If you keep up with the news, you know dozens of destructive tornadoes hopscotched across North Carolina on Saturday, killing more than 20 people and demolishing dozens of homes and buildings. Tornadoes are hit and miss affairs. We were watching TV reports in the afternoon when lo and behold our neighborhood popped up in the tornado's crosshairs. We hunkered down in the basement and waited as the storm passed three miles to the south and east of us. We didn't have any problems and the power flickered but stayed on. Other folks in Raleigh were not so lucky and three young children were killed.
Here's a time lapse video of the tornado approaching downtown Raleigh:
And another:
And a link to a time lapse video from the ground: http://www.newraleigh.com/articles/archive/raleigh-skyline-video/.
And video from Wilson, about 50 miles east....
Saturday was the scheduled day for our 300K out of Morrisville. After some initial confusion about holding the event Saturday and Sunday (that is not allowed under RUSA's rules) the ride was moved to Sunday. Given the dangerous weather on Saturday, the postponement proved to be a good call. The chart above shows the tracks of the multiple tornadoes in our area. Our 300K route is in the triangle between Greensboro, Raleigh and Sanford, and several storms hit nearby.
The postponement meant that some riders were unable to ride, including Keith S, who had traveled from Virginia to join us. Only 21 riders lined up at the start on Sunday, but it proved to be a spectacular day for a ride. The Kamms and Kim and the Florians kicked butt on the front end of the field. I lollygagged home with John M and Brian R. While taking an extended break at Andrews Store, about 20 miles from the end, we looked up the day's official sunset -- 7:51 p.m. -- and set that as our finish goal. We caught a red light near the finish and missed the mark by one minute, but it made for a fun race to the end anyway. Goals, even improvised ones, help keep the focus and motivation high.
Another fun day on the bikes. Thanks to all for the company.
View April 16, 2011 Tornadoes in a larger map
1 comment:
Holmes destroyed on a section of Quaker Rd. in Wilson County that is located on both the Black Creek and Whirligig routes. No injuries.
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