FanPost

Altered States

The first edition of our local Tuesday night training series. Bad weather threatened all day; around lunch, the temperature was about 80F, but by 6:30, when the race was due to start, the temperature was about 50F. The typical Ohio spring deal: Nice cool, dry Canadian air versus nasty, warm, wet second hand Gulf air. I watched the radar all day, and thought we'd probably get the race in before the storm really hit.

The course seemed to be in the sweet spot. To the north over Lake Erie, dark storm clouds were pounding down rain. To the south, freaky white clouds were rolling horizontally against a blue-black backdrop.

The fields in the race were tiny; it was more like a team training ride than a race. About 4 laps in, lightning started forking down from the southern storm, and we had a perfect view, but we kept going, a couple of prime laps came and went (I got one).

The wind picked up, and a few drops fell. Still, my main concern was watching the wheels, and making sure to be in position to jump on a strong rider's wheel if he decided to go for a long one.

Finally, hail started. A whistle blew to cut the race short (one lap left). Gales swept the course, rain, more hail. I went for it far from the line right into a very heavy headwind, the field was all over the course. I couldn't tell what was going on; two riders had gone up the road. I could barely see. The remnants of the field swept me up just before the finish.

The rain stopped, and we rode a cooldown lap while the sky went orange with the sunset.

I got home, dry by then, and thought how much fun it is to ride a bike fast; I recalled a ride from the early spring where a little terrier ran alongside me for a few hundred meters with his tongue lolling and his little mouth curled up in a smile. The little dude just liked to run.