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:
http://home.earthlink.net/~cpetersky/Welcome.htm
Personal page: http://www.geocities.com/cpetersky/
See the books I've set free at:
http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky

"Claire Petersky" wrote in message
...
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:
http://home.earthlink.net/~cpetersky/Welcome.htm
Personal page: http://www.geocities.com/cpetersky/
See the books I've set free at:
http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky


Hard Core, Claire!

GG

Oh dear - hail. My commiserations. Wind is one thing, rain is another but
hail can be seriously nasty.

Cheers, helen s

Wed, 30 Mar 2005 22:42:04 -0800, ,
"GaryG" wrote:


Hard Core, Claire!

GG

WTF else can you do when you're riding your bike in the real world?
Claire isn't playing around.
--
zk

In article ,
"GaryG" writes:

Hard Core, Claire!

Well, after all, pen-&-ink /is/ the correct way to do the
NYT xword. Pencil & eraser is just cheating. Although
it's okay to use one's pen to, say, turn an 'E' into a
'B'.


cheers,
Tom

--
-- Nothing is safe from me.
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca

In article ,
"Claire Petersky" writes:

About five miles from home, the clouds were so dark I turned on my lights,
even though it was only about 4:30.

That's where generator systems really come into their own.
They're handily right there, and ready to go.

BTW, the weather guy on the TV news today mentioned
switching to DST this weekend.


cheers,
Tom

--
-- Nothing is safe from me.
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca

Am I the only one to make no comment about red thighs and icy cold? Yes, I
think so.

Kudos Ms Peteresky....


"Claire Petersky" wrote in message
...
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:
http://home.earthlink.net/~cpetersky/Welcome.htm
Personal page: http://www.geocities.com/cpetersky/
See the books I've set free at:
http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky

In article ,
"Claire Petersky" wrote:

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.

Ever the inspiration! Have you taken delivery of that fancy
übertouring bike?

Similar thing happened to me yesterday, 1200 miles away. Except, my
commuter buddy DITCHED his ride home and called his wife for a car ride!
sissy. i was warn, however. Being possessed of way too much exposure
gear means i can keep a set or three of emergency rain stuff at work.

I went kayaking when i got home. what the heck, i was a already
drenched...

..max

--
blink

Congrats, Claire. Did the same thing myself on Saturday. I started off
thinking putting fenders on my bike would have been a good idea, but
after a few miles, it would not have helped since I was soaked to the
gills anyway. I'd just lubed my chain, so not having to be too careful
wiping it down was a plus. Found it a little hard to see sometimes, but
otherwise it was okay.

catzz66 wrote:
Congrats, Claire. Did the same thing myself on Saturday. I started
off
thinking putting fenders on my bike would have been a good idea, but
after a few miles, it would not have helped since I was soaked to the

gills anyway. I'd just lubed my chain, so not having to be too
careful
wiping it down was a plus. Found it a little hard to see sometimes,
but
otherwise it was okay.


I can't even imagine riding in that kind of weather. My bike comes out
when the sun is shining, and all is right with the world. I am in fear
my two charity rides will be held on days when it decides to rain. I am
not sure I can handle it. Considering that law they passed yesterday
to make age 40, the age where you can sue for "age discrimination"
because you are now in the "OLDER WORKER" category...I am feeling a
little weird today.

If 40 is the OLDER WORKER...what the heck is 50? I thought 50 was the
new 40? I guess not. All morning long the news has been reporting on
THE 40 Year old "OLDER WORKER" and how companies prefer younger
workers. Makes me wonder if this old bat should go riding in bad
weather. Makes me wonder if I could get a job if I were ever laid off.
Makes me think I might do damage to my really old body if I ride in bad
weather since I am so "OLDER". I'm older than the "OLDER WORKER".
AGGGHHHHHH Kudos to you Claire for your determination and daring. You
are one awesome woman.
All good things
Maggie