#18 racing the storm

This afternoon I called my friend Alison and asked if she expected to have any time for a run this weekend. To my surprise, she said, "How about right now?" Well I was in my office wearing jeans and cowboy boots, so I had to ask her to wait an hour while I went home to change. We agreed to meet at Yarmouthport at 4:30. I got home and put on my running shorts and shoes and a T-shirt. Then I put on a black nylon pair of running pants -- the kind meant as an outer layer, -- and black nylon shell jacket. It was a bright sunny day, so I got on the bike and headed for Yarmouthport. I didn't have any extra time, so I got on the Mid-Cape Highway. When I got almost to the college exit, the skies opened up with a sudden thunderstorm. I was in the middle of heavy traffic all going 60 mph, so I had nothing to do but just keep going along smooth and steady. But the rain stung my chest, even through the jacket and T-shirt. And then it stopped again as suddenly as it started. I got to Yarmouthport and Alison was completely dry. I was soaked to the skin. But it was warm and sunny, so I just took off the nylon shell, and my shorts dried quickly. We ran down to the boardwalk at Gray's Beach and when we were out at the end of the boardwalk, guess what happened? It started to rain! So we both got wet, but it was very brief and the sun came out again while we were running back to the village. So I was dry again when I put my shell back on. It was a terrific run, and it was nice to see Alison again.


So I got back on the motorcycle and had a nice slow leisurely ride along Route 6A heading homeward in the sunshine. And then -- a couple of miles form home-- the sky got very, very dark and the wind picked up and the trees were all showing he undersides of their leaves. It was obvious we were in for another big one. I leaned way over to cut the wind and sped home and pulled into the driveway, opened the garage door and got the bike inside just as a huge clap of thunder exploded and the rain came pouring down.

I am dry, the bike is dry, I am safe and sound, and I had a very nice run. Pretty exciting, eh?