Days mileage: 121 miles
It poured all night long and around 1230 AM the biggest storm I have ever laid witness to rolled through our campground. It really was an earth shattering type storm. I stay curled up in the fetal postion, daring not to move a muscle, while I heard grown men with full fledged beards crying out loud for their mothers. It sounded like total chaos out there on the flip side of my 1mm thick layer of tent material. The rain got heavier and the ground refused to soak up any more....this left one option for the rain and that was to puddle in every knock and cranny it could find upon the outer surface of the earth's crust. Furthermore, there was just so much my tent could keep out and it eventually gave up the battle and water slowly started to creep into my territory.
A few curse words made their way around when I discovered this happening and even more seeped out when I found that my sleeping bag was now acting as a giant sponge.
I thought about whether or not to risk runnign out and to the shelter that was no more than 30 yards from my tent...but, lightning was coming down prob every 15-30 seconds...I figured I'd best stay put and hope for the best...
I rose early to get rolling and try to put the sleepless night behind me. I started to roll out of camp and was pedaling out of the saddle when I looked down at my front wheel....and then the fork of the wheel and noticed something...
I stopped. Looked closer. Crouched down and rubbed my finger across the surface.
I stood up in astonishment.
My bike had been hit by lighting last night.
The first 3 inches of the fork (on both sides) was now a neon blue color that def was not there when I leaned it against the picnic table the night before. I went to ask two otehr folks and they were in just as much disbelief as myself. My bike, indeed, had been hit by lighting.
Yikes!
I pedaled on into another rainy day and thought about the bike, then about the storm, then about Kentucky, then about the slowly chaning terrain...
The hills were gettin uncomfortably short and steep in grade.
I finally got to Springfield, KY where the air smelled very unpleasant...I was just glad my bike hadn't blown up the night before....
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1 comment:
Oh, Michael, what an experience you had with the lightning - next time ask an RV owner to let you in! I am so glad you are safe. Watch out though, the metal of your fork may have been weakened. Good luck to you as you finish up the next few days. It's been a pleasure knowing you through Stephen and your blog.
Donna, Stephen's mom
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