The Cyclist: Pending Storm

“Half and hour and I’ll be back at home,” thought Marcie, taking her bicycle out of the storage room in her apartment building. “I’ll bike around the lake and then get back to work.” She needed a break from an extremely intense and time-consuming project she was working on. Going out for a ride on her Black Jack mountain bike seemed like a good idea. She cycled through the empty indoor-parking lot, only stopping to push the button that opened and closed the exit door. 

The distant, western horizon seemed dark and foreboding, as she headed towards the lake.

“I’ll be back before the storm hits.” 

There was very little traffic and thus, she did not have to pull off the highway onto the gravel shoulders. Once she reached the bridge, there was a five-kilometer bicycle path around the lake, which meant there were no vehicles to contend with, just other cyclists, joggers, people walking their dogs and parents with small children.

About a mile down the highway, she spotted several police cars blocking the entrances to the road and bicycle path that encircled the lake.

“What's happening, Officer?” asked Marcie.

“I am sorry, Ma’am,” replied the officer. “The road is closed due to a pending storm. You should head for shelter, immediately.”

“Not a problem, I’ll go back home.” 

Marcie stopped on the bridge to pull up the hood on her jacket. Looking at the water, she saw the reflection of a huge, dark-green cloud heading directly towards her.

“Oh my God, that’s the storm!”

As the wind rose higher and higher, dust, gravel and stones swirled around pelting her from every direction.

“Ouch!” Marcie grabbed the metal railing on the bridge and hung on for dear life, as a huge gust of wind nearly blew her off her bike. “I have to get out of here, fast!” It was slow going, as she headed homeward directly into the wind.  

Marcie biked around the lake the following day, taking photographs of huge, uprooted trees, broken branches and other debris littering the park. Weather reports from the day before, stated a tornado had ravaged the area, at the same time she was on the bridge.