Stopped by a tornado

Nope. I did not ride all the miles today. Connie and I started out at 7:30. Skies were grey. Ominous looking. Winds were strong. And they got stronger. We rode. We rode a lot. And the winds got stronger and stronger. The ride, 83 miles, at one point seemed impossible to me. The wind was so strong that we were pedaling in place. It was not fun. It seemed grueling. And we kept it up.

Connie boosted me. I, her. Sherry had left much earlier, wanting to skip ahead of the storms. Connie and I ate breakfast and then left.

And the winds got stronger as we went.

We made it to mile 43 and I thought we had it. We had managed to figure it out, to find ways to pedal hard during the blasts, to work with the wind when we could.

We made it to mile 56 and I thought we had it. Less than 30 to go. Completely doable. But we stopped for a break and I noticed the tv with a weather warning. A Tornado warning. And that was it.

I do not want to be picked up by a tornado. I don't know how these things work, but I do know that I did not want to experience my first one on my bicycle. So we decided to stop. And then we helped collect all the other folks who were still out on the road. By that time the skies were filled with lightening and thunder and the winds were roaring and I was glad to be in the van even though it meant we did not ride all the miles today.

20 miles missed.
But, on the other hand, we're alive. Not flying somewhere out of control.

Sherry made it and so did two others.
Connie and I missed the 20 miles.
But not really.

I'll be in touch tomorrow.

(Oh, this picture is of me and Ann, one of the riders/SAG drivers. She gave me some road-find beads. And they match my teal toenails. NICE!)