White knuckle ride in-- The wind blows (and sucks)

[bobhamlin]

A long time ago, I was hitchhiking down the coastal road in CA. A van I was in stopped to pick up two more hitchhikers. They had just gotten off a sailboat that they had helped to sail south from Washington state. It was their first ocean experience and, as of that time, their last.

One of them told us about the storm they experienced. I clearly remember the metaphor he used to convey his terror. "You know when you were a kid in the bathtub--and you played with a little boat? And you tried to sink the boat by moving real fast to create waves? We were that little boat."

Today's winds created an adrenaline-pumping thrill ride. I ride from near Gettysburg almost down to the Washington Beltway. The first half is straight south. The gusts were coming from the west. It felt like most of the time I was leaning 45 degrees into the wind. I was all over my lane. I actually stayed in the slow lane (most of the time) so I wouldn't be blown into the median.

Trying to pass trucks on their left presented a physical and mental challenge. Their initial turbulence wobbled my handlebars and, when I came beside them, they shielded the wind such that I felt sucked back to the right. (Not to mention wondering if the wind ever blew them over sideways--squashing motorcyclists.)

Open fields to the west of Rt. 15 gives the wind a long unimpeded side shot. Occasional stretches of trees stop the sideways attack, but create unpredictable swirls. In the dark, watching leaves and small branches flying by horizontally from right to left leads one to ponder if there might be a bigger branch out there--ready to FLY! and IMPALE!

A traffic report said a tree blew down and was blocking a shoulder on I 270 (I-270 can back up if somebody sneezes in Nebraska). I thought about taking my bailout road, but as I listened to how many small roads were closed because of downed trees, I stayed on the highway. I passed the tree. It was a dark evergreen. Didn't see it until almost upon it (Not dawn yet). Luckily, previous vehicles had grinded off the branches that had extended into the roadway.

I-270 runs SE, so now the wind was at an angle-- from my 4, 5 or 6 o'clock (swirls). Even at 20 mph, I couldn't relax. I like to avoid putting a foot down in stop and go traffic (Doesn't take much to entertain me). Balancing with a sideways wind is tough. A surprise blast from the rear almost blew me into the car in front of me (Not really, but I DID squeeze my brake instinctively and felt an ensuing adrenalin jolt).

The winds are predicted until midnight. I'll be heading into them on the way home. One good thing--my grips already have my finger impressions, I'm sure.