Wow! We have had trees uprooted before (most seem to fall across fences), but not when I was out riding.
Thanks for sharing the story. Angus On Jul 21, 7:31 pm, MichaelH <mhech...@gmail.com> wrote: > I have been riding for 30 years, and can't remember being quite as > anxious on a bicycle as I was today. Of course there are those > moments when we are struggling up hill and a semi passes way too > close; or dark is setting in and and we can hear a dog chasing behind; > but I am talking about more prolonged kind of high anxiety. > > I have been redoing my Rambouillet as a more straight forward go-fast > bike and today is a day I am really happy about that. This bike can > buggy when you ask it to. From the beginning of this ride. > > I got a late star on my ride, after lunch, despite a weather forecast > of possible thunder storms and heavy rain. I wanted to ride over to > the Village Bike Shop, about 32 miles round trip, to pick up some > small parts I had ordered; but in deference to the weather forecast > and gathering clouds, I decided to drive the first six miles to the > Price Chopper parking lot, which I figured would cut off most of an > hour, and save me from riding on the dirt roads in the rain on the > return trip. I'm not much concerned about riding in the rain, but I'm > really focused on not getting hit by lightening. > > As I headed out it was a mixture of sun & clouds, with a few drops of > rain coming down and I arrived at the bike shop pretty much hi & dry. > I kabbitzed with Gene, the proprietor, who threatened to report me to > Grant for riding with a Terry Ti Fly Saddle. But when I headed back > the sky had turned quite dark to the SW, the direction I was headed. > So I put my head down and the my feet to the pedals and avg. 20+ mph > along the river road for the 7 miles to Sand Hill Road. That's a > pretty dammed good pace for a 65 year old, overweight guy. The air > was completely calm and I figured if the storm came out of the SE, I > was now headed N and would be OK. > > Sand Hill Road has two steep ramps, each about a half mile long, and I > powered up them at a decent clip; but just as I reached the top of the > second, maybe 2-3 miles from my car, I was hit by a wall of water and > the hardest wind I have ever tried to pedal into. Within 30 seconds > it was very dark, the road was filled with water and there were small > branches all over the place. I could barely keep the bike going > forward, and was wobbling all over the place as I heard a siren and > vehicles coming up behind me. It scared the hell out of me and I > didn't feel like I had any good choices - motoring on and risk getting > hit by a car or truck; or getting off and walking and risk getting > hit by lightening. I decided to motor up the road another mile to the > home of a friend. I made it; but there didn't seem to be anyone home > and I was just about to try the back door, when he opened up and > invited me in. I was soaked to the bone and he said he didn't > recognize me at first but figured I was a stranger seeking shelter. > He was just about to head to the basement in response to a tornado > warning. > > I sat out the storm and rode the last two miles, slowly, in a light > rain. When I got to my car and started driving, I found the road home > covered in small branches and trees. Chain saws wined everywhere. At > home, I found 4 fully grown fruit trees uprooted, the lawn furniture > blown away, most of our tomato plants destroyed and the electricity > out. But my wife, who had been in the basement, was happy to see me > alive. > > BTW, the bike computer registered the 18 mile trip in just over one > hour. > > Michael, > Westford, VT -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bu...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
