Not able to ride ahead of the storm

Yesterday we had the weather pattern of showers and sun breaks. When I got
off work, pavement was dry, but the sun break was already starting to cloud
over, and the wind was coming from the south and a bit from the west. Home
is to the east and the north, and I was hoping to stay ahead of the front
moving in.

About five miles from home, the clouds were so dark I turned on my lights,
even though it was only about 4:30. Just a few minutes later, I felt the
first spatter of rain. In only a few moments, the rain was falling hard.
Within a mile, though, it slacked to the more familiar, gentle ticka-tacka
ticka-tacka. I thought maybe it would even stop, but just as I began the
final ascent of the ride, it picked up again, and then -- it started to
hail. The hail was small, but coming down hard. I could feel it bounce
around in the vents of my helmet. The lawns on the side of the road turned
white. Just as I hit the crest of the hill, it returned to a hard rain.
Nothing but the descent to the house left, I took it easy all the way down,
with the street gutters overflowing and the roads still slick from the hail.

When I stepped in the house, my first thought was to strip myself of all my
wet things. The gloves and shoes went on the heat vent to dry. I started the
hot water in the tub. I piled up the wet socks, jersey, shorts in the
laundry basket and hung up the dripping jacket. My thighs were bright red
and icy cold. I grabbed the New York Times crossword and a pen, and then
eased myself into the hot water to thaw out.


--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
Home of the meditative cyclist:
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Personal page: http://www.geocities.com/cpetersky/
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