North Woods, I was channeling you this morning. Forecast was very unpredictable, but with no rain predicted until noon. Yet, it looked cold and raw, so I got out my stuff for spin, which is an hour earlier than I planned to do an outdoor ride. I started feeling wimpy and decided 1) I needed some bad-assery in my life and 2) It was nowhere near my limit for cold temperatures at 44. So I just got in my outdoor riding clothes, put air in my tires and hung out until 9:30. I did one last check of the radar, which showed nothing. I had thought about wearing my rain jacket, but instead, at the last minute, I chose a Gore-Tex winter cycling jacket that I bought from someone on TE. It's very thin, but extremely toasty, and I chose it over my normal winter cycling jacket because although they both really can only be use in real cold and make me overheat unless it's in the mid thirties or below, this one has pit zips and actually, you can zip the whole sleeves off each arm.
Went out my basement door and noticed some water on my Garmin. I didn't think anything of it, maybe drops from a tree or the roof, or spray off of the leaves. Put on my lights, and started off, and just as soon as I turned onto Main St, I knew it was raining. But, I didn't go back, despite it being more like a light rain than a drizzle. The sun was coming out in one direction and there was dark sky in another. I kept going, thinking I would turn back and do a 2 mile loop if it got worse. But, by the time I go to the point of turning, it had slowed, so I went on, deciding to do my shortish early AM route. There's a climb at this point, so I knew I'd be warm. The Gore Tex worked repelling the rain, though my tights felt damp. When I got near the top of the hill, it had started raining more steadily again, so I decided to take a short cut of half a mile and head back, knowing there were ways to extend the route, if the rain stopped. It was never heavy, but by this time I felt both sweaty and damp at the same time. So, I ended up doing 7 miles, one of my shortest rides ever, on the road, except for a commute.
I was out for about 30 minutes, and I felt really good from the fresh air, but the risk of hypothermia did worry me. I was dressed correctly, but did not have my helmet rain cover, just a fleece cap under the helmet. It continued raining and got worse until it finally stopped around 1:30.
I was able to get all of my errands done and meet a friend for lunch at 1, so I feel good I got outside and didn't suffer in the sweaty gym...