I can't help but think of this after a day like today:Ooh man. Oh man oh man oh man oh man oh man, so this is what we had in store going into the day:And what a day it was. Yesterday's mentions of highs and lows were in full effect today. I'll begin by saying, if you show me a cyclist who enjoys racing in the rain, I'll show you a liar*. Look, you might be good in the rain, skilled in the rain, maybe just less bad than others in the rain, but to enjoy rain? Nope, being hedonistic towards dangerous conditions isn't true.So aforementioned highs and lows, let's discuss.- We woke up to rain: boo.- We went to breakfast: yea!- Rain continued to fall: boo.- Here we are driving into the start town. Fans are lined 5 deep and best yet, as we drove to the race it dried up somewhat and was even mildly bright: yea!- Someone in the cycling hierarchy deemed it muddy/dangerous/stupid enough to warrant removing two cobble sectors: neither yea nor boo. They were random sectors to remove and certainly not for any reason resembling rider safety; furthermore by looking at a map you see they simply yanked out the two sectors with the easiest detours.- Moments before the race started it got cold and started to rain. And the rain only got worse throughout the rest of the day: boo.- There was righteous wind blowing, but conveniently in a favorable direction, making for a shorter stage: yea!30+kph wind, however, makes for a very anxious bunch. (Bunch = peloton) And in the wet on an already really nervous stage, this is the recipe for disaster. Crashes ensue en masse: boo.- While Froome's abandonment from the race means I move up a spot on GC (yea! ...cough cough, that's sarcasm), I'd much rather have him in the race making an animated Tour. Froome's DFN: double boo.- I didn't have to waste any time drinking, because it was freezing and if I really wanted to drink I'd just open my mouth skyward: yea!- I literally shivered for 3.5 straight hours. Violent shivering for the final 2: boo.- I finished the race and had maple cookies which were gifted to me on stage one and Justin's maple almond butter from team Robichaud: YEA!- Here's a glamor shot of what's happening outside the bus as we speak -- hint, it's damp:See, surf the highs and ride out the lows. Thriving is all about equilibrium. In news related to the day, as I pick my nose right now, I'm not just collecting a little bit of dirt, but instead have the making of a sizable sandbox. I'm curious how much mud I have in my lungs.And to end on a high note, the hot shower on the bus post race was nearly enough to make me cry tears of joy.Onward!* Okay, Lars Boom, who is something of an anomaly anyway, might like the rain. But he's an outlier. Correct, the outlier.