Will my rubber tires save me if I'm hit by lightning?

One nice thing about visiting Toronto is that not too far away, about 20-25k from my mom's house, I can cycle and find myself some rolling hills.

Unfortunately though, this particular visit, like the last, was threatened by rain, rain, and more rain according to the weather report.

I didn't care. The sun was shining and though there were some clouds, I said to myself, convinced it wouldn''t rain until much later.

Because it had been bright, sunny and hot when I started my cycle, I decided to wear a tank top instead of a racing jersey and carried food and other essentials in a money pouch. La-di-da ... and away I went for what I planned to be a metric century.

Once I hit farm country, the torrential rains started. The sky was black and the wind kicked me from all angles. I saw lightning and heard thunder in the near distance, which is never a good sign when one is out in the open. Will my rubber tires save me if I'm hit by lightning? But OH, how I had my heart set on a long ride! Tomorrow, I wouldn't have enough time, so it was now or never.

Do I turn back?

I looked at the hills beyond beckoning me to zip down them at super fast speeds and noticed that the skies above them seemed a lighter shade of gray. Would I be able to ride out of the storm? I decided to go for it and several kilometres later, though I was still being rained on, it wasn't that bad since it was only drizzling at this point. I could live with that.

One thing about riding in farmland is trying to figure out a place to pee. Not a ton of trees, except those indicating entrances to people's driveways. I've only pee'ed while riding my bike when torrential rain allowed the washing away of evidence from my socks and shoes ... meaning I wouldn't have to deal with any lingering smells ... but I just couldn't do it in this medium light sort of rain. Besides, Freida, my bike, would not appreciate it.

Then I saw it, a huge concrete slab blocking the entranceway to what appeared to be a condemned farmhouse. Excellent!

Aaaah ... and off I went again.

What's nice about hills, though they do require a bit of work to climb, is the incredible thrill to speed down them ... I totally LOVE THAT RUSH!! Of course, what adds to that thrill is the reward of seeing your bike odometer spit out and confirm your exhilarating speed.

But not today. Not in the pouring rain. Nope ... my bike computer had konked out and no reading was available, no distance, no time, no speed. Bummer. :-(

I felt like a computer freak user without internet or e-mail access.

So on I went, up and down and up and down, none of my climbing achievements being confirmed and my trying not to be phased by it ... Distraction: Oh that road looks good! Lots more hills! Then off I veered ... into the storm clouds once more.

The unfortunate thing about my choice of clothing that day is that rain has a tendency to cool things down. 15-17 C is not warm. 15-17 C is even less warm in a tank top in the rain. The big black clouds opened up and spewed out its angry storm and my bare arms and shoulders felt the wrath of sharp raindrops.

It was time to turn back lest I become hypothermic. Anyway, I didn't know how much more I would be able to stand of what felt like hail hitting my fragile, tired, discouraged body. Besides, I had not fully recuperated from the 85k I had cycled the day before on the same hills.

I got as far as that cement block on my way back when I realised that my peddle felt "off", strangely uneven, and my chain seemed to hit the derailleur no matter what gear I shifted into. I stopped in the rain and looked at my peddles and cleats. Check. Everything seemed tight, no loose screws. Then I looked at my crank. Not so good ... I could see too much space between my left crank and its insertion point into my bike. What to do, what to do. I thought, I'll have to get that adjusted when I get back to Montreal, but at least that would explain the chain rubbing problem.

I continued cycling and the riding only got worse, getting even more uneven. I looked down at my left foot while cycling and it looked and felt like I was peddling with a limp! Again, I stopped in the pouring rain and examined my crank. Good thing I had my handy little multi-tool gadget. Though I am totally inept bike mechanic-wise, I managed to tighten my crank. No choice. Figure it out or be stranded in no-man's land in the pouring rain holding my bike in one hand and pieces of my new compact crank in the other.

La-di-da (yeah right) ... and off I went. I finally got back home. 90k, I figured. Not quite the 100 I wanted but I was back home at my mom's where I could take a hot shower and get some food into me. The three hours in the storm was not exactly *fun*. And though I am a grown woman who can make my own choices, of course, this particular choice did not sit well with my worried mom at home who couldn't understand why anyone would want to cycle in that weather.

I told her I was fine and she needn't have worried so much, then went upstairs to shower.

What I REALLY wanted to tell her was, "I'm doing it for the thrill of the downhills, Mom!"