84 Miles in the Rain

I rode a strong 84 miles today, all of them in Prospect Park. I can think of many other places I preferred to ride today, but I didn’t feel like going to them alone. Todd once again bailed out on me because of the threat of a little inclement weather and I couldn’t find anyone else to take me up on my offer of a drive to HSP for a ride.

The ride began around 8:30am. Soccer was cancelled because of the rain so I had all morning to ride. It was pretty lousy outside, so I knew there was not much I could have done with my kids outdoors. It didn’t rain all that much while I was out. It was mostly misty with just one rain shower. At one point during the ride I wished it would just begin to rain. The sky and weatherman had promised rain showers and I was tired of waiting. If I was going to tough out a ride in bad weather, I wanted it to be very bad.

Eventually I got my wish. The rain started coming down and I promptly got a chill. Oddly enough, it seemed to only be raining over the top portion of the park. The rain didn’t last very long and it soon just went back to high humidity. The wetness in the air caused my Rudy Project glasses to be fogged throughout my ride. It was very annoying. I had to stop a couple of time to wipe them down as the visibility through them was becoming zero. I really need to find a new pair of prescription race glasses.

Towards my final few laps I saw my friend Larry running in the park. I slowed down to talk to him for a few minutes and he suggested I ride with him over my last lap since I only had two to go. After I finished my laps I stopped for a minute to check in on the family. They were eating lunch and keeping themselves occupied. I figured I could spend a few more minutes out in the park to go hang with Larry. I must have been tired though as I screwed up when I clipped into my pedals and promptly fell over to the side. I smashed my elbow on the ground, but other than a bit of fresh road rash and a little soreness it appears ok. I still went back to find Larry, if only because I said I would. After chatting for a few more minutes, I headed home to shower and eat. I had enough for one day.