Originally Posted by Brian Sorrell

I realize that you were avoiding a car at the time, but this reminds me: when I transitioned from MTB-ing to the road, I learned shockingly quickly that it's not *fun* to ride through puddles on a road bike. I quickly realized that under every puddle is a depression of some sort -- from gentle dip to unfathomable abyss. That's why there are puddles. And road bikes are not built to traverse such things.