Yesterday I got caught in a downpour! Weather sure is a trap at times, isn\’t it?

I had an appointment with the dentist in mid-afternoon. If not for that, I would have stayed dry; but sometimes things just don\’t go right. Half an hour or so before I left work, it began to thunder; and the sky was full of big, black clouds. It wasn\’t raining when I went outside, but I thought I smelled rain; and just as I mounted my bicycle, a few drops began to fall.

At first it wasn\’t bad, and I hoped to get to the dentist\’s office without getting caught in heavy rain. Well, that didn\’t pan out! The sprinkle progressed to a drizzle; and by the time I was halfway to my destination, I could see heavy rain ahead.

I stopped and dug out the poncho; and before I got it on, the deluge was upon me. Even with the poncho, I got pretty wet. I had the bike trunk with me; but it doesn\’t do much to keep my stuff dry in such conditions. The zippers are sieves in a heavy rain. And wouldn\’t you know, the worst of it was over by the time I got to the dentist\’s!

T-storms are a hassle, for sure; but I now have a wary eye on Tropical Storm Fred. So far it looks like the Florida Panhandle is the part of the USA most likely to get hit. They can\’t yet say for sure where the storm will eventually go; but we all hope it won\’t be here!

Come Saturday I want to head for the salvage store again. Between concerns over a tropical storm and worries over another possible COVID shut-down, I don\’t want to risk getting caught short of supplies!

Advance Prep Works

Yesterday afternoon I got home about 4:00 pm; and at least I didn\’t get caught up in a lot of kitchen work. Last weekend I didn\’t get around to making squashed sauce, as I had planned. Monday evening I ran too short of time for it; but I did most of the prep work. I chopped the veggies I needed and stored them in the fridge; then yesterday I only needed to open cans of pasta sauce and tomatoes; and chop the canned tomatoes. Then I dumped the tomato stuff and veggies all into a large pot and cooked it! It was quick and easy; so I say, advance prep works.

Advance prep is in order for long rides, too. I don\’t want to get caught short of food on a long ride; so I plan my ride food the evening before, and try to take along at least one extra bar. Even less do I want to get caught short of water; so I top up the Camel-Bak reservoir as often as I can.

As for weather during those long rides, I hope I don\’t get caught in a T-storm!