Adventure Ride

Summer in the Sonoran Desert here in Tucson often means monsoon. If you are lucky that is. In a good year we get about 12 inches of rain, but most of it comes in a few storms in July and August and December and January. I have been riding the 30 minute commute to work lately and decided early in the week to go riding after work on Wednesday out to Fantasy Island (http://www.mountainbikebill.com/AZ07TucsonFantasy.htm) a cool local trail system. Rain was predicted for Wednesday, but I wasn't worried, since rain is often predicted but rarely comes. So Wednesday after work rolls around and I am still ready to go ride. I look to the south and the east and see dark skies, but figure I can miss it. You see south and east are the direction I need to head. So I start out and can see and feel the storm coming, but I still figure I can make it. It was probably 20-30 mph wind I was riding into, so I thought good it will increase fitness. After about 30 minutes with 15 minutes still to go the the trail head it starts to get serious with lightning and more rain, but I figure the storm and I are headed in the opposite direction and we'll pass each other. Yeah, that's what will happen.

I was mostly correct. I got a bunch of rain, but missed most of the lightning. Some of it was really close, but luckily I missed any flash flooding. By the time I get to the trail head it is raining lightly, but there is a lot of lighting and the promise of more rain. I decide to press on. About 5 minutes in I get a feeling that I was a engaged in a bad idea and something bad was going to happen. As such, I decided to turn around and head home. I hate to cut a ride short, but I have learned to trust such feelings. I found out later why. About 15 minutes later it really started to rain and my tire went flat. I thought, 'no problem' I have two spares. Well it was a problem, neither would hold air and it really started to rain while I worked on it. So great, I have a 45 minute ride home now with a flat front tire. I try to call my wife several times to see if she can come get me, but the call won't go through. Seems the storm has moved on over to our house. She told me later there was a ton of lightning and rain at the house when I was trying to call. She was worried about me, but figured since I didn't call, things were OK. They were, but it was a long ride home in intermittant rain and lightning.

Only one mishap. As you well know, a flat tire rides decently in a straight line, but doesn't turn so well. Most of the ride was on a bike trail, but small portions were on road. Well on one of the road portions I caught the rim on a asphalt curb transition and went down on my right side. Nothing too serious and I slid a ways on the wet sidewalk, but I did re-cut my knee that was injured at the Sandia race a few weeks ago. Not a major set-back, but it hurts a little bit to bend and the flesh gets stretched. Alls well that ends well. Besides the flat it was a great ride. When it rains to rarely it is super fun to get out and cruise around in it.

So go out and have an adventure ride yourself.