In or Out

I was supposed to go on a Mtb ride early this morning in AF Canyon. The last I heard from the weather man last night was it would not start to rain until close to noon. The weather man was wrong! At 6:15 am this morning the wind was blowing and the rain had started to come down--ride cancelled. As I watched the rain all morning long all I could think about was riding my bike. I wanted to get out and after resisting as long as I could I finally gave in. Excitedly I got my gear on, pumped up the tires on my road bike, added the flasher to the back so people could see me and took off. Looking up to the mountains with the clouds low and surrounding them I knew exactly where I wanted to go. My destination Squaw Peak Road.

The rain drizzled lightly as I started down the road towards Provo Canyon. I had all of the vents on my rain jacket vents unzipped which turned out to be the perfect temperature for the ride. I was looking forward to riding Provo Canyon Trail and Squaw Peak Road I figured in this rain the trail and the road would be empty, and I was mostly right. Going up the trail I was able to ride where ever I wanted without having to worry about a cyclist, rider or long board coming my direction. It was cool being on the trail by myself. Just as I rounded the corner near Timpanogous Park I saw another cyclist. We exchanged greetings and continued on our way.

This was my first ride up Squaw Peak Road, and I was not sure I would be able to ride the hill. But was determined to give it my best. The ride up the road was great as most people were at home due to the rain. There were a few cars that came down the road and three that passed me coming up, but not as many as there usually are on a weekend. A feeling of peace and calm surrounded me as I road by myself. There is something about rain, dusky darkness and low clouds around the mountain that bring calm and joy at the same time. The fall colors are beautiful right now and the swirling clouds around the mountain enhanced the beauty. I wanted to take stop and take pictures, but did not want to stop riding, so I comprised and decided to take pictures on my way down. As I rode up the road the rain was a steady drizzle, but as I climbed and got higher the drizzle became stronger. By the time I got to the top the rain had become a steady down pour. Lucky for me going up keeps your warm.

At the top I took some pictures of the valley and the mountains and then started down. I didn't get far when I realized I needed to close the vents on my rain jacket as it was getting cold going down. I made a couple of stops on the way down to take pictures. At one of those stops I had to get out my extra gloves, because all of the sudden my fingers were getting cold. I guess that's what happens when you go faster than 5 miles an hour. The ride down was quick, fun, soggy and cold. On the Provo Trail I ran in to one more cyclist, he seemed to be enjoying riding in the rain as much as me. I found even though I had on shoe covers that my socks had become squishy inside my shoes. It reminded me of when you are a kid and you play in the rain puddles and you have the squishy tennis shoes. By the time I got home my outside gear was soaked. The rain jacket worked pretty well, and my jersey was only slightly wet. The ride was great and I have now learned I can ride skinny tires in the rain and I will not kill myself!