Bike journey gets risky with rain

When Bike, Walk and Wheel Week was created three years ago, the idea was to have people leave their cars at home so they could get some exercise and enjoy the outdoors through alternative forms of transportation.

It was not created with Wednesday’s weather in mind. I awoke yesterday morning and noticed that it was overcast, but I didn’t think much of it. Thunderstorms had been projected two days before and that had been a beautiful day.

I didn’t have anywhere I really had to be, so I decided to take the bike out and just ride around Columbia to see exactly what areas were biker-friendly.

I left at 2:45 p.m. and it seemed to be ideal biking conditions. Temperatures were warm, but a cloud cover cooled things off just enough and kept the sun from glaring in my eyes.

I would return at 4 p.m. in much different spirits.

I began by riding down College Avenue and decided to take a big loop around Columbia.

As I neared the end of the Business Loop 70 West and was about to turn onto Stadium Boulevard, the tornado sirens went off and I began to have doubts. Was there a tornado nearby? Was my life at risk?

I decided to press on. There still had been no rain and the sirens eventually went off. I was too far from home to turn around anyway. I might as well continue on my intended route.

I began biking down Stadium when it all hit me: big, fat, stinging drops. It wasn’t that bad in the beginning, and at first, I was kind of excited. I thought it might be fun. And it was fun for awhile. But eventually my T-shirt and shorts were completely soaked. I could feel water pooling up in my shoes. Every uphill and downhill proved to be challenging in its own way.

Going uphill, I had to stay in my seat and really turn the pedals. If I stood up, my shoes slipped off the pedals more frequently. Going downhill was a little scary. My brakes had lost some of their effectiveness, and I had to brake hard and early just to stop.

As the rain came down harder, several parts of the road were flooded. Cars drove through these small lakes and added insult to injury by spraying me with a wall of water.

I finally made it back to my apartment, ready to get off the bike and into some dry clothes.

Overall, it was an interesting experience, but I wouldn’t want to do it again. Unfortunately, I might have to. The weather the next few days doesn’t look good. Wish me luck.