I work as a freelancer, and to a certain limit, I can fix my own schedules. I worked on Saturday, Sunday was too wet to skate, so I decided Monday morning would be my perfect skating time – miniramp would likely to be empty at that time, and skateboarding would give an energetic start for the new week.

A day started grey, pavements were wet, but the weather forecast said cloudy, not rain. Optimistically, I put the skateboard on the back of my bicycle, and headed off to Vilvoorde. It is a small city just next to Brussels, only about 11 kilometres from where I live. There’s a miniramp under the bridge – that I thought would be wide enough to have kept the miniramp dry. So had I seen it before. Raining, but still nice clean and dry miniramp.

Just when left home, it started to drizzle. Ignored it, and just kept going. After all, there’s a big bridge covering the ramp. Had a tiny worry will the rain be bad for my lovely new cat board. Of course had not covered it, cause it did not rain when left the house…

Got to Vilvoorde. Took even a happy selfie and sent it to dude, to show off how brisk I am: out and about on Monday morning. Then the reality hit: wind blew drizzling rain to every direction and to everywhere, and the miniramp was all wet. Not on selfie mood anymore. Also, cat skateboard was bit damp!

I got obsessed to keep it dry, so started the hunt for a plastic bag, which turned out to be a mission. I was in an industrial area, no usual supermarkets around. First stop was some kind of electrical equipment shop. I can assure you, I looked very different that all the other customers. They were all workmen in their work clothes, and well, I was me: wet hoodie and leggings, wearing helmet, carrying the cat skate board, nose dripping (after all, I had been cycling in the rain quite a while already). Queue were too long,  lost patience, so it was time for stop two: shop for tiles and likes. Very nicely dressed and nice lady advised: “We are not actually a shop for plastic bags.” I got lucky on a third shop (for office supplies) after the language barrier – Dutch/French/English – was sorted out.

Then only needed to head back to Brussels, and for that direction wind was against me.