Smells Like Wet Lion of Luther

Had another nice little paddle on the lake down the street this morning, letting the girls take turns in the solo canoe. Turns out that all that time they were treating canoe trips as if they were nothing more than a floating snack bar, they were actually learning something, and they’re both pretty much naturals when it comes to paddling. Both can handle a boat better than a lot of adults I’ve seen. Hannah is especially instinctive about it, and it was a deep joy to watch her out there just playing with the paddle to see what it would do, and making that little boat do exactly what she wanted it to do.

The afternoon brought the rains that had been threatened all weekend, but it looked like there was a break in the action and I was itching for a little ride. Yesterday’s 50K was great, but I had to limp home with a broken spoke. (The guy at the DownTube assured me that doesn’t happen often.) Got it fixed and the wheel trued up as best I can, so I wanted to check it out.

There were a few sprinkles, but no big deal. The plan was to rage out Luther Road to the end, then spin back and stop off at the Y for a soak in the hot tub, then head back home. Got to Couse Corners and the heavens opened up. My ride last fall when I got wetter than I’ve ever gotten? I got that wet in about 10 seconds. My shoes were overflowing. Plan B: head directly to the Y. Turns out that the swimsuit water extractor works just as well on soaked bike togs. Thank goodness, because my socks were soaked beyond the point of usefulness. Once I was done with the hot tub and the sauna, the skies had cleared and I was tempted to make more of a ride out of it, but I really didn’t want to work the bike that hard without re-lubing it. Got home, took another shower, and the Lion of Luther took a nap.