Long ago, in a far-away place called Tucson there was a small dive named 'The Mint'. It was on Grant, just west of Dodge and I would stop there after work and down a cold brew or three because I only lived about 8-10 blocks away.
The bar had 'air conditioning', meaning they left the back door and front door open for flow-thru air conditioning. It was monsoon season so that meant it felt like you were walking around in a pizza oven wearing a black body-bag.
I had been there for 2 beers and noticed someone had shut the back door, so I headed back to open it and visit the urine receptacle. Just before I reached for the door it flew open, banged into the wall (scared the crap outta me) and I was hit in the face with a blast of sand and debris that was being driven by a towering wall of boiling sand, howling wind and it was in that moment lightning struck so close, there was almost no time between strike and boom! I could see the black wall of driving rain and it was MAYBE two blocks away, closing fast.
I spun around, all thoughts of peeing gone, and headed for the bike. A lil hard-tail Triumph chop, pre-unit kick-start. Fast nimble and an easy start... I grabbed her handlebars on the fly and as luck would have it, no traffic coming. I ran her right out on to Grant Ave at a dead run and dropped into the saddle and dumped the clutch. She fired right away and off I went, trying to outrun that boiling mass of rain, sand and lightning. There is a light at Dodge and Grant, it was red and I didn't care! Dodging traffic in the intersection, I turned onto Dodge and opened her up... slowed for the 4-way stop but blew right thru it anyway. I throw a quick glance over my shoulder and I'm thinking 'I got this, storm’s still two blocks away!'
Right then, the clouds threw a lightning bolt at a mesquite tree, not 15 feet from me. The blast threw chunks of wood at me; I'm blinded in one eye from the flash and a ringing in my right ear is all I can hear and I almost dump the bike right there! As I'm riding through the slo-mo debris flying all around me I think "Wow, this would make a great movie scene!" but I just hunker down and open the throttle a lil more.
As I slide sideways into my carport, the rain arrives... another huge crash of lightning, all being driven by 60 mph wind and flying flotsam. As I climb off the bike, I'm still blind and deaf on one side and my wife walks out and says "Why didn't ya just stay at the bar and let it blow over?"
I shook my head and said "Well, I didn't want to ride home on a wet seat!"
August 19, 2015- -
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After spending a few days down there in Tucson during August for a wedding, I can see why you would have wanted to beat it home before the worst hit.For me that taught me just how hot the desert southwest can get,yet also how beautiful that... more
August 22, 2015- -
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