I was in my favorite cocktail bar celebrating the felony conviction of a former president while rain fell elsewhere in town: the sort of pop-up showers that soak this neighborhood or that for a few minutes while leaving the next block over completely dry. After settling up I kept riding around the city enjoying a mild spring evening while my wife had the kids at swimming, and I started to notice patches of wet asphalt and a few small puddles. Not enough to wish I had fenders, but enough to fill the air with the pleasant smell of petrichor.
These days at the end of the week, the end of May, the end of our children’s school year, are considerably drier than the last couple of weeks. Even the brief rain couldn’t change that. So I rode aimlessly through Richmond while I had the time, enjoying this vernal aroma and cool breeze that preceded the sunset, before heading home. They can’t all be this good, but I’m glad I get a handful of rides like this every now and then.