Short, cold ride!

Wow, I forgot how cold - 30 wind chill is. I did a little 2 mile errand ride today and I'll tell ya what! It exposed the chinks in my cold weather gear, that's for sure. My gloves need replacing....the seams leak cold air.

My balaclava from Dick's Sporting Goods was a godsend, though. Neofleece and it kept the face and head nicely warm without too much bulk or sweating. It fit under the helmet nicely. The only thing is, it's the brightest orange I've ever seen. Good for visibility, though.

Heavy Weather in the Lafayette Area

We had the tornado sirens going off in the Lafayette, Indiana area tonight. (Well, it's after midnight, so yesterday evening.). May 30, at about 7:00 PM or so, the National Weather Service issued a Tornado Warning for Lafayette and the surrounding region. The Storm tracked through Battleground, Indiana. I was able to get video footage of the storm as it passed to the north. I believe I may have gotten a tornado on the ground briefly, or at the least a very strong downburst.



It was a wild ride, though, watching this and I'm afraid I got the wwife a bit mad at me that I was out there getting footage rather than hiding in the tub, but it was too good an opportunity to miss.

WLFI-TV did also pick up a small amount of my video footage for the 11:00 Weather Report. The above is my footage post edit to assemble it. I left the audio raw. This same storm front apparently also dropped a strong tornado on Indianapolis and nearly leveled 300 apartments at 38th and Mithoffer. Wild night in Indiana tonight!

Spinner Saturday Ride

Today, Mrs Stormcrowe and I rode out to Cairo, Indiana to the Skywatch Tower. Round trip is about 18 miles if you start on the North Salisbury Trailhead foir the NW Greenbelt. The link goes to the site giving details about it. The Skywatch Tower is a state historic site.


Photo: Originally published at
http://www.rootsweb.com/~intippec/tower.htm
The purpose of the Skywatch Tower, built in the 1950's, was to watch for the horde of Russian Bombers that were expected to attack and attempt to overwhelm us. It is in far worse condition than depicted and frankly, is in need of repair, before the elements take it out. This is a piece of history and would make a great destination for rides. It also would make a great observation platform to look out over the farmlands for vista photography.

I originally heard about this place on the blog titled Dan on Bike, run by a local man here in Boiler Country. He also happens to be a friend of mine. Dan is also a member of Spinner Saturday, as well. Dan has a picture from May up on his blog. I would have gotten pictures myself, but the camera batteries froze. Thus the picture from the Cairo Skywatch Tower site.

Now, for the Spinner Miles, time to turn them in, everybody! Mrs Stormcrowe and I have had terrible weather to ride when we had time and great weather when we were stuck in class. Our miles for the week are 43 each. Until the next time, keep up the riding!


Update: I've added a route map here as well so if you are local, you can print the map and ride out there yourself!