It is cold and wet

Today I discovered that my waterproof pannier (or rear bag) for my bike really is waterproof.

Despite the fact that it has rain most of the afternoon and evening. We have only received officially 0.16” of rain and it is enough to trigger flood warnings. We might receive between 0.25” and 0.75” before it is over. I have discovered that there are some storm drains on the major roads, but not as many as in Hampton Roads.

What made my ride so miserable this evening was the fact that it was breezy and 60 degrees. In stead of biking in the flooded bike lanes, I stuck to the wider and raised sidewalks. This also meant that I did not have to worry about cars splashing me and I could take me time pedaling home. I could have taken the bus, but I had to find out how waterproof that bag was.

So how does this area handle such flooding? Most of the neighborhood parks are built in a manmade depression, this is where the storm water runs off to. Many apartment complexes and business parks have these manmade depressions as well that become a small lake for a couple of days after a good rain.

I know, I just referred to 0.16” of rain as flooding. But keep in mind that we have only had 2.34” of rain so far this year which is about 1.5” below normal.

Apparently, the storm dumped snow around the Grand Canyon and will continue through tomorrow and then the clouds will clear out Saturday morning. I will not be biking tomorrow, but that is because I have to meet a faculty member off-campus.