Ah May. In New York City, May is one hell of a month, torrential rains and blazing hot all in the span of a few days. May is also Bike Month and when strawberries and snap peas make a coy entrance at the Greenmarket.
May is also the month that I vow to post regularly on the ins and outs of being a lady cyclist in New York City. Nutrition, bike photos, charming and not so charming stories of riding in the city, bike survival tips and oh so much more! All here and more often than ever before!
The torrential rains don’t keep this rider out of the saddle. Well, at least when it is an unanticipated cloudburst and I really need to get somewhere. I was on my way to the gym on a recent Monday afternoon and could see the clouds rolling about over the East River and thought this might work out for me. After exiting the Williamsburg Bridge and heading north on Clinton St my luck ran out. The rolling clouds started to growl and then let out a torrent of rain, followed by shouts and clever rain cover improvisations by people walking on the street. Newspapers and bags held aloft as folks pressed on through the rain.
My soaking was near complete and almost immediate as I persisted through the storm. Water pooled in the where my bag meets the small of my back. Oh you lucky raindrops to run down my face and eyelashes! I rode on. Having reached my destination I quickly changed into my workout clothes and dashed off to my class knowing full well that drippy trousers and sodden ballet flats would greet me once again.
The soaked clothes might not have been an issue if I was going straight home, but I had a bike repair class to attend followed by plans to meet up with a friend after that and I had no intention of being soggy for these commitments. While still clad in workout clothes I hopped on my bike and cruised down the street knowing that a laundromat with a functional dryer must not be too far away. As luck would have it I found a laundromat on East 4th Street, fished out 2 quarters from my bag and tossed the wet clothes into the dryer and 12 minutes later after ducking into the restaurant next door to change into my freshly dried clothes I was off again.
Lesson: when it rains you get wet, but it doesn’t have to ruin your day.
