Twithter

I think we're all fascinated by adverse weather conditions, otherwise movies like Twister would have never been made... aside from some strange interest in seeing a mid-'90s Helen Hunt spend most of her waking hours in a tank top, despite any and all weather.

I can remember at some point in my youth, my father leaning a large piece of plywood against a tree and semi-securing it in a manner that a child of my age would think was bullet-proof.  We then watched an incredible storm come from across the cow field on the other side of Route 6 right towards us.  Fascinating.  Despite how much my mother yelled from the front porch of the mobile home, we stayed there under the plywood "structure" and watched Mother Nature pummel the shit out of rural Ohio through a haze of Now Menthol smoke.

Some time later, when I was a much more free-range teenager, my friends and I walked "up" trees along a trail of tornado damage that blasted a swath for miles... about five hundred yards from the same front door my mother was yelling at my dad and I from years earlier.  I can't explain what it's like to "climb" trees that are parallel to the ground.  It's just way cool.

By the time I was an adult and supposedly able to know better, Shon "War Child" Simon and I went up to Franklin, PA to go pre-ride an XC course.  This woulda been... 1994 (according to the internet).  All we had was a paper map that we had printed and... that was it.  We rode off into the woods, and hours later, the weather turned wet on us.  Our paper map disintegrated more and more very time we pulled it out.  Eventually, it was just clumps of moist paper and ink.  The rain was insane, the winds... well, there were actual tornadoes in the area. No way for us to know, although our wives at home, what with their TVs and all, were well aware of where their husbands were riding and the danger they were in.

Us?  Not so much.

So, lightning hitting trees around us, small saplings being bent to the ground by sturdy winds.  At one point, both Shon and I were knocked onto the ground by a gust and all we could really do at that point was look at each other and laugh.  A nervous laugh, but a laugh all the same.  Eventually, we found our cars, the tornadoes moved on, we got home, and our wives let us know what we were in the middle of for the better part of an hour or so.

So when I found out that we were supposed to be getting all this massive rain over the weekend, I felt drawn towards heading outside and looking at it.  I posted up my desire to be out in it on FaceBook on Friday.

Crickets.  Nobody really showed any real interest.

Saturday.  Wake up and piddle about the house.  Head to Bike Source for some needs and to Total Wine for others.

I was ready to settle in for the entire weekend.

And then Kürdt decided to reverse Ferris Bueller me.

Shit.

Called out on my own threat.  Supposedly, more heavy rain to come in just a few hours... but this was my idea.

I suited up and headed out to Birdsong Brewery to meet Kürdt.

He was way ahead of me and took photos on his way over.

Thlippery.

Thenic.

A beer at Birdsong together and then venturing out to see what three inches of rain overnight had done.

Not much...

and alot.

Headed over to the Rhino Market, more beer, and then more beer.

And then over to the Brass Tap to meet Bill Nye an Rachel... and more beer.

It was more than obvious we were killing time (and our livers) waiting for the big payoff, an epic ride home in a torrential downpour. 

But it never came.

I rode home some time before dark, dry as a bone, somewhat let down.  I don't wish hardship and financial loss on others (from FaceBook⇣ ⇣ ⇣ ).

I just wanted some swollen streams to stand by in amazement.  I got none.

But I did watch First Blood: Part 2 when I got home... which maybe shoulda just been called Second Blood.  Dunno.

At least the weekend went by, and I didn't feel like a total piece of shit for not getting out on my bike... because I did... because Kürdt made me.

Ride photos from Kürdt