Tree pollen has been playing dirty with my allergies. I rarely get any  allergies but this year the sneezing has not stopped for about a week.  Getting into riding clothes and stepping out where the spring is showing  colors has been a little hard lately. Still I never regret going on a  ride even last Saturday morning when I got soaked by the only significant rain we had that day.

My nose was running and I was sneezing but I needed to go out and ride. I get cranky when I don't ride for a while. From my window it did looked a little dark but not wet so those were the clothes I picked for the ride. As soon as I opened the garage door I noticed the wet ground and a little mist on the air. Nothing bad, more fun.

By the time I was near the Golden Gate bridge rain was coming down at a good rate to make me stop and pull out the windbreaker (no rain jacket with me today) Things got worse as I moved north. The bridge sidewalk was getting blasted with wind and rain and as I rode north a group of riders in full reflective vests and with tired faces went the opposite direction.

Wait a minute, I thought the San Francisco Randonneurs Fleche was tomorrow, I mean riders start today, Saturday, and finished tomorrow? May be I was wrong. Anyways those riders made me thing about how I would not be joining on the fun for the Fleche this year. I had asked a couple of my riding friends if they were interested in doing the Fleche with me but both declined. I think the Fleche is probably one of the most fun events. By design you are required to ride as a team, there are also some other weird rules that make this 360kms ride interesting. I hope I can convince them to ride it next year. However my guess is next year another of the regional randonneuring clubs will be organizing the event. To me there is nothing as to finish an event on my home town so we'll see if I finally get to ride a Fleche.

On Sunday my wife went out for a run and called me to let me know the weather/day was beautiful, I should go out for a ride. With that endorsement I decided to go out and do a short 20 some miler, tree pollen allergies still with me and I was having a hard time breathing. A lovely ride it was.

I never regret going out on a ride.(First posted April- 9-2007 at 07:05 pm)



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