OK, It wasn't raining that hard...

[ladyjai]

Wake up this morning. It's not too bad, 49 degrees and raining. Not the hard pounding rain, but a light rain which promises to have me soaked by the time I get to church 10 miles away. However, it is also the kind of soft rain I like riding in. I bundle up, pack my back pannier. grab an extra tube and stuff it in my jersey. zip up my waterproof jacket and i'm off. i wear my normal glasses as I am uncertain how contacts, sunglasses and rain will operate. It's a slower ride than I normally take, but with the streets being slick, I'm taking it easy. I turn onto the canal which will take me safely across the freeway, and hear an extra hiss. Oh no. please no. yes. we have a flat, houston. I stop and flip the bike(I have a rack and a pack, either on its side or upside down...). i notice it's gotten colder (I checked later, and it was in the vicinity of 45-46, with a real feel of 36... add in the wet... um, yeah). call parent's, let them know I'll be a little late for church. No, I don't want a ride. i'll fix it and be off before you can get here...(I just envision me waiting forever for someone to show, in the cold, nonetheless!...) I strip off my gloves to get the tire free of the rim. I'm wearing more road sludge than the rim is before it's all said and done. pull out the tube, which is fully suctioned onto the tire as i don't think it's been changed in over 2000miles. My fingers are starting to get a little numb. but, just hold out. new tube in, and pump put to action, and hisss.... this is the first time I've used this pump, I incorrectly assume the fault is the pump, and proceed to try to disect the nozzle. and call parents, maybe i do need a ride after all. waver on that bit, it looks like maybe I've gotten the pump. Dad needs to leave NOW, mom says (he's going to the same church service I was shooting for) I agree and she verifies where I am, 23rd avenue and the canal south of metro center. that'll come back to bite me...
I fiddle with the pump and an angel in spandex shows up. A kindly gentleman who has many more years on me, both on the bike and in life. He assists with the pump, and we discover that it is the tube that is defective. I dig out my 2nd spare - never ever ride with only one spare tube! lol. He ends up taking full control of the tire, I let him, and put my tingling fingers back in the wet gloves. I'm starting to tremble now. I'm very sensitive to the cold, and get chilled very quickly, luckily that does not coincide with being sick, just cold. We have the tire up and filled in no time, I put everything back together and thank him as he rides off into the cloudburst...

now to wait for dad. My horror emerges when I realize the street I'm on is actually 25th avenue, not 23rd. 23rd doesn't even go to the canal. and I have no idea where it starts on the north side... and... ack! I pace the area between to keep warm. This area has poor drainage, so there's no way I can go fast enough to get my fingers warmed, so I have to make a few stops to try to reheat my fingers as they are way too painful.
Why didn't I just go? My dad has no cell phone, and I didn't realize just how much time had passed, so cold and frustrated was I. My mom's on the internet, so no good trying to call her. Finally, I'm at my wits end. I call my mom and manage to get through. find out she told my dad 27th avenue!!! on the other side of the freeway!!!! I'm so mad, and so cold. She talks about me going to some shop in metro center and she'll meet me there. NO WAY. not like this. I tell her I'm going to church, and i can't just continue waiting for dad to show up. i was out there at least 20-30 minutes after the tire was fixed before resuming my way to church. the rain lets up as I go, and the temps rise about 5 degrees as I cover the last 5 miles. the sun comes out and I can go faster. My fingers are thawed by the time I arrive, my toes are another story. As I pull up to the church building I hear a bubbling. Look down. My rear tire has a hole!!!!!!! one of the guys who's getting into riding comes up and asks how I'm doing. "Terrible," I say.
"Oh, that's good," he says. He's much older and I guess he didn't hear me right! lol.
I go into the bathroom, change clothes (I forgot dry socks!!!) and excavate myself, the bike and some paper towels as service is letting out and the bathroom fills quickly then. I change the flat to one side and front of the main sanctuary, clean up the rims of the road grime, and my mom calls then offering to come pick me up. noway. i managed to get to church, I'm staying for the entire service! (we have 3 on sunday mornings). they got me afterwords, and my dad was frustrated and felt bad. He heard 23rd avenue, but in the rain, 29th (which was where mom sent him) looked like 23rd ave (we drove back to check! )... He probably was leaving just when I got the flat fixed! sigh....

oh well. I survived. the bike survived. My extremeties survived. And perhaps I'll need to look into waterproof gloves!

[Running Mommy]

You are one tough Chica!! I would have thrown in the towel... But I must say, your poor father.. God bless his soul out looking for his girl in the rain.
Don't you love the stranger in spandex? And it always seems to be the older more seasoned riders huh? The young pups in their spiffy "kits" always zoom past me... sigh...
One day I was changing a flat on the side of the road up in our hood. We have a landscape company that works up here on our common areas everyday, so I see them alot. One of the workers came over and offered to help me in VERY broken english. I thought that was very nice of him. When he said "YOu do triathlon ehh? your bike VEERRY nice. My brother in Mexico, he pro in triathlon." It was a dicey convo since I speak NO spanish, but he was such a nice man. Now when I see him he says "GOOOO Denise. Ironman!!" and cheers me in spanish. Cool huh?
Anyhoo.. Yeah, the weather was crummy today. It was COLD when I ventured out tonight! BRRRR!!! All I can say is the weather better figure itself out in the next two weeks!!