On Rain and Using it as an Excuse Not To Cycle or Walk

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Bike rides have been cancelled because of rain, rather than wind or other factors. When it rains cyclists don’t want to ride because it gets their bike dirty and they have to clean it, lubricate it and more. With hikers rain is also an excuse to be lazy, within some groups. With other groups rain is just rain and the walks and hikes go ahead.

Yesterday morning we had stormy weather. It was raining very hard, and so windy that rain was aerosolised rather than falling as raindrops. As gusts blew, so you saw a cloud of rain move with the wind. You could see gutters overflowing as the wind blew water out over the lip of the edge. It was strong enough to change the direction of water flowing with gravity.

In the process it undressed trees, taking away their leaves and stripping them of dead branches and more. I noticed that a road was messy. I walked towards where I had seen the mess, to take photos, only to find that the Swiss had already cleared the road. That’s efficient.

As a result of this I changed the course of my hike, to walk by vineyards that have turned yellow with dead leaves, to take photos. In so doing I walked along a route that I often walked along, until aggressive dogs terrified me away. That time I was charged by a dog made me stop walking along a lot of paths.

Aggressive car drivers didn’t help.

I wore a rain coat but normal trousers. If it had rained heavily I would have been drenched. Despite this I walked for nine kilometres or more and it was drizzling, and raining, for most of the walk. Only dog walkers were out. Luckily I didn’t need to control my fear of dogs.

It’s amusing, because although I saw the flags flapping in the wind, I didn’t feel it. It felt quite calm but that’s because I was protected by the nap of the earth. I was protected by vineyards, and hills. When I walked between Borex and signy I saw people sitting sheltering in the boot of a car and snacking. They were trimming the vineyards, ahead of winter. So, dog walkers and vineyard workers were out.

Normal, sane people stayed indoors. Having said this, when it’s rainy, and autumn, this is a good time to go out and take photos. If you’re lucky the light will play with the darkness of the clouds. This is when you get interesting, atmospheric photos, and seasonal ones.

We have had days of bad weather. It makes sense to go out anyway, and dress for the weather. In my experience, even when it is raining you can walk in the rain, and come home dry. Why stay indoors.

I expect that the ride tomorrow morning will be cancelled, and if it isn’t, I hope not to be too exhausted by going out tonight. I don’t have to go out late today. There is a party that I could go to, but that is almost out of the question for two reasons. I don’t want to lose tomorrow because I’m tired and because the pandemic never ended so I don’t want to play COVID roulette.

I’m happy to be social, with bike rides, and hikes, and a night out during the week, but not on weekends. I still have a mask with me, in case I hear people coughing. It’s easier to wear a mask, and look like an idiot, than get a cough that lasts for two weeks to a month.

And Finally

With seasons our habits change, from cycling several times a week, to zwifting instead. With hiking, the habit doesn’t need to change with the seasons. We just wear different layers. Yesterday it was raining but that didn’t stop me going from my usual walk. The route was different, but that was to see the Autumn colours. It’s a shame that cycling has seasons. We’ll see if tomorrow’s group ride goes ahead. If not, I have my own group ride on Sunday.