The pavement was nice and dry when I left the house. Sure, I ignored the low, dark overcast sky. Texas weather has a way, often, of doing the equivalent of a grizzly bear’s false charge. You think the heavens are going to open with a torrent of rain only to find out that no, it’s just going to LOOK like its going to rain all day today.

Today wasn’t one of those days.

I encountered some very light drizzle during the first part of my solo ride this morning but it wasn’t enough to get the ground wet.

About ten miles into the ride, the light rain started falling. And then it happened. Portions of Bulverde Road are slick. No road texture, just patches of black, featureless pavement. I hit a small bump on Bulverde Road and felt an unnerving loss of traction beneath me. I didn’t fall (thankfully) but the feeling was disturbing.

Slick pavement. The pavement I paid homage to during hot, dry summer rides. The pavement that gave me just the little break in pedal power I needed during long climbs or recovering flats.

Slick pavement. In the rain, it became my nemesis. I genuinely became concerned about the eerie feeling of not being in total control on the slick sections of pavement – especially during descents. I also realized that I needed to be careful about my braking. Keep the speed under control without going overboard and creating a problem.

Then it happened. Traction improved significantly. The black, slick pavement replaced by a course, pebbled pavement. Just the kind of pavement I had often rebuked for slowing me down on those hot summer days.

Most of the remaining ride(view the ride on Motionbased.com) was on roads that had this coarse treatment and it wasn’t long before I was safely back to my vehicle.

Textured pavement, if you’re listening, my apologies for not appreciating your contributions to safety on the road. For cars and bikes!

Before I go, I thought I’d share a photo of some of the wildflowers at Bullis County Park (the start and finish of many of my rides) – this is a perfect example of why you should always have a camera with you. In this case, a quick snapshot with my Canon Powershot A710IS digital camera.