught in a good downpour during the homeward bound commute this Tuesday evening. The original prediction was 40% chance of boomers and rain. Good enough odds for me. By noon, it had changed to 60% and by 4PM when we were in the middle of a thorough soaking, they changed it again to 80%. However, like most of us regular commuters can attest, summer rains are not bad at all.

Rain? Maybe. Maybe Not.

"You riding tonight" I asked John at work.

"I just talked to a tech and he said it's raining in Rhode Island" he answered.

"I'm going out right after work, Weather Underground says no rain till around 11PM."

"Didn't you hear what I said? It's raining in Rhode Island" John said with a disgusted tone.

We bantered back and forth about the track the rain may follow and I said the downpour will probably happen at my halfway point. I could almost count on that happening when I used to golf. The farthest point from shelter and the sky opens up. But I'm putting my faith in the professional weather watchers.

After quickly changing in some riding duds I was on the road around 5:30. There was and off and on rain that was so light, one could barely feel it. The road was wet but not enough to cause any pooling. Ole Blue was feeling good, the gears were shifting smoothly and the tires, freshly topped off, offered a smooth hum as we spinned along at a comfortable mid to high teen rpm.

A two hour ride gave a really good fitness workout while still providing childlike fun that riding a bike often presents. The air hung thick under the threatening clouds and light traffic, which allowed me to zone out and enjoy the evening.

I wanted to get home in time to work on this blog, take the dogs for their evening walk, have dinner, and watch the 8PM US/Costa Rica football World Cup Qualifier. Now that I write this out it seems like a lot. Things improved when I noticed that the 8PM start was MT, translating to 11PM here. No problemo.

This ride was on the country roads away from the coast. As mentioned the traffic was light, but fast. Most vehicles speed along at around 50MPH in this usual 30MPH zone. The roads are plenty wide for sharing, and most crossed the solid line to the left to give me lots of room. Mainly locals driving these roads, which are also very popular bike and motorcycle routes.
Wide, wet and quiet


I take most of my photos on the run so to speak. The camera is stored conveniently in the handlbar bag. It's very simple to reach in, hit the on button and snap a photo or two. Very seldom stopping to get that perfect shot. In the beginning a few years ago, the technique made for some shaky riding, but in time it became very easy and natural.

Trailer homes on Main St. Acushnet, MA.



Handy man's shop that really could use a handy man to tidy things up.



Keith's farm is expanding. They only had peaches and apples for years.



Boats at a blueberry farm.



Mattapoisett Chowder House. It's not bad but there are lots of really good seafood places in the area.


There was no weather problem during this evening ride. Such a heavy, quiet evening did bring on a little melancholy and will also provide an "I told you so" moment at work tomorrow.

Never Ending Rain

We got caught in the rain a lot during our Erie Canal tour. Monday on the ride home from work the sky got noticeably dark and the sprinkles began while I was riding through the abandoned State School Property. I though about going into one of the buildings to see what would happen with the obviously approaching storm.

As I got into the main road the wind began whipping. "Not good, this is definitly not good", was my immediate thought. Then I began to watch the sheet of rain approach from my right. I had to take shelter in a cluster of trees. Naturally I got wet, but I was not really taking cover from the storm but from the traffic, who would have a difficult time noticing me on the road.

As I was hunkered, two kids on their dirt bikes passed by, soaked to the bone and screaming in delight. "Yeeeeehaaa". They were giddy with distress.

I resumed the commute when the rain lightened up and was pretty uncomfortable. But the storm also made me think of the times we got caught during our adventure, and it brought on a smile.

Rain

They said 40% chance of rain. On my drive to the park and ride it was up to 80%. What the heck, it's a nice summer morning. I rode through a light drizzle for 6 miles. The last four saw a gradual increase in the amount falling. I got to work wet but comfortable. Rain is a piece of cake in the summer.

When I arrived at the parking lot there was a trucker who had probably spent the night. The mall was around the corner and a very large furniture warehouse up the road. His box? Who knows, but he was a long way from home.

Steve Gilliard

Commuting to work. Same bike, same road, same people, same weather. Same O, Same O. No sense saying any more about that.

The grass is growning like a teenager reading playboy. Three days of forecast rain forced the skipping of the Revs/Real Salt Lake match. Most of the RevGuess, predictions were for a two or three goal win for the Revs.



The weather forcast was for 30% chance of light rain today. A half hour later work start on Sundays, made biking very tempting. None of the stations bothered to mention the early morning forcast.

Torrential downpoars that made driving very difficult. A bike would have been impossible to ride. After the initial hour, the heavy rain subsided, and the day has turned into the forcasted occasional light showers.

The commuter is giving some problems. It could be the tire, it could be the wheel needs truing. There is a bumping with each tire rotation. It feels like a bubble in the tube or something stuck on the tire. A check tonight after work will have an answer. (fingers crosses).

This, was a shock. Steve was a very well respected and popular liberal blogger from NYC. There are some wonderfull eulogys from his fellow bloggers. James Wolcott, Daily Kos, Orcinus, and Jane a friend of Jesus' General patriot boy.

Speaking of liberal, with the expected election of a Democratic Congress, Senate and President, a return of the right wing violence is expected. Here is a good discussion on the topic.

"...in recent months, especially as the prospect of the voting public giving movement conservatives the boot loomed larger, we've seen cases like Chad Castagana, in which formerly mainstream conservatives -- self-admittedly inspired by the hateful rhetoric of people like Ann Coulter and Michelle Malkin -- have crossed over into actual domestic terrorism, inspired not just by hatred of the government but hatred of liberals."

There are a couple of bike film sites worth a look....

Street Films who advertise themselves as "Filming the New York City Streets Renaissance" and...

The Bicyclist "A wind blown and rain soaked comedy series from the hipster streets of counter culture Portland, Oregon. Alternative transportation, alternative lifestyle, alternative tv."

Tomorrow, (Monday) is the first day of evening Spanish classes. Two months of online learning was a good start. The campus is downtown New Bedford, Ma. which is not a safe place to leave a bike. No one could answer weather a bike was allowed in the building. The security guard said some professors will allow bikes in the classroom, but definitely not in the hallway. "How about baby carriages?" drew a blank stare from the guard.

Time to Ponder

Heavy rain will prevent bike rides and such. It's a time where we can stop and ponder.