40's rainy and wet. Something new happened this morning. It amazes me that something new can happen after 7+ years of riding. On an empty sidestreet, this 50-ish lady in a compact car with a crystal cross dangling from her rearview mirror pulled up beside me, rolls down her window and starts a conversation with "How do you ride in the rain? I'm a cyclist too, but my brakes don't work in the rain." My first response kept to myself was "take your bike to a shop and have them install new pads and properly adjust your brakes". Not wanting to be rude, instead I shouted over the rain and motor noise, "I have special brakes for mountain bikes, cantilever brakes". "Ohhhh", she replied, "I'm glad you told me" and sped off. It seemed strange. I thought for sure, "Oh great, what did I do now". Strange but nice.