I woke up to the sound of thunder and heavy rain. I was pitch black out but I had to go rescue my helmet which was still sitting on the bike. The ground around my tent had turned to muck and I gained about three inches of mud on my shoes in the ten steps to and from the bike. Just before sunrise I peeked out of the tent and saw that the sky was clearing towards the south. I thought I would make a run for it. My camp site was a claggy mess, so packing up was a bit of a chore. I got on the road and stopped in Show Low, Arizona for a cup of coffee. I also contacted my friend Bob Archabald who said he would ride up from Tucson to meet me. I really enjoyed the ride from Show Low down to Globe along highway 60 and then 77. I highly recommend this route. These highways wind through several forested canyons. It's fun to ride and really beautiful scenery. I met up with Bob along the side of the road in Winkelman and he told me about a "back way" into Tucson through the mountains. It sounded fun and I'll do anything to avoid urban sprawl and traffic. We turned off the highway towards San Miguel and headed for Reddington Pass. The landscape turned into saguaro cactus and mesquite trees. The pavement ended and we started making our way into the mountains. About 15 miles in, the sky in front of us was turning ominously dark and the wind picked up. Bob and I stopped to discuss our options but decided to proceed. Within a minute of that conversation the sky opened up and dumped heavy cold rain on us. My face shield was streaked and It was hard to see but we proceeded with caution. The road started to flow streams of water and lightning lit up the sky around us. I grew up in the midwest and I have a healthy respect for lightning storms, however, we were so exposed, there is nothing to do but ride through. Several times we had to cross small rivers. Warning signs along the road stated "Do not enter if flooded". What exactly constituted "flooded" I wondered as I plunged through up to my axles in muddy water. Bob took a minor spill, slipping in a muddy corner. As we hauled his bike up I asked him it there was any shelter on this road. He said he thought there was in about two miles. We pressed on. The lightning started getting very close and I thought... we are idiots and no one is going to feel sorry for us if we get hit by lightning. There really was no place to hide. Eventually (more like 5-6 miles) we reached some shelter and waited for the storm to pass. After reaching Bob's house and taking a hot shower we had a good laugh about our inadvertent adventure. Bob's bike did suffer some minor damage and the Tiggrr needs a good wash.