Autumn: reign o'er me

This morning, I packed my raingear, even though it was partly sunny as I got ready to ride to work. The forecast called for "showers", meaning we might see a few sprinkles here and there.

I left at 4:30, to meet my sister over a quick cup of tea before going home. The rain started lightly as I pedaled away. I stopped, pulled out my jacket and slipped it on, and resumed my ride. I looked over my left shoulder and saw that the skyline of downtown Portland, usually visible from the street directly in front of the shop, was gone -- hidden behind a thick, gray mist and could only mean rain -- and lots of it. I pedaled another block, heard the drops get louder, and ducked under a tree to put on my rain pants -- only to discover that I had instead packed the RainLegs, demi-chaps, instead of full pants. I sighed; I was going to get soaked in what was quickly becoming a downpour. I sucked it up, slipped on the RainLegs and pedaled on. Two blocks later water had drenched the front of my jeans and was rolling down the front inside my sneakers. It was hopeless. I stopped under the eave of an office in the Franz bakery complex and waited five, ten minutes. When it was clear that the downpour would last longer, I sighed, got back on my and resumed pedaling.

I made it to Lloyd Center, where I caught a bus up the hill. My raingear dried off a little during the bus ride, and got hopelessly soaked again within a minute of getting off and riding towards my meeting with my sister. After a lovely cup of tea I slipped my soggy rain jacket back on, slapped my wet cycling cap and helmet back on my head, and headed home. It was still raining.
Home now, and happy to be dry again. But oh, what a rain that was! If it was still light out I would've been tempted to grab Stompy and go splash through the mud puddles at the nearby park. But that will come soon enough. Hopefully we'll see more showers in the coming weeks, and by the time I get to Alpenrose on the first Sunday in October, the fields will be suitably muddy. My inner 10-year-old is grinning maniacally, almost painfully, at the thought.

Bring it on. I am so ready for Autumn in the northwest.