Mother Nature, you won this one...

After riding home from work the other day in the pouring rain... in street clothes, I decided that I ought to be more prepared. So, I dug out an old pair of clear vinyl rain pants and have been packing them in my bag for emergencies.

Yesterday, as I was planning to leave work, it wasn't raining, but it looked like it would so I put on these dorky pants just in case. I was soaked by the time I got home, but it didn't rain at all. I can't believe how hot those suckers are.

This morning, just as I was getting ready to leave, a few snow flurries started trickling down fromt the sky. "No bother," I thought, "that little snow won't really get me wet, but I know those vinyl rain pants will." Unfortunately, by the time I was about half-way there, I was riding into an 18 mph head-wind with snow coming down so fast I had very little visibility. By the time I got to work, my face was numb and I had about 1/2" of snow packed on the front of my jeans. I'm soaked.

One of these days, I'll get it right. For now, I'll have to keep my legs under my desk until my jeans dry.... which isn't going very quickly. Stupid jeans.

Trendy me.

Some may call it suicidal, others might classify it as overly ambitious. We're committed, though. Committed to a 2.5 week vacation on the road. A vacation with our three small children. A vacation that will lead us (in a car) over most of the United States. Needless to say, I'm scared. Well, that's not quite right. I was scared. I've accepted it now and I'm just stupidly optimistic about having the best family vacation ever.

"If I'm going to be on the road, behind the wheel that long," I reasoned with my wife, "I'm going to need a lot of music and audiobooks. Do you have any idea how much room all those CDs will take up in the car?" Thus began my light-hearted appeal for an iPod. It wouldn't be my first appeal--certainly, after so many, I had to laugh even as I presented the argument to my wife--but it ended up being my last.

I always told myself that I wouldn't get an iPod. "Surely their over-priced and just a bit trendy for me." Well, after shopping around a bit, here I am, listening to mp3s off my iPod. Initially, I was going to go for a new 6gb Mini, but my wife--yes, my frugal wife--that suggested $50 more for 14gb more capacity would be the better choice. Trendy I may be, but happy I am with my new 20gb iPod.

Surely, with my iPod packed with songs and books, the trip can't go wrong, can it?

Finally, Commuter Pics

Here's the commuter with fenders. I had to swap out the front tire, as it didn't fit with the fender and that puny fork. 

Finally, here are pictures of the commuter. Here it is without fenders.