I wanted to update about my ride home friday. It was an beautiful but also
wild ride home. I looked at radar and it showed rain north of here and I was riding southeast. I really felt like adding a few miles so I went the longer way home.
I was within 2.5 miles maybe less from being home and I saw dark clouds and said they look like rain clouds. Within seconds big rain drops started hitting me. I started to pedal faster. I took my next turn and the bottom fell out the sky. I was soaked with in seconds. It started raining so hard I debated pulling under someones carport but I could not find one at this point so I pressed on like a wet rat pedally my heart out. I was going to stop on the front porch of a church down the street from my house but I was only .7 miles from home and soaked so I pressed on. I made it to my street and was riding down the street about to attempt my turn up the driveway but my brakes did not stop me at all. I rode past our house and finally came to rest at neighbors. I turned around and went back to our house.
My wife was looking out the front door and yelled out to me as I rode by... she thought I could not see our house. I told her I could not stop to make it to our house. I believe that was the most effective argument for my next commuting bike to have disk brakes EVER.
Later as we were talking she was like "surely my husband would not go the long way"... I grinned sheepishly and she said "you did didnt you!" Guilty. She just shook her head and said, "you know you would have been home before the rain if you went the other way" I know, dear, I know.
but good news as well I have been worried about my panniers leaking and the stuff in the main compartment was dry! I had my headlight on HIGH and she said she saw the glow coming down the road. People out on the main road really gave me a lot of space and actually seemed patient as I pedaled through the downpour.