Weather forecasts often seem like prophets of doom. A forecast I checked yesterday predicted heavy fog for this morning; and then I didn’t see any fog. I’m not complaining about the absence of fog; but sometimes I don’t know what to prepare for when planning a ride!

One weather site said 40% chance of showers; but it wasn’t an hour-by-hour prediction. I was afraid it might be pouring at ride time; and I also didn’t know when those 40 mph wind gusts might kick up. More than anything, it was the prospect of a powerful breeze that made me plan to ride in the park.

Just before I went out, I checked NOAA; and it said the wind was 16 mph. That\’s a far cry from the 40 mph gusts that the forecast mentioned. But I wanted to ride rather easy today; and I didn’t feel like fighting that wind for 6 miles on the way home. The rain, luckily, hadn’t set in; and the temperature was downright balmy at 71 degrees. I wore leg warmers and my Baleaf jacket; and got almost too hot!

Throughout the day, the wind and the appearance of the sky seemed like prophets of doom. I expected it to pour at any minute; and in fact it rained on and off. The wind gradually strengthened; and by the time I left work, I needed a windbreaker even though the temperature was near 80 degrees!

While walking home, I kept an anxious eye on the sky. There were plenty of dark clouds in a westerly direction; and we know weather in the Northern hemisphere moves West to East! I was relieved to reach home without getting wet.

We\’ll See

We\’ll see what happens. There\’s still an 80%; chance of rain tonight; and then it\’s going to drop to about 45 degrees. Wind 10-15 mph tomorrow; but I hope that forecast is more prophets of doom. Sometimes it\’s not as bad as they seem to think it will be. Even so, I\’ll take along hand warmers when I ride!

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