Expect the unexpected

We had severe storm warnings and tornado warnings the other night. Reminded me of the ride my husband made from central Florida to Texas in September of 2009. He rode his 2006 Harley-Davidson Sportster 883 all the way. According to the weather forecasteres it was to be sunny and great weather all the way. Along the way as he refueled he would call and let me know how far he had gone. Smooth sailing through Florida, Alabama rain all the way. Well let's just say that the rain didn't stop until he arrived in Texas. One of the last calls I received was from the Louisiana/Texas border. My cell phone beeped that I had a text message with a photo. I saw it was from my husband and I excitedly opened it to see what he had sent me. The image popped up and here is this extremely greenish-grey sky with a tornado smack dab in the middle. I quickly called him and made sure he was ok. Luckily he was able to get to safety before the tornado touched down. He then proceeded to tell me that several trees around the structure he was in had fallen over or had broken branches. After the skies cleared of the green he continued his travels on to Texas.

The most important lesson we learned was to expect the unexpected with mother nature. If you encounter a tornado or severe weather take cover in a structure. If you cannot get to an enclosed structure head for an underpass. Once at the underpass climb up toward the top of the structure and take cover in between the supports that are there. Leave all of your riding gear on. Your helmet will protect your face from any flying debris, your jacket and gloves will protect your upper body and hands as well.

No matter how much you plan you will always have something unexpected come up. Deal with it in a calm and rational manner and you will be just fine.