Back to the grind

There are few woes that can't be made better by a nice bicycle ride -- a sucking center-of-mass bullet wound and whooping cough aside, of course. When the woe of the day is simply dreading the return to the 8' x 8' sliver of the faceless bastille that takes up 1/4 of my life, a bicycle ride is actually quite therapeutic.

Unfortunately, a powerful but relatively isolated storm decided to throw fierce hail at my bedroom window amid ominous thunder and blinding lightning. My slumber is seldom interrupted by thunder, but the din of hailstones agitating windows almost always rouses me. The storm woke me at 2:30 AM and it took about an hour for me to get back to sleep. By the time 5:00 hit, I was sufficiently rested despite the disturbance.

The roads were obviously wet, but with overcast skies and no falling rain, I decided to ride the distance this morning. The fenders did an excellent job of keeping me dry. Winds were light (a head/crosswind), temperatures in the lower 60's. It was a good morning.

Once I hit Wyandotte County, I noticed that there was a lot of flooding. This is the lowest elevation of my commute route. Particularly between Mission road and state line, Kansas City, KS was downright disgusting with flooded gutters and storm drains. Covering the road was a 1/4" thick milkshake-esque fusion of grime and dirt washed downhill from KCMO mixed with what I could only guess was overflow sewage and lawn debris.

As I started my ascent into KCMO, the roads started to dry out and due to either the higher elevation or falling clouds, the KCMO skyline was visibly enshrouded in a murky, misty haze.





We had four bike commuters for coffee this morning. Lorin, Bob, JR and myself. JR's bike is locked up out of frame (but he's visible through the window)


North wind and mid-70s are predicted for this afternoon. Lorin said he might be interested in riding all the way back home with me.

Random Tunage:
Nine Inch Nails - La Mer
Future Sound Of London - We Have Explosive