Micky from DailyMile left me a joke this morning: “What is the opposite of a Storm Chaser? A Californian Runner.”
It’s true. We don’t do storms here, not well at least. But for good reason.
If it’s been months since the last rainfall, the accumulation of oil on the roads mixes with the moisture and creates similar conditions as snow or sleet. We fishtail all over the place until the ABS kicks in, and then we fear our car is broken until we remember that it’s a safety feature. This place also floods very easily because it’s urban and it’s desert. There’s a lot of concrete and asphalt, and what pure earth there is just doesn’t soak up water well. Once the grounds saturate, trees start to topple and city sewage contaminates local rivers and beaches. Sometimes homes head down hillsides.
If you are riding your bike or running in a bike lane with cars, you are particularly vulnerable—and stupid. Even on a sidewalk, you are at risk of slipping because it’s so slick. Though highly unscientific, I think most people are staying indoors during this El Nino number. I have yet to see a runner or cyclist in the rain since the first of three storms hit yesterday. Most, like me, wait for a long break in the clouds.
Based on the current sideways rain, flooded garage and toppled furniture and potted plants in my backyard, the second storm—predicted as the mildest of the three—is now upon us. They just issued a tornado warning in North County. And storm No. 3 is threatening to produce snow.
I’m supposed to attend tonight’s track club board of directors meeting. This could get interesting.
11 comments:
Wow. With us, running in the road sometimes is actually safer than running on the sidewalks because they're so unevenly taken care of (yeah, there is that pesky detail of the cars coming at you.)
I am glad you decided to not bike today. I've been looking at people's pictures of the flooding, and wow! is all I can say. I never completely understood why you guys have all the mudslides, thanks for explaining.
And around here, we don't do hot, so I suspect many of us would struggle in your normal climate. Funny, isn't it? Here, if we don't run in the rain, we don't run. Of course, it rains a lot. An awful lot. Good luck and most of all, stay safe. Err on the side of caution, okay?
I took a most harrowing trip from La Jolla to the airport yesterday at the height of the storm. It was.... unspeakably terrifying. There must have been up to 6 inches of water on the 5.
As we pulled into the airport I prayed out loud for the weather to calm down so my baby girl could get home safely and apparently She was listening because it did.
San Diego could use some drainage improvements and flood control, for sure.
Yikes...........just yikes!
I'm glad you mentioned the tornado warning! I mentioned it in my blog and I thought people wouldn't believe me! It was scary...thanks for the reminders regarding safety and cars. It's so slippery on the roads.
Hey - I got the same Chinese spam you did this morning! What's the topic here again? Oh, yeah ...
Bragging a bit here - but my son and I did a mtn bike ride in a hailstorm yesterday, complete with thunder and lightning. It was pretty freaking awesome - but I wouldn't want to do it every day.
As you know, I tried to get in my 9 miler between storms. I was caught in it with two miles to go. A hot shower never felt so good!
Due to my fear of treadmills, I've been trying to run when the rain eases albeit cautiously.
“What is the opposite of a Storm Chaser? A Californian Runner.”
I like it! Another reason for not running in the storms - it's cold, wet and uncomfortable. How dare Mother Nature fool with our 350 days of sunshine!
Snow? Really?? That would be pretty interesting. The past two mornings, the skies were clear of rain and I had no issue running. But this morning, boy it was a pain! All my clothes were soaked and the wind was blowing against me.
Can't wait for this rain to go away and we can enjoy the normal SD weather that we've been accustomed to :)
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