Arturo leaves the bike at work and I learn to fear the rain: Feb in Austin

I was sitting at home with nowhere to be and a huge wind came up and tore our screen off. Within minutes torrential rain like nothing the northwest ever gets was coming down and the temperature had dropped almost 30 degrees. Water filled the street and our nearby dry creek became a river. We lost a couple more screens. I thought about how Austin is in a flash flood plain and was happy for the strange cinder blocks that elevate our house a foot or so off the ground. I wondered if our neighbor's kitten, its first night out of doors, had made it back indoors or was still under our house.

The housemates and I gathered around the porch door and discussed tornado readiness and what we'd do if we got stuck out on our bikes in something like this.

Spike claimed he'd take refuge on the nearest porch, "I'd tell them, don't worry I won't steal anything."

I said, "Glad I'm not getting off work right now." It was the right time of night just the wrong day of the week. Just then a text from my co-worker, his shift about to end: OMG! I biked to work.


In Portland I scoffed at people who refused to bike in the rain. I own some pretty nifty rain gear but no way it could compete with this. Here's crossing my fingers I stay lucky. Red, my friends, means bad.