Biking, biking....and rain!

I am not graceful, I don't have dimples and I don't have a beauty mark... I am clumsy, and hey...I can admit that and laugh about it. Thank goodness I can, because if I couldn't I would be a sad sad person.
The supreme awkwardness began in junior high (elementary school no one cares if you're clumsy or not) First day of junior high I fell UP the stairs, yes UP the stairs in front of the whole school while we were waiting to be led to homeroom....from that point on I knew I either had to choose to laugh or cry. BUT the one thing I could do was bike...I used to ride my bike everywhere. I loved riding my bike. Sure, I had some tumbles (the usual running into a mailbox, car, falling off the sidewalk), but what kid hasn't had those mishaps? I was actually pretty good at riding my bike, I could even do the no hands, feet on the handlebars trick...(I impressed many with that one)
My dad used to go on long bikerides and one day he wanted me to accompany him. Keep in mind this is before I had a bike with gears...he just kept going farther and farther away from home...I didn't think we were ever going to turn around. I was exhausted. Finally I saw a big hill in the distance...thank goodness! This should be fun! I had good speed going and dad was like a hundred miles in front of me when I saw that tree. I say "that tree" because about 5 seconds later, I ran into the tree.  I'm just lying there on the ground with my bike on top of me watching my dad ride off into the distance. When he finally realized I wasn't behind him, he turned to see me just sitting there hanging out with my bike...I thought I got tired and just stopped to take a break. After he "took a break" also we continued pedaling on...but I wasn't happy.
As I grew older, my bike and I became strangers...It just wasn't cool to ride your bike everywhere and I had much more important things to do...Softball, basketball, tennis... Needless to say I was still clumsy, but that's OK, clumsiness was becoming second nature and something everyone expected from me...The time I fell off the stage during a play, the time I fell with my bass drum and went rolling down a hill, the numerous times I fell down the steps at school, the time I fell through the bleachers...the list goes on.
Now as I embark on "Young adulthood" (OK, maybe it's not young adulthood), I have taken to riding my bike again. I try to ride at least every other day, rain or shine...today was rain (remind me not to wear white shirts on "biking in the rain days") Another embarrassing thing to happen is the dreaded "Freshman Stripe"- a very embarrassing phenomenon that occurs when your bike tires splatter your back with muddy water. Once I arrived at work I proceeded to change out of my wet clothes and into clothes suitable for work. I looked like I was tanning at the beach for two weeks. It amazed me how much road grit and mud was on my face, arms and legs. But boy, did I enjoy the ride today! I felt like a kid, having fun in the rain and mud. So unleash the child within! Enjoy the small things while riding! And enjoy riding through the deep puddles and watching the spray go everywhere!