I waited at Starbucks for other B riders to show up for this morning’s ride, but only one did. He was new to the club, and this would be his first ride with us. I wondered where the other B’s were, because it sounded from their posts earlier this week that they would be out.
But as I walked by Bruce, one of the A riders, he remarked that we would be in for some wet riding.
“What?” I exclaimed. “The forecast didn’t say anything about rain.”
But Bruce called up the Weather Channel radar on his iPhone, and sure enough, there was a line of showers bearing down on us from the northwest.
I should have known better. Last week, we got lots of rain — and the various TV weathercasters and other sources blew that, too. Why would this week be any different? Now I knew why there were no other B riders this morning. They had been smart enough to check their weather radar, and decided not to ride in those conditions.
Since the ride was headed south, we figured we could stay ahead of the rain for awhile. We made fantastic time, getting to Buda about 15 minutes sooner than it usually takes me. The other new guy and I had no trouble keeping pace with the A riders as we sailed along the road.
At an intersection, though, we had to make a decision. The clouds hung dark and low to the north. We could turn back toward the rain, or continue south. The new rider said he wasn’t ready for the kind of distance a southerly ride would involve, so we turned north — smack into the wind that had pushed us out so kindly.
In about a mile, we were in a downpour. We took shelter under some trees along the road, and waited for the rain to pass. It didn’t take too long, and the sun came out and dried things quickly. After going another mile or so, we were back on mostly dry pavement.
I suppose if I had done what I usually do on ride mornings — check the weather radar — I too, would have stayed home until the rain came through. As it was, it wasn’t as bad as it looked on the radar, and it was nice to get in a decent ride.
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