It was over 40 degrees and sunny when I set out for a leisurely 35 mile ride on the Centennial trail in Snohomish today. I decided to leave my "underlayer" at home along with the rain gear in spite of weather reports that predicted snow and rain. Those darn forecasters are only right about half the time, so I decided to trust my eyes--which turned out to be a big mistake. The trail was rather crowded with pedestrians and skittish horses until it started to sprinkle around mile 10, and I thought, "no big deal, I'm not any damper than I would be from sweating". Around mile 12, it started pouring and snowing and the temp dropped down to 36 degrees and I was suddenly soaked and COLD! Suddenly, the trail was devoid of human life. I decided to turn around and hightail it back to the car and was greeted by a rather ferocious headwind. I've never really ridden much in the drops, but I was struck by a sudden desire to do so then as I pedalled for dear life. That was the longest 12 miles of my life! It occurred to me that this was potentially a dangerous situation if I developed a mechanical problem with the bike and had to stop moving. I thought of that fellow on the "man vs wild" show and how he's always preaching about the dangers of getting wet in cold weather. He's always getting wet on the show, which, of course, creates an urgent need for him to pop out of his clothes and build a fire. I had a mental picture of myself naked in the woods, my belly exposed in all it's glory and decided I would rather die of the cold-- Or just keep moving. By the time I reached the car I was drenched and shivering, my feet were numb and my legs were crampy. When I got home I boiled myself like a lobster in the shower, but I'm still cold and shivery. Another important lesson learned today...