Getting our feet wet

You can test your courage by deliberately entering into a challenging situation--or, you can have it tested for you by entering an innocuous situation that turns challenging. Yesterday, we were kind of reluctant to try the former. Today, we ended up with the latter--it was fine when we started our ride, but it soon started raining. I was glad to find that the raingear and fenders worked just as advertised, and heck--having gotten my feet wet both metaphorically and literally, I might even opt to start a ride in the rain.

I forgot to mention one thing about Eugene, Oregon, where we did our shopping for bike fittings. It is a town that is so cycling-oriented that I feel noticeably guilty about getting around by car. I almost want to wear a sign on my shirt saying

"I'm only going by car because I came from 70 miles away and I'm not strong enough to ride here and back in one day and besides the car is a Prius so cut me some slack OK?"

The feeling is reminiscent of what I felt as an American traveling in France in 2003.