Last week, we had Typhoon 14. With it, we had a lot of weird weather. Hot, cool, rainy, sunny - inconsistency was the pattern. Even though we are still in the middle of summer, we have been having sudden rain storms and lots of thunder and lighting.
On Saturday, we went out on some errands. Our bike ride to our destination was about 40 minutes. After our errand, we decided to grab some lunch. It was hot. I was sweating profusely. It started sprinkling on us as we rode to lunch. We contemplated heading home for lunch, but it was already 1:00 and we can only push our son so far without feeding him. So, we decided to go ahead and eat.
In the middle of lunch, we looked outside to see a torrential downpour. It was coming down with such force we could see it bouncing off the road from the second floor restaurant. My husband looked at the weather and saw that it was only going to get worse. We didn't have a car to hop into or even a train where we were. So, after considering our options, we decided to head home on our bikes.
I had an umbrella tucked into my bike. So, we set up my son in his kid seat, buckled in and holding the umbrella. Then we headed out. My husband and I were instantly soaked. The raindrops felt sharp as we rode. There were times I couldn't see because the water poured down my face too intensely.
About 10 minutes into the ride, my husband pulled into a convenience store parking lot. Almost immediately after getting off my bike there was a bright flash and a deafening boom. My son cried out in fear and shouted "I'm scared! I'm scared!" We grabbed him off the bike and ran inside. The cashier looked at our soaked clothes and hair and tried to stifle a chuckle. We really were quite a sight. Our son calmed down with a couple hugs and a reminder that we were safe inside the store. I ended up going to the bathroom, where there was a drain in the middle of the floor, and wrung out my clothes.
After standing around in the store for about 10 minutes, we noticed the lightening was getting further and further away. However, there wasn't any break in the rain in sight. My husband grabbed a package of trash bags in order to make ponchos for the rest of our ride home. I think we were providing a lot of entertainment for the cheerful cashier. She was so unbelievably helpful, giving us tape and scissors to finish our masterpieces. We pulled on our designer duds and got back on our bikes.
The rain was still falling hard as we finished our ride back home. We appreciated the garbage bag ponchos. We made it back in one big soggy mess, but also in one piece.
After laughing at our sodden selves, we showered and dried off. By then, the rain had stopped and we were able to head back out for more weekend fun.
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