Friday, December 2, 2016

The liberation of rain.

     Rain is  a regenerative experience, romanticized by novelists as an agent of rebirth and omen of growth and fertility.  The science people talk about the the ionization of the low level atmosphere, poets and normal folk think "it" smells cleaner.

 Most cyclists avoid it like the plague.  I love rainy days when people ask if I had ridden my bike.  "Why waste a beautiful day sitting in a car?"  They stare.  Cars have trained us not to experience weather, thanks to the advertising campaign shoved down our collective throats during the past 4 generations, .  Most people in 'Murica are not aware they can dress for it.  It seems they haven't found that an umbrella might be useful.  They sit in parking lots staring at their AccuWeather apps, tracking the minutes of rain left until they can get out of their cars.
                                                     
I smile and wave as I ride by dressed in wing tips and slacks all protected by spats and a rain cape.
Its another opportunity to express my overdeveloped smugness.   I guess you can't really expect a cyclist to understand the sense of superiority you experience in conquering the weather.  They would rather enjoy the virtual world on their wind trainer than ride a comfortable bike in adaptable clothing.






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