Getting from Vashon to Orcas today was the third worst motorcycle ride of my life.

The first has to be the time I left db in a rainstorm. I was wet through in the first five miles, despite wearing three layers of clothing and gear. Then the wind picked up to 30 mph, requiring me to slow to 45 mph on I-5. I got home six hours after leaving Orcas.

The second worse ride was the final leg of last summer's Vancouver Island ride. Three of us stayed in Bellingham for lunch, and by the time we had driven ten miles south we were pelted with gumball-size hail. Luckily we were able to wait it out at my parents' house. My hands were bruised from the hail.

Today, though, was still pretty miserable. One hundred miles of solid rain, socks squishing in my boots, and drivers using techniques that could only have been learned at the Rectal-Cranial Inversion School of Driving.

Now, that damned gravel in the park. This should really make my afternoon.

And then, a soak oh hell, yes.