Winter carnival

Date: Feb. 11
Mileage: 39.5
February mileage: 225.4
Temperature on departure: 34

I took about 15 photos of the Homer Winter Carnival parade today, and this was the driest one I got. At this point I was straddling my bike, clutching my camera with soaked-through neoprene gloves and trying to shake about a half gallon of water out of my overboots as I watched Scouts in short-sleeved uniforms march by. It rained nonstop today, melting vertical feet of snowpack and unleashing the whole mess in chocolate torrents down the streets. That didn't stop the Homerites from turning out in droves for the annual "winter" celebration, despite that fact that the car race on Beluga Lake was cancelled due to standing water and the firework show was threatened by the compounding downpour. This kind of weather should have a season all its own - something rooted in the word "gunk."

I guess the weather didn't stop me from doing a four-hour ride today, which included a too-lengthy stop to watch the parade (Brrrr). The first time I got off my bike, I realized my overboots were literally full of water. The only reason I wore them was a misguided attempt to keep my feet dry. Overboots seemed like a good idea - but I don't think you're supposed to go swimming in them. And pedaling 15 mph through 6-inch deep shush puddles pretty much qualifies as Olympic pool cycling. But it was just another important lesson - when in doubt, stick to neoprene.

I honestly thought the fireworks would be canceled, so I didn't go back to town tonight. But I just heard them go off, so I guess I stranded myself at home for nothing. Anyway, I've been killing some time and doing some blogging, and I realized that I've had this blog for three months and I've never posted a picture of my cat. People have entire blogs dedicated to their cats, and while I don't condone the idea, I do realize that my blog is becoming a little, well, single-track minded. So this is Cady. She is the world's neediest cat. She is also about as graceful as her owner is on wet ice (that is to say - not.) But she acts like she loves me, and that's gotta count for something.

Also, Caloi-Rider did a post today about the interesting ways people found his blog. I thought I'd check out my stats, and found that someone landed here earlier today with an msn search for "are people crazy in Alaska?" Hope they found their answer. T minus 6 days, 11 hours, 54 minutes and counting.