what is it with rain predictions and sundays?

 Each week for the past three, there's been predictions of rain for the Sundays when I wanted to lead a ride. Last week, the predictions were so dire that I cancelled, and then the rain didn't come.

For this week, both The Excellent Wife (TEW) and I had rides listed. After last week, I was planning to go unless tornadoes and lightning we actually occurring and, early in the week, it looked like the weather would cooperate. And then yesterday, there were suddenly predictions of rain right across ride time.

We looked at the weather sites and apps... and TEW was relieved when her sole registrant cancelled. And then the weather predictions improved!

Three of my registrants cancelled, two due to the rain at their locations early in the morning (and one wasn't sure of ability to keep up with the registered group). But the sky was clearing as we were leaving, and, while the roads were wet, the weather was not.

So the eight of us at the start headed down to Princeton, and picked up two others, Luis and Laura OLPH. We did one of my regular routes: through ETS, then up Bayberry and Moores Mill Mt Rose to Hopewell, where we stopped at the Boro Bean.

By the time we got back on the bikes, the sky was clouding up, and instead of the reliable tailwind going east of 518, we had a headwind. I was sure that was a sign that storms were coming... but it's bright and sunny as I write this. What do I know.

The ride page includes my rides to and from home.

One of the things I like about this ride, and that I intend to continue, is that riders who are at the top end of the C+ range, and want to try a B-paced ride, usually feel comfortable coming out. I give the faster riders places to sprint (some take the opportunities, some don't), and we wait for the slower folks. This crew is good about offering encouragement (rather than telling slower folks that they shouldn't ride with us). Riders tend to self-select: if they're really not up to the pace, they don't come back. But if they're close to making it, we try to keep 'em encouraged... because we've seen some of 'em get much stronger. (Riders who want to go faster than we do also generally don't come back, either... and that's fine by me.)

And TEW's ride? She got a last-minute registrant, and led the ride anyway!