Monday was a bit crazy.
I departed Edmonton around 1pm and headed for Grande Prairie, Alberta. Sometime around 3pm it started to rain lightly. I continued to ride, but eventually the rain became heavy enough that I decided to stop. So I parked the bike and stood inside a gas station in Sangudo, Alberta. I stood there for at least 45 minutes, waiting for the rain to stop. The rain didn't stop.
At some point I decided that I had to get back on the bike. There was no point in waiting all night long. So I got on the bike again. 1 minute later, the rain turned into a downpour. The wind started gusting sideways. I could no longer keep my bike from crossing into the adjacent traffic lane. When the wind blew, my bike just moved sideways, despite the fact that I was leaning as hard as I could into the wind. This was kind of scary. I was worried that a truck would try to pass me in the left lane, and suddenly the wind would smash me into said truck. This would be a bad thing.
Then the lightning strikes started. There was lightning very close to me. Obviously I didn't get hit by lightning, but it was close enough to scare the shit out of me. Very close. I looked for the first place to turn my bike around on the highway. I was only 2 kilometers from the gas station where I had taken shelter before.
I turned around. I started riding back to the gas station. The wind intensified. I swear I thought the bike was going to be blown over. The wind was bad. The rain was so hard I couldn't hear anything. Not even the bike engine. Everything got really intense really fast. I expected the bike would slide out at any moment. I just held on to the bike.
2 minutes later, I arrived at the gas station. I could barely see where I was going; the rain was still very heavy. I parked the bike and ran inside. The power was out at the gas station and in all of Sangudo. The lightning had destroyed a nearby transformer.
In any case, I decided to stay in Sangudo for the evening. Smart decision. The lady at the gas station gave me free hot dogs and coffee. I lived to ride another day.
I departed Edmonton around 1pm and headed for Grande Prairie, Alberta. Sometime around 3pm it started to rain lightly. I continued to ride, but eventually the rain became heavy enough that I decided to stop. So I parked the bike and stood inside a gas station in Sangudo, Alberta. I stood there for at least 45 minutes, waiting for the rain to stop. The rain didn't stop.
At some point I decided that I had to get back on the bike. There was no point in waiting all night long. So I got on the bike again. 1 minute later, the rain turned into a downpour. The wind started gusting sideways. I could no longer keep my bike from crossing into the adjacent traffic lane. When the wind blew, my bike just moved sideways, despite the fact that I was leaning as hard as I could into the wind. This was kind of scary. I was worried that a truck would try to pass me in the left lane, and suddenly the wind would smash me into said truck. This would be a bad thing.
Then the lightning strikes started. There was lightning very close to me. Obviously I didn't get hit by lightning, but it was close enough to scare the shit out of me. Very close. I looked for the first place to turn my bike around on the highway. I was only 2 kilometers from the gas station where I had taken shelter before.
I turned around. I started riding back to the gas station. The wind intensified. I swear I thought the bike was going to be blown over. The wind was bad. The rain was so hard I couldn't hear anything. Not even the bike engine. Everything got really intense really fast. I expected the bike would slide out at any moment. I just held on to the bike.
2 minutes later, I arrived at the gas station. I could barely see where I was going; the rain was still very heavy. I parked the bike and ran inside. The power was out at the gas station and in all of Sangudo. The lightning had destroyed a nearby transformer.
In any case, I decided to stay in Sangudo for the evening. Smart decision. The lady at the gas station gave me free hot dogs and coffee. I lived to ride another day.
wow; crazy story!
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