Man! Did They Get That Wrong

Slathered on the sunscreen, pumped up the fast bike tires and I was off, for a solo century on a hot, muggy Minnesota Saturday. BUT! I was not alone DUNT...DUNT....Duuunnnn.

Heading east out to Afton I had a noticeable cross/headwind, and was looking forward to the 35 mile mark and the reprieve that awaited once I turned north. I followed the Mississippi with its bluffs, buoys, barges, bridges, and bins of grain, as it flowed alongside railroad tracks and highways.
At Woodbury I left its banks, climbed out of the valley its been carving for eons and concentrated on my left turn at Afton, which was a good 20 miles of headwind and rollers away. I still had no idea I was being followed.
The wind wasn't the only reason I was looking forward to the Afton turn. I also got to enjoy a screaming descent into the St. Croix River valley. It's always fun to go fast without pedaling. With the last roller not so quickly ascended, I made my long awaited turn and noticed, out of the corner of my eye, that I'd been followed and what it was that had been lurking behind me for the last hour and a half....clouds and they were dark. WTF! the weather guy, just 2 hours ago, made no mention of rain, let alone storms! I tried to talk myself into thinking that it would miss me, maybe skirt off just west and north of my planned route. No such luck. Shortly after the climb out of Afton (yes, all screaming descents have attached to them a requisite screaming quad ascent) the first rain drop hit. It was one of those large ones, that splat with a thud when they hit. The roads started to shine with rain fast and I was at the 45 mile mark of what I wanted to be 100. Just didn't seem wise to chance 100 miles in this so I turned for home, which was 30 miles into where the storm had just come from.
All the fun stuff that comes from riding in the rain I got to enjoy, including my favorite road grit up the butt. But I got lucky, there was even more fun ahead , for me... lightning. Being prepared for this stuff is one thing, but I was out there, shorts and jersey, no fenders, no jacket and the poor fast bike has never been rained on before. Oh! you think I'm whining now? It gets even better. Yep, that sound every cyclist loves to hear, Pssssssst...I got to dodge lightning bolts while I was changing a flat.
Those bolts are kind of sneaky. You don't hear them until after they've struck, so you get to jump twice.
Riding in the rain you're able to stay warm 'cause you're generating some heat, but standing still getting pelted...changing a flat is unpleasant when it's sunny and warm...body shakes from the cold don't help get that tire off any faster, that's for sure.
I got home and I'm safe and warm. The fast bike needs a good cleaning now, but I've had at least one chocolate chip cookie, I've vented here on my blog and I'm already thinking about tomorrow's ride.
It would have been nice if those weather guys could've indicated the chance of rain was 100%, then I could've stuffed a jacket in my jersey pocket and left the fast bike home, but.... 75/18.3

I probably should have applied to the EPA for an environmental hazard permit before showering this off the old hairy legs. The combination of sunscreen, road grit and road spray all matted in my fur...well let's just say it took more than one pass with a soapy wash rag to get it off. I really needed a jack-hammer. Oh yeah, those socks used to be white.