if the rain comes, if the rain comes

I woke up early on Monday morning to the sound of the rain lashing down outside.  I actually really like the sound of falling rain.  When you're all tucked up in bed, it's very soothing.  Unfortunately for me, it was still raining a couple of hours later when I had to leave the comfort of my bed to get onto my bike for the ride into work.  The cat had a look out of the back door when I opened it to get my bike, but she had the luxury of turning on her heel and heading back to bed.  Alas, I did not.

With the crazy weather we've been having, it really wasn't much of a surprise to see that the sun had come out by the time I was showered and at my desk ready to start the week.  It's when the weather is like this that people stop cursing you as a cyclist for avoiding all the traffic jams caused by Nottingham's interminable tram works (three years and counting) and pretend to sympathise whilst smugly thinking how they arrived to work all cosy and dry.

The weather actually doesn't bother me, and I cycled to work on Monday in the rain thinking about how much I was enjoying it.  Sure, I got wet and it was a Monday morning and I had the prospect of wet gear festering in my locker waiting for the ride home, but it really wasn't so bad.  Over the two years I've been commuting on my bike, I've really come to value that 15-20 minute blast in the fresh air at the beginning and end of each day.  I work in a large office and spend a lot of time at my desk or in meetings in windowless rooms.  If I drove to work, I'd barely know what the weather was doing from one day to the next.  This way, at least I get a real feel for it.  What's the point in being worried about a bit of weather?  I have a waterproof jacket, access to a hot shower at either end and a locker with a change of clothes...why worry about a bit of rain?  Plus, at this time of year, I get to enjoy the baby bunnies frolicking in the grass alongside the cycle path.

This year has really been all about the running up until now, but since the New Year, I've also cycled something over 520 miles.  Almost all of it going backwards and forwards between home and the office. Together with the 550-odd miles that I've run in the same period, I suppose I've had plenty of time to get hardened to the British climate.

...although, of course, I don't count the cycling as exercise.  I'm sure Alistair Brownlee is the same.  Maybe Bradley Wiggins too.