6 October, 2003

Back to school

Ten minutes after waking this morning, I opened the curtains. Dull, drizzly. Ugh. By the time I'd had a drink and checked my e-mail, the rain had stopped. Yay! If I'd left the house then, I'd still be dry. Not dressed, but dry.

As I was about to leave the house, the drizzle returned. By the end of the street, it was heavy. By the top of the hill (0.3 miles/0.5km), it was extraordinarily heavy; the sort that saturates everything, instantly. Lancaster rarely receives rain that heavy, and I should know, having (automatically) logged rainfall every 15 mins for five years during my PhD research, supported by a further 40 years of daily rainfall records. It's not that the drains couldn't cope, but the water wasn't running off the surface fast enough, so the whole thing was submerged.

Did I mention that I cycle to work? About 90% of a typical month's travel is either within cycling distance (~5 miles/8km) or within walking distance of a railway station, so I don't have my own car. I have a licence, of course, so could hire a van or car if I really needed.

Needless to say, the 3.5 mile/5.8km ride wasn't fun.