Tornado Warning? Let's Go Riding!

Those of you living in states with actual weather that changes from day to day might not know that Phoenix has been having some delightfully rainy, windy, stormy weather.*

Yesterday morning, it was actually raining outside. Naturally, I put on my terrible, awful, no-fun-at all rain gear. After 10 minutes of struggle to get into my rainsuit, the zipper on the jacket broke. Luckily, the velcro flap that goes over the zipper is strong, because there was no way I was taking it all off again after all that effort.

The ride in to the office was a bit wet, but not bad. The ride home, though... ho ho! Plenty of rain, and more importantly, lots of wind.

Riding across constant wind and rain, in my crazy opinion, is a heck of a lot of fun. You get to lean into the weather and it just feels so... purposeful. It's like being an explorer, only at the end of the trip is hot pizza and dry pants instead of hungry cannibals and scurvy.

So this morning, I rode in to work - of course - in the rain. And everyone in the office stopped by to ask how the ride was today and, more importantly, yesterday.

Here in Phoenix, people aren't accustomed to things like inclement weather. What could I have been thinking going out there with nothing but a polyester rainsuit and a helmet to protect me from the elements?

Well, between you and me, I was thinking "WHEEEE!"

Last night there was an honest-to-God tornado warning in my area. I didn't know about it, of course. We were advised to go to the basement. What basement? There are no basements in Phoenix. And besides, had I known there was a real tornado warning, I would have been compelled to go outside and watch!

I know I'm not the only one who feels this way. Maybe it's a Minnesotan thing, but whenever there's a storm, Lady Luck and I will go outside and, sure enough, our neighbors from Minnesota are all out with us watching the sky.

Safe? Probably not. Wise? Certainly not.

Fun? Oh yeah.

So, if you need to find me during inclement weather... chances are I'll be out in it, loving every minute.


*I told Irondad thanks for bringing it, by the way