Storm Racing

Storm Racing Out of Klamath Falls 

A leisurely visit with my folks ended with a race; we weather-watched and saw that a storm was coming in to the Klamath Falls, Oregon area. The two-day ride up a few days earlier had been ideal, both in weather and route. I’ll backtrack to that ride on a later post. The plan had been to head home Monday to arrive back in La Crescenta on Tuesday after a layover at my friend Jim’s place in Walnut Creek but the weather apps showed two days of rain coming in starting Sunday around noon. We agreed that I would be better off to get down the Siskiyou Mountains ahead of the rain and we set up for an early morning departure on Sunday, a day earlier than planned. Riders need to be vigilant and flexible in their plans.

The kickstand was up just before sunrise and I cruised down the Hwy 140 along the lower point of Upper Klamath Lake to the junction with Hwy 97 which took me to Weed, California. The 97 is a mostly a two-lane highway that parallels an Amtrak rail route through agricultural sections interspersed with wetlands. It winds in and out of the pine forest and mountain roadways; a biker’s road to say the least. It was cloudy and cold, down to 39^o, and I was glad that I had geared up with the rain suit if for nothing else but the extra layer.

Motoring down the 97, I took advantage of my Cross Country’s get-up-and-go and passed the early morning cars and trucks on a more regular basis than I usually do in order to keep ahead of the storm front. However, that put me on a pace to catch up with the leading arm of the storm swirl. Heading southeast with a clear road in front of me leading into the foothills I had the waning half moon and a beautiful rainbow straight ahead of me. The rainbow as God’s promise of grace rode right next to the scientific promise of falling water droplets refracting the rising sun behind me. The rain was moving on up into the hills as I caught up to the drizzle that had given birth to the rainbow. I lucked out and was able to keep a good pace along the twisties with the pavement not being too wet and made it out to the high plain leading into Weed without hitting any downpours; I fueled up and downed a hot chocolate to break the chill. It was enough for a subtle reminder about taking all your gear on a long ride and promising enough to add some thrill to the race.

I left Weed south on Hwy 5 toward Redding, part of my favorite section of what in a lot of areas is a straight and boring route with intermittent truck-dodging sessions. From Weed to Redding it is anything but boring with the Shasta-Trinity National Forest coming right down to the highway right-of-ways and twisting its way through the Siskiyou Mountains. There are views of Shasta Mountain as well as the passage over and along Shasta Lake which at this time of year should have a lot more water in it than what I saw; save your water folks, it’s going to be a long, dry summer.

By the time I came down the grade into Redding the water leaden clouds were receding and I’d won the race this time around but not without that little reminder that storm racing is iffy at best. I fueled up, geared down, and headed out to finish the day's run.

Be well and keep the iron side up.