As my rest cycle has continued, so too has the cleanup efforts around central and north Alabama.  On Saturday I went with some friends to Athens, AL, one of the towns near us decimated by last week's tornadoes.  We did our run on a rail trail through town and witnessed some of the damage.

The toppled trees and general debris were expected, but what struck me was the way the houses were sheared from the direction the tornado approached.  It was like someones face as the hair is blown back riding in a convertible.  You could see the shingles, siding, walls, windows, even cars peeled open by the wind in the same way as you might peel back the front side of an orange.  Unimaginable until you see it for real

Since this is supposed to be a training blog let me throw out the summary - the end-of-spring rest period should be over now and finally it is time to start training for the trail season.  I'm so excited I feel like I've been waiting a year.  I've started biking again too which is a relief as I really missed it.  More interesting things will be happening soon!