Rainy, rainy ride

Riding in the rain can, sometimes, be fun.

Tonight was one such occasion: As the dozen riders who convened for what promised to be a rainy edition of the weekly Tuesday Night World Championship in Saratoga Springs, the sky was a foreboding gray, likely keeping many of the usual crew at home.

But, it was warm. It started raining as we rolled out of town, and started coming down in earnest some time on Route 9P. This nearly turned not fun when a car tried to pass the group at the same moment we were getting ready to take a left-hand turn onto Brown Road (apparently our hand signals confused the driver.) A minor case of road rash notwithstanding, the group carried on unperturbed.

Then it started raining harder, and glasses that had been usefully keeping rain and spray out of my eyes became foggy and had to be removed. Even with road grit hitting my now-exposed pupils, it was better to be able to see, and I felt safer rolling with the group over the climb on rt 423.

The rain abated sometime around Stillwater, and we took off on Thunderdrome -- the name given to the stretch of Washington County Road the hugs the Hudson River between Stillwater and Schuylerville.

The description given to the Thunderdrome ride on our schedule of weekly rides is this "15 cyclists enters, one leaves." Just as in Mad Max's Thuderdome. Well, it's kind of a misnomer, because we all left, but it took some of us a little longer than others.

With dry roads and thinking we were finally clear of the rain, we headed over Bacon Hill and started for town. At some point on Ruggles Road the sky darkened with such suddenness that it felt as though someone had flicked a light switch. Rain was imminent -- and then, it came down.

While I'd started to dry, I was instantly soaked again, and when I rolled home 15 minutes later, I took care to wring my gloves and socks out over the doormat, before stripping off my cleats and treading inside.

Had it been colder, or had I been alone, or had I need to rush off to work as I always seem to need to do these days, it might have been a different story. But, on this occasion, the rain was an extra element that made a fun group ride a little more fun.

Of course, I'm hoping it doesn't rain next Tuesday.