Shall I go risking it again?

One never knows when it comes to weather, and the forecast for tomorrow is a stormy one. There\’s a 50% chance of T-storms; and some possibly severe. A complicating factor is that weather can change very quickly. I\’ve been caught in storms before; is riding to the salvage store risking it again?

Sometimes I skip that ride because the weather looks too iffy; then if nothing happens, I realize that I could have gone to the store, after all! On the other hand, I don\’t want to downplay the risks of riding a bicycle in a T-storm. When I\’m out there on two wheels, and the lightning fires up, I feel like a rolling lightning rod; and it\’s not a comfortable feeling.

This morning, at least, wasn\’t too much of a risk. It was heavily overcast, but rain was at least a few hours away. The wind wasn\’t too bad (7-9 mph) at the time, either; but by midday it had strengthened to 20 mph, with gusts up to 25 mph. It isn\’t fun trying to pedal against a breeze like that!

I work from home Fridays, and today I didn\’t need to get anything from the store; so I had the time for a 16 mile ride! My time was 1:14:42. I know — some riders (perhaps many riders!) are much faster, but for me that\’s good. It used to take me that long to ride 12 miles!

The T-storms are expected mainly after 10 pm tonight; and tomorrow morning there\’s still a 50% chance. I want to go to the salvage store as usual; but of course don\’t want to get caught in a storm. Is that flip-of-the-coin chance low enough for me to be risking it again?