Rain!

[sonia]

It's raining! Real rain, not just mist. That's news here in June. And I just got myself organized to catch the cold water in a bucket before starting my shower, too. The plants outside are going to get even more of an extra treat. There's an expansive meyer lemon tree out there, and a lot of smaller plants, including culinary sage that I've been harvesting for my stir-fries.

I'm planning a bike excursion for this afternoon. I do know where my rain pants are! On the ride up Grizzly Peak last weekend I chatted with a passing cyclist for a bit, and mentioned that I had just moved from Portland. "Oh, that explains the fenders!" he said. I didn't realize people were looking at my bike funny. I wasn't planning to take them off since it does rain in winter, and here they're going to come in handy much sooner than I expected. Reminds me of that Tour de Blast ride where no one else had fenders in the drippy weather.

I remember when I had a road bike with no rack, no fenders, as light as possible for hill-climbing, and a separate bike for errands. Now I use the same bike for everything. I kept my previous bike as a backup when I bought the new one last year, and it also has a rack and fenders. More useful that way if I suddenly need it because of an unexpected flat tire.

Comments

Always prepared

[jesse_the_k]

Is a great state, whether OR or CA.

I’ve only visited SF four times, so I can’t imagine its petrichor. Fog, yes; rain, never! Is it different from Portland?

Re: Always prepared

[sonia]

Interesting question! Looks like it's falling straight down out there, no wind. In Portland there's usually a south wind with rain. Then again I haven't tried to bike in it yet. I saw someone with an umbrella walking by! Very few umbrella users in Portland. Also the ongoing foot and bike traffic has pretty much stopped, unlike in Portland where people put on their raingear and go out anyway.

Reminder to self: It's probably really slippery out there since this is the first rain for weeks or months.

[thistleingrey]

Another friend recently noted that it often rains in June in CA's middle, but (as she says) hardly anyone remembers.... Her current location is a bit north, but she's lived in the city for years as well.

[sonia]

I had completely forgotten, and also many of the years I lived here were drought years. In Portland it usually stays chilly and rainy until after July 4, and I remember being dismayed by that the first year.

[thistleingrey]

This is a drought year, too, I think--but nothing I know of in CA can compare to PDX or Seattle/Tacoma for precipitation!