It's been a frustrating end of the month for the centuries project, mostly because my weather karma has been on an apparent vacation. On 21 August, I attempted a close-to-home century in Reston, Virginia. At about the 65 mile point, I heard a clap of thunder and looked behind me to see a black sky. A quick call to 50CP Headquarters (my wife, Robbie, at home) revealed that there were yellow and red patches on the radar image of the incoming storm. What's worse, the storm looked like it would last for a long time. So, I arranged for a rendezvous in Leesburg, and ended the ride at 75 miles. It was a good thing, as the ride organizers told me there were about 1000 people left on the road when it started to hail.
Last weekend, I had plans and reservations to do the Shore Fire Century in Delaware. As late as Thursday afternoon, the ride organizers were insisting we would still ride. "The rain from Irene isn't supposed to hit until late Saturday," they e-mailed me. But, Irene was bigger than expected (in rain and size, if not in wind and ferocity) and states of emergency and evacuation areas were declared. They pulled the plug late Thursday.
This is such a bummer because every other day has been beautiful. Temperatures are in the low 80s with bright sunshine and sharp shadows. There is a tangible drop in humidity. This morning was so cool you couldn't sit outside in shorts.
This weekend, I'm going to attempt to double up on the centuries. I have plans to do the Sunrise Century in Clarksville, TN (which does both TN and KY) on Saturday. I fly home on Sunday, and will attempt the Delaware Shore Fire Century self-supported on Labor Day. (The bike club was nice enough to send me the cue sheet.) The weather forecast for these two locations has been all over the map, so it will be a small miracle if I can finish all this.
How long does your weather karma go on vacation for, anyway?
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