I'm not surprised by the tree down along your commute route, m-guy. We had tremendous storms in Raleigh yesterday, with several tornadoes spotted, high winds in general, heavy rain and large hail. Fortunately, I heeded the forecasts and drove because there was no way I would have ridden home through that storm. My commute route this morning was littered with branches, pine cones and other debris, but no trees.

My ride this morning was brutal, with strong headwinds and gusts most of the way. Temps were relatively mild in the low 40s, but it felt much colder due to the wind. Unfortunately, the wind is supposed to shift northward during the day, so I am likely to be fighting a headwind all the way home as well. When I got downtown, a few gusts felt like they would knock me over while I was sitting at a red light.