Today was a short long ride.

To begin with, I think I needed a break; and if it weren’t for the Love to Ride Bike Month Challenge, I would have skipped riding today. We all need a day off now and then!

For another thing, there was the weather. Last night’s forecast said, scattered T-storms this morning; and when I set out at about 7:15 am, it was already quite cloudy. The North looked especially stormy; and as I rode, it seemed to get darker and darker.

My original plan was to ride about 9.5 miles out; and then head home. I turned around more than a mile before that, because that sky’s appearance didn’t bode well. When I was still five miles or so from home, I was eyeing a cloud that was off in an easterly direction; and I thought I saw a blink of light in that cloud. There was enough daylight at 8:00 am that I could’t be sure; but I just hoped I would reach home before things got bad!

I got home about 8:50 am; and as I was carrying my bike through the gate, I became aware of a faint rumbling sound. I thought, Is that thunder? It was; and over the next 20 minutes the thunder became closer.

At around 9:45, I checked the NOAA site. There was a special weather statement about strong T-storms; so it’s a good thing I wasn’t still out there riding!

Thus a short long ride turned out to be a good thing. I probably could have done this ride without eating; but all the same, I munched on pieces of protein bar. Gotta keep that gut trained!