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 [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
