Day 5 - first ride in the rain, Friday May 24th

Parked at work.  Nice sunny spot.

When I got up this morning there were no eggs in the fridge so I rode the ELF over to the CVS.  It had been raining over night so the windshield was fogged up.  I hadn't had any coffee yet so I just squinted through it and made my way up the hill.  The eggs fit nicely in the shelf and they survived the bumpy ride without any breakage.   

Twist ties hold the saddle bags on the cleats

After breakfast I took some time to clean the windshield with some Windex (recommended with the user's manual) and that made the visibility much better.  The ride on the trail was a bit messy but the front fenders kept most of the sand and water away.  The back window got pretty splashed, though, so I might want to look into getting a fender for the back.  I was riding along at one point and noticed that there were rain drops falling on the road.  But I was completely protected so wouldn't have even known it was raining but for the visuals.  I only got a bit of a spray while waiting for the light to turn at Southwood and 29 due to a stray gust of wind that blew the rain in the door.  I also got a few drips from where the roof isn't completely closed on the sides.  I arrived at work much dryer than when I usually ride in the rain.  In fact, I'm wondering if if I should even consider wearing work clothes during the commute.

Water bottle mount on the steering column

Kryptonite lock through the frame

Charging Station in the office

I've decided to continue riding on the sidewalk along route 29 to avoid the traffic going up the hill between the Northwest Branch stream bridge and Southwood Drive.  I'm getting on the sidewalk at Lockwood and rolling down the hill to the bridge.  So far I haven't had any problems with bikes or pedestrians going the other way, but I'm sure one of these days a biker going the other way is going to have to stop and carry the bike around the ELF.

Here's a video of my ride home on the sidewalk along 29.


As you can see from the end of the last video segment, due to a large light pole with a cement block base the sidewalk is impassible by the ELF.  I had to put one wheel of the ELF on the road and ride along the sidewalk to the crosswalk over Route 29 bypassing the blockage on the sidewalk and crossing route 29