"I can't remember the last time I felt so amazingly alive."

Happy Sunday, friends!

A kitty lost in the rain, being rescued
by two friendly girls.

Let's do the time warp and remember Thursday evening. The weather report called for thunderstorms, hail, rain: basically, all the sorts of precipitation and atmospheric happenings that put a sad face on the pedestrian-cyclist folk. Naturally, I decided to bike that day.

Graffiti: "Remember Your Mother"

[Enter sports sports announcer] Ding ding ding, the ultimate showdown begins! The two competitors enter the ring. In the red corner corner, weighing 130 lbs, with little-to-no athletic ability and general inability to do anything requiring balance or grace, hailing from organic veggieland Guelph, please welcome Cccchhhhaaaaaantal! [Awkward crickets.] And in the green corner, weighing an immeasurable amount, with lightning, thunder and a variety of displeasing weather antics at her disposal, please welcome Mooooother Naaaaature! [Audience cheers wildly.]

Rainbow bike tracks.

Despite the odds being against me, I gave 'er my all. I was viciously hailed on, I was brutally soaked, I was harshly scratched and I got a little muddy, too. But guys, I survived, and it felt awesome.  Riding through the rain, taking all that Mother Nature could throw at me, and making it through was so incredibly invigorating. When I got home, despite being drenched, despite being out of breath, despite everything, I felt like I could take on the world. I can't remember the last time I felt so amazingly alive.

Iron Horse Trail.

And it wasn't just that. It wasn't just the awesome feelings of independence that surged through me, but the sense of affinity. As I pedalled through the intense rain and hail, I saw so many in my position, both pedestrians and cyclists. And here's the thing: I smiled at every one of them, and every one smiled back. It was like the miserable weather was some kind of secret joke that only we were aware of, that only we understood. We chatted a bit, we laughed, we joked. Insta-bond, just add torrents of water.

Had I gone home in a car or a bus or some other motored vehicle, the experience would have been so different. I would have sat in my car, gone from A to B, without anything of particular remark happening. Instead, I was flooded with so many emotions and had such an amazing experience. Yeah, I got wet and yeah, I had to be extra careful, but I wouldn't trade it for the world.

- Chantal J. from Desire2Learn