So the ride was great.

Aside from the fact that my feet were soaked through 10 minutes into a three-hour ride.

And the fierce howling wind in our faces climbing the Tramway hill.

And the driving rain at the top (and the gust there that literally nearly blew both of us off of our bikes).

And the bit where Jaime went down going across the railroad tracks, that wasn't so keen.

And the part where I got a flat tire, rolling down Paseo del Norte at speed, that was a little disconcerting (and sitting on the sidewalk in the wind fixing it, and having it start raining, that was a little uncomfortable).

And the way Jaime's mobile kept ringing all morning, on account of he's the photo editor and there was a lot of storm-inspired photojournalism to be managed, that was a bit of a distraction.

OK, but that's all just whining (or maybe bragging). Because despite the problems, it was an amazing day.

The Rio Grande was running high and looking like a river (which it doesn't often these days), there was mud and water everywhere, clouds slamming down and breaking open, pouring over the mountains from the east, boiling up the valley from the south, swirling and ripping and tearing. Somethin' about being out there in the middle of all that on a bike. Pretty much complete fun.