Rule #9 / If you are out riding in bad weather, it means you are a badass. Period.The first of many rides in minging weather. Neoprene overshoes, arm warmers, gilet. Still soggy like a drowned rat by the time I got back after a hilly 30mile ride through some very isolated parts of Wales. I swear I heard banjos over the noise of frantic inbreeding at one point.
Fair-weather riding is a luxury reserved for Sunday afternoons and wide boulevards. Those who ride in foul weather – be it cold, wet, or inordinately hot – are members of a special club of riders who, on the morning of a big ride, pull back the curtain to check the weather and, upon seeing rain falling from the skies, allow a wry smile to spread across their face. This is a rider who loves the work.
There's something very rewarding about cruising around in the rain when others have given up and collapsed onto the sofa, muttering about how the cold hurts their hip and the rain causes their perfectly shaven legs to become splattered with a mixture of poo, mud and road dirt. There's also the wonderful looks everyone gives you as you cycle past, as if you are somehow super human for venturing out in the inclement conditions. It's really very satisfying.
James out.
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