The last thing I did before I left work yesterday was order new tires for my truck. I got 33/12.5-15 Firestone Destination MTs - they are the biggest I can fit without serious modifications. I'm in serious need of new treads, and these are the tires I've been drooling about all winter - I can't wait.
Then I get home to find a message on my answering machine from TireRack.com (where I ordere the tires) saying the tires are being shipped from Deleware, so they should be here by the end of the week - very good news, since I'm an instant gratification kind of guy, the waiting kills me.
Then I get changed, load up the bike gear, and rush out to the trails hoping to get in a decent ride before the rain hits. I made it to the trailhead and the skies were still clear. About 10 minutes in I totally bonked - I had no wind what so ever, had those sharp pains in my side, and was very pukey feeling. So I bypassed some of the harder trails and bigger climbs. At about the 20 minute mark, the skies got really dark and I could hear thunder/see lighting in the distance. I cut the ride short and headed for my truck. I got back just in time... got my gear off just as the heavy rain started. I loaded my bike in the heavy rain and jumped in my truck - wet, but not soaked to the bone.
About 1/4 down the road, the rain really hit hard. I had my wipers going as fast as they could and I was creeping along at idle speed - I still couldn't see well enough to feel comfortable driving. Fortunately, I was in the middle of nowhere, so traffic wasn't an issue. I crept along for about 30 minutes down the 2.5mile road until I got back to the highway. Once I was back on the highway, I realized that my truck (with my bike on top) was the tallest thing around - I was a moving lightning rod. So I pulled over and took the bike down, threw it in the back of my truck. Now I really was soaked to the bone.
I continued home to find branches and powerlines down all over town. I haven't heard anything yet, but I wouldn't be surprise if a tornado went though - it was easily the worst storm I'd ever seen.
The one good thing that did come from the ride is I think I may have found a good fishing hole. The trails I rode wind around a pretty large pond with a lot of visible structure. I'm going to take my kayak and my fishing gear up sometime and see what the fishing is like.
So now I'm back home, showered, and dried out. I'm looking forward to sitting down with a couple of beers and watching one of the movies that were scheduled to arrive from Netflix. Well, they didn't get here, so I was stuck watching CSI with the Mrs.
All in all, it was a good night - just crazy.
Then I get home to find a message on my answering machine from TireRack.com (where I ordere the tires) saying the tires are being shipped from Deleware, so they should be here by the end of the week - very good news, since I'm an instant gratification kind of guy, the waiting kills me.
Then I get changed, load up the bike gear, and rush out to the trails hoping to get in a decent ride before the rain hits. I made it to the trailhead and the skies were still clear. About 10 minutes in I totally bonked - I had no wind what so ever, had those sharp pains in my side, and was very pukey feeling. So I bypassed some of the harder trails and bigger climbs. At about the 20 minute mark, the skies got really dark and I could hear thunder/see lighting in the distance. I cut the ride short and headed for my truck. I got back just in time... got my gear off just as the heavy rain started. I loaded my bike in the heavy rain and jumped in my truck - wet, but not soaked to the bone.
About 1/4 down the road, the rain really hit hard. I had my wipers going as fast as they could and I was creeping along at idle speed - I still couldn't see well enough to feel comfortable driving. Fortunately, I was in the middle of nowhere, so traffic wasn't an issue. I crept along for about 30 minutes down the 2.5mile road until I got back to the highway. Once I was back on the highway, I realized that my truck (with my bike on top) was the tallest thing around - I was a moving lightning rod. So I pulled over and took the bike down, threw it in the back of my truck. Now I really was soaked to the bone.
I continued home to find branches and powerlines down all over town. I haven't heard anything yet, but I wouldn't be surprise if a tornado went though - it was easily the worst storm I'd ever seen.
The one good thing that did come from the ride is I think I may have found a good fishing hole. The trails I rode wind around a pretty large pond with a lot of visible structure. I'm going to take my kayak and my fishing gear up sometime and see what the fishing is like.
So now I'm back home, showered, and dried out. I'm looking forward to sitting down with a couple of beers and watching one of the movies that were scheduled to arrive from Netflix. Well, they didn't get here, so I was stuck watching CSI with the Mrs.
All in all, it was a good night - just crazy.
