Bad Storm, Good Day Riding

Today's Spotty Tracking

Last night, we had barely gotten to sleep when the weather alert receiver went off, squalling and bleeping.  "Severe Thunderstorm Watrning", it blared, and I stumbled over to the window to shut it off.  It was perfectly quiet outside and no sign of storm, though no visibility since it was dark.
Often the alert radio goes off when it's the neighboring county getting a warning, and we've gotten a bit jaded after several false alarms.
I had just gotten back to sleep again when a humongous crack of thunder almost kicked me out of bed, and just like that, we endured a severe thunderstorm.  Blinding flashes of lightning, fearful roars of thunder echoing and rocking the house, intermittent screaming wind, and short but loud blasts of driving rain.  The Callie-cat was terrified and thudded against the bedroom door several times trying to get through it, and the dogs were whimpering and fussing.  Jacque, bless her heart, slept blissfully through it all.  Not wearing hearing aids to bed helps in such times, evidently.
Thankfully, the storm was violent but brief, and in about 20 minutes all was quiet again, and I fell blissfully back to sleep again.
When we awoke at 5 AM this morning, it was misty and dripping, with clouds keeping the skies dark even after sunrise.
We arrived home after seminary, with soggy skies as far as the eye could see, and I thought it would be a rainy work-on-the-bathroom-only day.  But, after a couple more hours and an early morning nap for me to recover from getting up at the unGodly hour of 5 AM 4 days a week, the sun actually showed its face and I determined to get in a ride before it got too warm.
Even though it was shortly after noon when I got going, there was still a cool breeze to be had in spite of the bright sunshine quickly warming things up again.
I rode a reverse of a few rides today, sticking mostly to the outskirts of town.  As I rode Hubbard Street to its intersection with Highway AM just outside the city limits, I encountered this sign, which always makes me chuckle:

"Speed Limit 40", right next to a smaller sign warning "Speed Limit 30 Except Where Posted".
Snicker.  There are seldom any signs warning that the 40 MPH limit is no longer in effect so I guess it allows the local police to pretty much nail you whenever they feel like it.
The "Noise Ordinance Enforced" is also funny because here in this humid climate any vehicle more than a few years old has mufflers and exhaust pipes rusted through, resulting in a lot of little old ladies sporting loud pipes.
Since I have never achieved 40 MPH, even on long downhills with a good tailwind, I suppose I should avoid complaining about speed limits.  Even the 15 MPH school speed limits are hard for me to exceed.
After a lengthier-than-usual shade break at the local airport, I began riding north toward Route 60 again and for some reason decided to take a picture of the curved rails where the road crosses.

I'm not totally aware of the history of this rail line, but I have read that US Route 60, which pretty much parallels the rail line, was once a true coast-to-coast highway, unlike Route 66, which gained all the attention and the glory in the 40's and 50's and 60's, and which only went as far east as Chicago.
I still have neuropathic foot pain, but I can still feel light tickles from feathers and such when tested.
I have decided I am relatively happy to have at least SOME foot pain, since I have diabetic friends who have lost all feeling in their feet and have trouble noticing injuries or other problems with their feet.  At least I can still feel specks of sand etc. under my feet and in spite of the almost constant pain in some level, I prefer that to losing all sensation in them.  Ideally I'd not have painful feet but still be able to feel sensations in them like a normal human.
My feet got hot on this ride and I had to stop and remove my socks t get more air to them.  I rubbed sunblock on them and rode the rest of the way WITH sandals and withOUT socks.
I was a bit surprised as I neared home to see a little over 9 miles on the GPS with a mile or so yet to go.  I'm very happy to have gotten in the miles today.  It always elevates my mood even though I get home hot and sweaty and smelly.  Thank God for a tolerant wife...

Ride Started:  12:34 PM      Ride Ended:  2:36 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage:  13.8  Ending Battery Voltage:  12.8   Lowest Voltage:  12.7

Beginning Blood Glucose:  78      Ending BG: 98

Lowest Temp:  71 F    Highest Temp:  82  F

Stats from the GPS:  Total Miles:  10.43
Distance Walked: 1/2 mile
Overall Average Speed       Moving Avg          Max Speed
  4.9 MPH                              7.5 MPH              25.5 MPH

Total Trip Time                   Moving Time        Stopped  Time
 2 hours 6 mins                  1 hour 23 mins        44 minutes