Thread: Lightning storm
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Old 05-30-18, 01:02 PM
  #35  
Altair 4
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Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Along the Rivers of Pittsburgh
Posts: 1,255

Bikes: 2011 Novara Forza Hybrid, 2005 Trek 820, 1989 Cannondale SR500 Black Lightning, 1975 Mundo Cycles Caloi Racer

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Our planning and weather-forecast-watching were all for naught when I rode the GAP a couple of years ago. All three weather apps (NWS, Accuweather, and the Weather Network) called for three days of near-perfect weather for the three days we planned to ride for each of our stops, right up to the morning of our start. The reality turned into something else. Day 1, we ran in and out of rain for a couple of hours and then it stopped. We made our way to our first night's stay at a B&B.

Day 2 found us waking up to sullen skies. The rain started before we even got out of Connellsville on our way to Rockwood. We rode in rain for an hour or so and started joking about the scene from "Young Frankenstein:" "Could be worse, could be raining." Except we substituted lightning for raining. Literally, within minutes of cracking this joke, it started crashing down around us. Having reservations at another B&B and with no other way to get to our destination, we pressed on. Who would have thought we would be getting so cold for so long in the middle of July? The lightning stopped but the rain continued for about 5 hours total.

Day 3 had us wake up to bright sunny skies with warm temperatures and we finally had the weather that had been forecast for the entire trip. It all added to a memorable trip! So much for planning, though. The front that was supposed to stall well south of us made it farther north, then stalled essentially right over the length of the GAP.

Last edited by Altair 4; 05-30-18 at 01:09 PM.
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