rainbows and rain showers

i just wanted to share this experience, albeit no pictures, from today.

i had a long list of errands to run today but on the way home from the office the weather was absolutely perfect. not too hot and absolutely stunning light.

dropping everything, i loaded up my bike. exercise and beauty. sounds like a winner to me.

about 10 minutes into my ride around lake jackson, the largest lake in sebring, (although not in highlands county) a rainbow started to form over the water. first one end appeared, then the other end. the middle came around eventually to produce the single most impressive and complete rainbow i'd ever seen. end to end perfection. i could even see where one half of it ended, although it was over the water and my scuba gear is out on repair so i wasn't able to go searching for the pot 'o gold. sad, i know.

just behind the rainbow were dark gray streaks: rain dumping out on the other side of the lake. it seemed to be heading away from me for a minute. then there were more gray streaks and much closer.

then there was ten minutes of absolute rain fury. actually, it was pretty mild, but the story is better if absolute rain fury.

so, like i said, absolute rain fury and i'm stuck on my bike, pedaling alongside six lanes of traffic. drivers snickered, trucks sloshed water, rain pelted me senseless.

not really. the rain did sting my eyes a little and i'm sure more than one person noticed the moron riding around in the rain but it felt more like a nike commercial than anything.

it was a quick shower. it soaked my shirt and my hair but both were fairly dry by the time my hour ride was over. the rain felt nice. cleansing. now i can partially understand why oregon is so appealing to people.

that is all. i normally don't give a crap about rainbows, but this was the supermodel of all rainbows. therefore deserving documentation. sorry about no pictures. it probably would have ruined it anyway.

good night.