It’s been scorching hot here the past few days (and no, nobody has airco in their homes). But saturday mornings beg for a ride, so we took the road bikes out, for a rolling-but-gentle ride down Uvas road and reservoir, after which we’d cut over Willow Springs and head back along Santa Teresa Blvd. On a road bike, with faster speeds and more cooling, the heat bothers us less, such was the thinking. But this thinking proved to be rather erroneous. South San Jose was blistering; we were cooking; the aero bars on my handlebar became too hot to touch.

The screenshot from the Merc above can attest: if it’s even 97F in Half Moon Bay, it is truly hot in the Bay Area.

Now what are the odds to run into a substantial downpour on one of the first days of summer in the South Bay? Close to nada. But while we were trotting along on Santa Teresa, we got a great gift from the sky. A heat thunderstorm, rarer here than cheap gas, had developed and it started pouring down. I never suspected ten minutes of cold rain could feel so great.