Life is beautiful, Part 2

This weekend saw some epic and exciting days.
Saturday I met up with a few good cycling brothers for a solid ride out to the top of Elbow Falls and back. The sunny weather and lack of wind made for a great day of riding and a day to add to the slow development of my summer tan.
My tan has been a topic of frequent exclamation and discussion as my legs seem to require a great deal more exposure than other areas. Since I lack the intimidation factor of the classic cyclist deep tan I seem to give a false impression of the amount of riding I actually do which can be a distict advantage in certain situations.
Sunday I had to work the morning shift at the Oval. It was a quiet shift of catching up on everything on cyclingnews.com and watching to Tour stage on the widescreen that provides a backdrop to the office area. Following my shift I took in the World Cup final. As you all know the match went the full distance and resulted in my training ride being bumped back a few hours. Finally at around 3pm I suited up and rolled out for a planned 4-5 hr effort. As I was heading west along the bikepath on my regular city exit route some dark clouds were threatening a storm so I turn around and took Elbow Drive south to do the loop the opposite direction. I made it as far as the south west corner of the city when darkness tookover and the skies opened to some light rain as a prelude to the violent weather to come. I made a quick decision to find shelter and ended up at Fish Creek Pointe, a new condo complex with a nice entrance sheltered from the wind and rain. Immediately after I had found cover the storm dispayed its full potential and unleashed streaking rain, hail, vibrant flashes of lightning and deafening claps of thunder. Most storms that roll through the city last only a short period so I was prepared to spend about half and hour in my shelter enjoying its relative warmth and comfort as the storm raged on. This storm was far more substantial however and after 2 hours huddled in a dry corner I could finally emerge and continue my ride. I took 37th out of the city, did the usual 773 route over the ridge and on to Plummers road and Bragg Creek. The calm after the storm was incredible. With the sunlight breaking through the clouds and rapid rise in temperature the roads were steaming with evaporating rain water. The lush green landscape was blanketed with a warm mist making for a breathtaking ambiance along my route. My favorite experience was coming along a gradual climb on Plummers road and seeing the beams of sunlight break the tree canopy sending rays of white light to the road below. It reminded me of Gran Tourismo 4 and the forest track.... Due to the 2 hour rain break the day was slipping away quickly and by the time I was out of Bragg Creek with 50 km to ride it was already after 20:00. With the fading daylight the temperature was dropping quickly so I was in the mood to get the ride overwith. About 10 km out of Bragg Creek I got a flat tire and pulled over for a quick change. It took only seconds for the local mosquito population to find me which resulted in a personal best tube change.
The rest of the ride was uneventful and cold, but it is an evening I will never soon forget.
It turns out that severe weather warnings had been issued for the Calgary area, warning of heavy rain, lightning and potential for tornado activity. I normally dont tune in to mainstream media outlets so I was oblivious to the situation. This would explain why the roads were empty though, a pity others missed such a magnificant evening.
The world is a beautiful place from the saddle and training a new adventure every day.
Now I am off to a race in Burnaby on Friday, then White Rock, Gastown and then straight to Altoona. Its going to be a solid 3 weeks on the road. I am really looking forward to getting out of Alberta again, I have this uncontrolled itch to travel and live, lucky for me I have this trip.
Nick Friesen and I are billetting in a multimillion dollar home in White Rock so I presume internet access will be available. Check back for tales from the road and race updates.