Well, it was Tour de Cure ride today for Team Lockheed Martin as we help contribute to the cure for diabetes. Weather forecast was very iffy going into today. Got up early and gathered enough sandwich bags to keep the electronics dry (phone, Garmin, pedometer) and headed out. Found the LM tent and got the new jersey which is pretty bangin' I must say. Would have a picture, but it's a soggy mess right now.
Big group started out for the 64 mile version on time. Went through some rain on the way to Boundary Waters Park, but not raining at the start. Very wet streets though. Large rooster tails made drafting very difficult. Although humid, the streets were slowly drying out with some sun peeking through at times. The Tour de Cure is different from most other group rides as the emphasis is on company teams so there are groups of riders wearing their company jerseys and riding more or less together.
Hooked up with one of my LM buddies the the mid-way sag stop. As we headed out, we noticed the ominous dark cloud ahead of us. We made a turn which looked like we were turning away from the main cloud. Uhh, not really. A few big drops, then heavy rain with 50+ mph wind. Almost got blown off the road and my buddy Brad went down but was okay. We're talking Caddyshack storm with a large temperature drop. After a couple of bolts of lightning, we got off the road under some trees (low ones!) in some guy's yard. Howdy, neighbor! The storm was moving fast so the big stuff was over in 10 minutes. Several riders joined up and we slogged toward the finish teeth chattering and wishing I was home on the couch watching golf.
As we got on the main road back, we had to dodge several large tree limbs and junk that had been blown into the road. About 12 miles out a Chattahoochee Hills cop with lights blazing roared up and told me (all of us) to stop. Said the whole event had been called off and to turn off at the last SAG stop about 2 miles up ahead and catch the SAG wagon back to the park. The rain had pretty much stopped and we had warmed up considerably. Well, we try to be good citizens and obey officers of the law, but the SAG had already closed up and nobody knew about any cancellation. Rumbling of thunder in the distance, but we decided to soldier on and rode up on several groups of riders some of whom were really suffering. Everybody likes to ride for a good cause, but some riders just haven't put in enough training time on road hills and have a hard time finishing even the shorter routes. And the Silk Sheets punishes the ill prepared. Believe me, i know!
With cooler temps, I started rolling pretty good (smelling the barn?) and picked up the pace. Rolled back into Boundary Waters Park looking to get some of the post-ride grub at the Team Lockheed Martin tent. Well, it was a disaster area, too. Standing water everywhere and all the Tour de Cure event stuff was packed up or blown to Alabama. There was chow from Willy's though! Pretty good even when having to eat totally soaking wet.
The Green Machine needs a bath! I get to try the ol' newspaper trick to dry out the shoes.
You have events long enough and you're going to get bit by the weather. All in all, it wasn't too bad except for the first few minutes of the storm when I had big doubts as to being able to finish in driving rain and head-on into a substantial wind. Best that I have felt after a long ride in the Silk Sheets.
