Frankenbike Does Rain On Purpose

I try to avoid riding in the rain in North Texas. When I lived in Seattle, I often rode in the rain, but down here, it tends to make lightning when it rains, and I'm not a maniac.

However, I got a used trunk bag for Frankenbike yesterday, I have the fenders mounted, and today, was one of those "not real heavy but steady" rains that don't have sky-to-ground electricity. So we went out, initially intending to go to the gym, but diverting instead to a Starbucks run. The Tom Thumb Starbucks on Harwood has a great overhang, allowing relaxed consumption of the coffee while watching the precipitation.

It's been 30 years since I last went riding in the rain on purpose. Sweet.

It's different riding in the rain in North Texas than in Seattle. Around here, the rain is warm, the kind of rain you ride in tends to not be windy, and it's quite pleasant to ride wet as long as one's feet stay dry. In Seattle, hypothermia makes it necessary to stay a lot drier.

The trunk kept everything perfectly dry, despite the puddling evident in the picture. That would not have occurred had I had more stuff aboard beyond my gym clothes and U lock. Now I'm thinking that even if I don't get to use it all that often, riding in the rain is so fun that getting proper rain gear might be worth the expense. Dry feet, of course, are the first priority around these parts...