Soaked.

It would just so happen that - after triple checking weather.com before my long Sunday bike ride and seeing (what I thought was) the "all clear" - I would head out for my ride and spend only the first 10 minutes dry.

As it turned out, biking for 2 hours and twenty minutes in pouring rain isn't all its cracked up to be. But...it's not totally or horribly awful. Its just a matter of perspective, I guess.

I don't know what was worse: climbing endless hill after endless hill (because at least while biking UP UP UP I was going slow, therefore the wind and driving rain didn't seem quite as bad) and feeling like my quads were about to give out at any second OR soft-pedaling down the other side into the driving wind and rain. I think my fingers froze while gripping the brakes. Did I mention it was barely 50 degrees?

Yes - I get little sympathy from my Northern Counterparts.

However - I give you ALL my respect for braving the elements that you are forced to endure. And even drew strength from Julia's 4-hour ride in freezing Minnesota temperatures. If she could HTFU for four hours, I could pull up my Big Girl Panties and hang on for the final 2:20.

Gulp.

When the guy with the Team Ouch-Maxxis Kit blew by me, I imagined that it was Floyd Landis...it made his rapidly disappearing figure seem bearable, and my slow speed acceptable. And when I looked behind me while climbing the hills of San Elijo and Elfin Forrest and saw a guy on a mountain bike enjoying my draft - well, I resisted blowing a snot rocket in his direction. My sinuses are still recovering, and my snot rockets aren't waht they used to be. Besides, who needs aero bars and high tech bikes when its raining cats and dogs and blowing 20 mph?

But it wasn't pretty.

Then again, it didn't need to be. I just needed to DO it, not think about it, not ponder, not question - just do. Just go. Just focus. And get it done.

So I did.

To pass time while climbing at a snail's pace, I thought the following about my predicament...

S: Silly me. Never trust the radar, weatherman, or anyone associated with California Low Pressure Systems.

O: Ouch...I can't feel my fingers. Or toes. I should probably release my death-like-grip from my brake handles. Oh boy...shifting is becoming difficult.

A: "Always look on the bright side of life...."(in a sing-song voice)

K: Killer. I killed my Powertap, 43 minutes into the ride. It just gave out. Luckily I kept going. I think its time to head to the bike shop...

E: ENOUGH RAIN ALREADY! Seriously! I can handle one - not THREE major things (wind, "cold", driving pouring relentless rain). But I'm 1:15 away from my house - and the shortest way home is going back the way I came. Mother Nature - clearly - does not have a sense of humor.

D: Done. I finished the ride, managed to survive the elements, and though the 30-minute steaming hot shower felt great...the irony of the rain abating mere minutes after I walked through the door was not lost on me. Let's just not go there.

And the next time there's major rain, wind, and cool-ish temps...? Sign me up - I'm ready. I think I'll tweak my wardrobe...and maybe add some toe warmers to the mix...OR - just never trust the weatherman. Even better.

Here's to braving the elements, surviving intact, and looking forward to another day. Maybe with some sunshine next time...