Today was a gorgeous day for a bike ride, or at least it was until about one hour ago. At present it is raining and thundering with hail and a severe thunderstorm watch. The thunderstorm watch advises that people should be on the lookout for hail and possible tornadoes.
I went for a 48 kms (30 miles) bike ride that followed the Bow River for the most part. It was a beautiful day at about 28C (82F) with some storm clouds forming off toward the West.
As I began following the river, the Calgary Marathoners were running beside me on the road. I have never enjoyed running. I much prefer to be riding. One of the markers indicated 18 kms (11.2 miles) and I noted that some of runners looked haggard. I hope that everyone who participated and volunteered had a great time. At least there were able to enjoy their race with excellent weather before the storm set in.
Part of my journey took me near the submerged weir. As can be seen from the picture (more clearly on the larger picture at Flick—just click on the photo), the weir is dangerous because people are caught up in the whirling water and are unable to escape. When I viewed the weir, I thought it looked calm. But I know better. Unfortunately, people die periodically as they go over the weir.
This warning sign reminds somewhat of the markets. While everything looks calm and cool on the surface, I think there is probably a lot of turbulence below. The trick is not to be sucked into the vortex of confusion.
The above photo is hosted on Flickr.
Update
Todd Ginther has a terrific photo showing the winner of the Calgary Marathon as he flies toward the finish line.
sounds great. I bike almost every day, but never have a chance to go that long (not sure i have the stamina either...i'd need not too many tough hills, lol).
Calgary is good for biking because there are paths most everywhere. I just tend to start and see how I feel a an hour or two later. Sometimes, I will make a large loop around some portion of the city. And luckily there aren't too many killer hills, though there are certainly a few out there.