I had to go double check my calendar before I sat down to write. I wasn’t mistaken, it is definitely June. While the bastardly conduct of O. M. Winter is well documented, I haven’t been talking about the bitchitude of spring. For weeks, I’ve had flashbacks of living in the misery of the Wet Side. Mother nature was at it again this week with an onslaught of potential misery.
Act 1 (Monday): I was turned around by snow and tree shrapnel across the road on Larch Mountain. A cold descent followed. It reminded me of getting turned around by snow on Mt. Spokane a few weeks ago. O. M. is still haunting me.
Act 2 (Tuesday): I’m already drenched and trying to get home when in Alicel I’m met with the the dark phalanx of rain moving across the valley at me. This is when I witness the unmistakable outline of a funnel cloud dropping down from the sky. What? Now I’m dodging tornadoes on my ride? I rerouted south instead of north and kept any eye on the cloud as it eventually dissipates. By the way, I have plenty of experience spotting potential tornadoes from my days in Texas.
Act 3 (Wednesday): Nice day to ride, so I take my cross bike out for a tour of the many lakes that I didn’t know we had. I narrowly make it down Wilkison Rd because of high water. Then, at the north end of the valley I have to turn around because of flooding across Rhinehart.
Act 4 (Thursday): Headwind out to the Catherine Creek summit. I get back in the valley and fronts are moving across bringing with them a wind change. It ends up being a grind into headwind for hours to get back home. A pretty good rainstorm hit me too. Just about the time I’m home a small hole of blue opens in the clouds and a few rays of sun hit me. A bid flies overhead and chirps in my early. Certainly this is Mother taunting me.
Act 5 (Today): Mother attempts an encore but gets juked by me. She expects me to ride here in the valley so she launches cold and rain. Meanwhile, we secretly shuttled south in my truck in search of the biggest hole in the clouds. We find it near Baker and Rad Doc and I proceed to knock out a 101 mile ride from to Richland and back. Guess what Mother? It was dry and warm the whole way.
Take that Motha! Despite the attacks, I’m the one still standing. . .or sitting mostly. This ends a really good run of training for me where I rode hard and long for 21 of 23 days. I’m going to Massachusetts tomorrow and I’m taking 4 straight days off my bike. I’ll be back here riding soon. And, summer begins Elkhorn weekend.
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