More Rain

Last night it rained and rained. More rain is on the way. There reportedly was urban flooding. It was still wet this morning, but I rode to work anyway. I really need to solve my fender problem- or lack thereof. I rode with both panniers this morning so I can ride directly to class if I’m running late. If it isn’t too warm out, I shouldn’t be a sweaty mess.

As I rode to work, there was so much debris in the gutter that I hopped on the trail at Cedar. As I rode in darkness, I noticed that the trail descended into black water. I was disoriented for a moment until I realized the park area between Nokomis and Hiawatha was submerged. I did a quick U-turn and took the road.

To mix things up, I took Randolph- this time to work. There was just the initial hill as I left the river. Randolph runs by a few colleges, and through an interesting Saint Paul neighborhood. For a few moments I could actually envision living in Saint Paul, which is a disconcerting thought for a Minneapolitan. I caught Shepard Road. Randolph shaved a few minutes off my commute. With little effort I reached the Cemstone plant in an hour. One of these days I’ll properly time trial it and shoot for the entire commute in under an hour. I came close earlier this year on my fixed gear- taking the much longer river route.

By the time I arrived at work, I was a muddy, sandy mess. I really need to clean up this bike. And fenders! I now see the point of a Surly Crosscheck or other such mutt bike. Rack and fenders- plenty of clearance… room for wider tires. Sounds like heaven.