The path of the storm

All that's left of one of the houses post-tornado --
A fence around the hole in the ground - and notice that we ALL will rebuild!

I decided yesterday to do some cross training on my trusty Fuji Odessa 2.0 by following the 7.3 mile path of the 800 yard wide EF-3 tornado that struck Dexter MI on March 15th.  According to the National Weather Service, there have only been 8 tornadoes in March in Michigan in the last 61 years.  This storm damaged over 200 homes, rendered 13 completely demolished, with NO loss of life.  Amazing.

Even more amazing is the level of damage still apparent 20 days later, side by side with the continuing work to rebuild and recover.  An overview of the damaged neighborhoods looks at first like a sea of blue -- tarps covering the damaged roofs, and sounds like a brand new neighborhood being constructed.

The corner of York and Noble - one of the hardest hit areas

Part of Dexter-Pinckney road is still closed to the public.  There are mountains of woodchips, and a mile strip of downed brush.  If you look carefully at the tops of the trees in the distance by the river you can still see bits of clothing, siding, curtains, and other debris hanging where the tornado left it. Some of the houses had no roof damage, but the dents on the siding are frightening reminders of the force of the flying debris.  In some areas every tree, large and small, are snapped in half.  Across the street there is no evidence that anything happened.

Dexter Carwash 3 weeks after the tornado 

The Dexter Carwash became famous in this video by the Minick family who received more than the workout they anticipated that evening.  Three weeks later and it's still obvious that the prayers you hear in the recording didn't fall on deaf ears; they must not have been in the 3rd bay.

I have been enjoying the great weather, and am happy that it has allowed me to get some extra time exercising outside, both running and other cross-training activities.  It was a very interesting bike ride last night, most certainly, but I have to say I prefer my touring activities to be a bit more mundane.  There really isn't a satisfactory way to express sufficient KUDOS to all the folks who endured the damage, and are well on their way to rebuilding their houses and lives.

4/05/12 - 3.0 miles |  37 min | 4.8 mph | 323 kcal

Community effort

Dexter Tornado aftermath

More than 700 people walked through downtown Dexter MI on Saturday raising over $12,000 to help victims of the tornado, while another 500 helped with the ongoing cleanup in the stricken neighborhoods.  Washtenaw County is adding $250,000 to the clean-up effort according to ClickonDetroit.com, and based on what I saw today there were at least as many volunteers helping as yesterday. It continues to amaze me when looking at how thoroughly some of the houses were demolished that no one was hurt! The community of Dexter, MI truly demonstrates Marcus Aurelius's aphorism "To bear misfortune readily is good fortune."

3/25/12 - 6.0 miles | 75 min | 4.8 mph | 662 kcal

Wind power

View from Dexter-Pinckney Rd., 3/16/12

Today was another breathtaking record breaker of summertime before the spring solstice.  I couldn't resist taking a little bike ride after work, to go see first hand what has been all over the local and national news.

It took my breath away.

The first thing I noticed was yellow police tape on almost every mailbox south of N. Territorial, denoting that the home at the end of the driveway had suffered damage.  House after house was covered with blue tarp were the roof had been before 5PM yesterday.  The sound of generators was at every corner since the electricity hasn't yet been restored, along with saws, hammers, pieces of house being thrown into dumpsters which now are on every corner.  I saw countless utility trucks working on wires, trees, and gas lines.  All entrances to the area are still blocked by state police, but there were people everywhere, working, walking, sharing the tale of survival.  I rode home through Hudson Mills Metropark.  It was disconcerting to see what appeared to be litter down by the river pathway.  On closer inspection I could see that it was debris blown up to a quarter mile away:  house shingles, clothing, a flower pot...

Wind velocity:  135 mph in this F3 tornado
Preliminary damage estimate:  $32,000,000.00
Most amazing fact:  NO ONE was killed or injured!


I'm always happy to be able to get a good run in, especially on a beautiful evening.  After seeing how quickly a normal day can turn into something very different, I feel even more fortunate.

3/16/12 - 1.9 miles | 22 min | 5.1 mph | 203 kcal 

The March lamb roars... like a freight train

There isn't a lot I can say tonight except to be thankful that I'm safe and sound in an intact house.  The extraordinary weather we've been having doesn't come without a cost.  I took the picture to the left peeking out from my basement as the funnel cloud began rotating.  It didn't touch down here, but moved on to do some significant damage nearby.  Check out the amazing video taken by a disc golfer at Hudson Mills and these other shots in Dexter.  The Ides of March 2012 will be memorable in Washtenaw County.

3/15/12 - 1.9 miles | 20 min | 5.4 mph | 203 kcal