Cycling in the rain

Rain. I don't usually set out in it and infrequently get caught it in. Still.... Gloomy, wet twilight at the end of my work day with light rainfall. Big problems with the subway -- result of a crash yesterday -- kept me from wishing to Metro home. A third of my way home bone-chilling rain, drenching me, pooling cold water in my mittens and shoes. Not my cup of tea. I kept myself going by thoughts of the warm bath I would give myself at home and also tried to keep in mind the professional cyclists from Belgium and Holland who specialized in triumphing in cold, wet races: men like Willy Planckaert and Joop Zoetemelk. These men gloried in the weather I was cursing.