Rainy Days and Mondays

Just a little over a week and it already happened...rain.  Lots and lots of rain.  And wind.  And puddles.

Despite it being April - typically a very dry and pleasant month - it poured buckets.  There were flood warnings and the whole deal.  If it were June, I would be ready for this.  But it's not supposed to rain in April in Miami.  And when it does, it's usually a brief sprinkle.

Anyway, I had an appointment to show an apartment and I knew that there rain was forecast.  But eventhough it was looking kind of gray outside it hadn't rained all morning.  So I prepared as best I could.  I wrapped my computer and portfolio in a plastic bag and put them in my backpack.  Then I jury-rigged a poncho out of a big clear plastic garbage bag.  I put a hole in the bottom for my head and two holes for my arms in the sides - really classy.  And by the time I got downstairs it the skies opened up.  Bigtime.

But I only had about 20 minutes and there was no time to take a bus or a cab.  And I wasn't about to use the car barely into my second week of going carless.  So I started off on my 5.3 mile trip and it sucked!  It was pouring so hard that, combined with riding at about 20 miles per hour, the rain actually stung my face.  There were huge puddles and of course the cars would ride right through them and splash me just in case I wasn't getting soaked enough.  And then I had to go through a couple of puddles which actually caused my shoes to fill with water.

To add insult to injury, the other realtor was 25 minutes late so I stood in the lobby shivering.  And then she called to inform me that she was there but that her client didn't like the looks of the building and wasn't interested in seeing the apartment.  So it was all for nothing!  And it was still pouring.  So I rode back home to regroup.

The good news is that my computer, phone and notebook stayed totally dry.  And the bike performed flawlessly...including the brakes.  If there was ever a bad weather test, this was it.  I couldn't have exposed the bike to any more water driving through a carwash.  And everything worked perfectly.  I would have never considered riding a regular bike that distance in the rain but the motor made it possible to push through.

The garbage bag actually kept most of my shirt dry.  But my pants, shoes, underwear - completely soaked as if I had jumped in a pool.  Luckily I was able to go home and change my clothes...but that's not always practical.  And luckily later in the day, I was able to wait out another rain storm and only ride through some sprinkles on my way home. 

Now, I have some rain contingency planning to do...