Rain, rain go away

Water fell from the sky Monday.

I know it was needed in the worst drought in recent California history, but I didn't have to work and I wanted to ride.

The weather report Sunday night said it would rain the morning and clear up by the afternoon. I thought I could wait that long.

Obsessed with riding now, I checked the weather over and over throughout the morning.

The storm kept coming in.

I thought to myself, OK, I have pat the registration fee to register the bike in my name, I might as well do that now.

It took a little bit of a wait at the DMV, but I got it done.

While I was in the DMV office, reading "The Lord of the Rings" for the upteenth time, the sun came out.

By the time I got home, the clouds were back but the hourly weather forecast said there should be time between 3 and 4 p.m. 

I readied the bike and waited. 

It stopped raining, the sun came out and I waited for the roads to dry a little.

I know after a rain it can be more dangerous because the debris and oils are all sitting on the surface of the road.

Riding is so much different than driving.

You have to be aware of every little thing on the road.

A little bit of dirt on the road can ruin your day when you wipe out on it.

I held on tight and rode the same route I had done before, bbut this time I continued on River Road and crossed the Sacramento River.

Bridges are windy.

So was the rest of the route, it was sunny, but it had just rained.

I made it to Hamilton City, the wind blew me around a little bit and I let cars pass me on County Road 45 because I wasn't confident going too fast with the wind blowing me all over the road.

I eventually made it Hamilton City and turned onto Highway 32. I did stall on at the stoplight in Hamilton City (there's only one stoplight), but I made it the rest of the way without any issues.

It was fun.
The map shows the route I took. You can click on the different elements of the map to see routes and hazards.