19 August 2018

And with that… we reached the 4000 mile mark

Sharmila was out for five days. I could not take the motorcycle out. Well, I could have but was too scared to. The first thought that always went thru my mind was “What if something happens to me? Who is going to pick Nikita up from school?” 🙂

Well, she came back last night (actually early this morning – that too without her suitcase but that is a different story altogether). This morning took the bike out for a spin and came back home totally drenched in the rains.

But reached the 4000 mile mark, nonetheless!!

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12 August 2018

First bike ride thru some good rains

Nobody in our group was ready to bike today. Luckily, Avi’s tennis match was canceled – else I was going to have to ride all by myself.

Rode up to Helen and had lunch at a restaurant by the river. The real fun was on our way back. For about 5 miles, we got completely drenched by a good bit of rain. Unfortunately, we were on the highway by then and there were not too many places to pull over to. We just kept going.

The low visibility with the raindrops splattering on the helmet visor made sure our speeds were slower than normal. I, of course, was scared stiff of any hydroplaning. But what was really making me miserable was how cold it was feeling on the skin – drenched like a drain rat and then the wind hitting us continuously (we were riding at around 60 mph (100 kmph)).

We kept pulling thru – all the time I kept myself warm thinking of how I was going to jump into the hot tub once I reached home.

This being, Atlanta, I did not have to worry about any such thing. In about 5 miles, we hit broad sunlight. There was not a drop of water on the road. Back to hot and humid weather.

With speeds picking up and the sun beating down, the clothes were dry before we knew it.

That was a good trip, all in all. Gained a little more confidence in riding in the rain…

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12 August 2018

Great runs on a Sunday morning.

The first run was a 5K with Nikita. I am loving the runs with her – although, I have to admit, she is kicking my butt in the last couple of K’s. I absolutely need to take a break in the uphill portion of the run but she just keeps ploughing thru.

To prove that I am not completely done, I went back for another 5K run by myself…

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10 August 2018

This, to my mom, is a “great weather day”

Saw an interesting sight when I went out for a run a couple of days back. I pulled my car up to the parking lot of a city park and then got out. As I started stretching those old, creaky muscles, I came upon this unique sight. In my thirteen years of running, I have certainly seen runners change clothes mid way (I myself have done this for long 20 mile runs on very hot days). But this is the first time I came upon a runner who had laid out his clothes to dry out on his car. A Mercedes SUV, no less! I assume he washed it in the bathroom sink, set it up for drying and went back for running.

Which is something my mom would completely approve of. Every morning, when I call her up, invariably, she would start with the weather. I can tell you, from the mere tone of her voice, how much it has rained that day. A great weather day means that there were no clouds, no rain – the sun out in full glory the whole day. Terrible weather means it has been raining or at least has been cloudy. A disastrous day means it started very sunny and quickly the rains came in.

See, for my mom, the barometer for weather is entirely defined by her ability to set the clothes she washes every morning up for drying in the clothesline up in the terrace. Continuous, merciless sunlight? Sounds like a perfect day. Nothing messes her up more than being stuck with a bucket full of washed and wrung clothes and no ability to put them up to dry. Well, there is something that messes her up more. It is those days when the clothes start drying in the sun and then are completely undone by sudden rains!!!

“But, mom, this is monsoon season. We need rains. The farmers need it. The crops need it”, I tried arguing with her.

In a determined bid to stand her ground while empathisizing with the farmers, she retorted “Saara raat brishti poruk na. Ami to kicchu bolcchi na.” (Let it rain the whole night. I have no issue.)

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