was the text I sent Erinna at the halfway point of tonight's ride. I started with the imminent threat of heavy storms and went for the West Asheville towers. Along the way I saw Marty and she yelled something to the effect that I was crazy, I WAS caught in a violent thunderstorm, and I pushed through and made it all the way up the gravel to the towers. Then I turned around and hauled ass back home. Funny how it goes when you're descending gravel and pavement for the first time and that first time is at night and just after two inches of rain fall. The turns came fast and furiously and I had to sit on my rear rack and get on the brakes pretty hard a few times. The stats at the end: 9.8 mi, 1621', 9.6mph avg, 42mph max.
Here's a shot of right after I had climbed out of the storm/it had passed
and a few feet up the road, with the same camera setting, but with a lightning strike behind me:
