A long January

It was a wet month.

Okay, if you from somewhere else, you may be like “Of course it was. You live in the Pacific Northwest.” Yes, we have a damp and dreary reputation. But as I’ve said before, we see more of the “perpetual drizzle” than hard rain in the winter. Oh sure, hard rain does happen from time to time, but it’s not the default.

After a really dry November (statistically our wettest month) and a fairly dry December, January seems to be making up for the lack of rain. We had 7 1/2 inches, which is 2 1/2 inches over the average. It was the wettest month in three years.

This rain makes it difficult for leisurely biking. Sure, I’ll do errands and utility rides, but I’m not one of those folks who’s going to bang out a fifty mile ride when it’s pouring. I’ve been close enough to hypothermia on a couple rides to know that it’s not fun.

And this has been frustrating for me. I started off January high on life. After the cabins trip, I was eager to do more rides. Then I got sick, then I got busy, and the rain never seemed like it was going to let up. Now we’re in February and I’m itching. Especially since there’s some longer rides around the corner–Chehalem Range in March, some small touring possible later in April. I don’t want to feel so worn out of shape for them.

And forget camping. I had hoped that I’d get in an overnight, but drenching rain and long nights don’t exactly equal a great recipe for sleeping outside. I hope that there will be a good window in February that I can sneak away for the night, maybe to Oxbow.

It hasn’t been raining as much this month, so far. But we’ve only started. Thankfully, February is a short month, and spring is around the corner…