Crap beat out of me by hail today - frickin' ouch!

IdahoDoug · 06-29-07, 10:45 PM

Was out on a road bike ride with a training buddy here in N. Idaho today. We were about halfway around the lake when we got a glimpse at the other end and saw a wall of black and that half of the lake was nearly solid white water while our end was calm.

This is a very heavily wooded area - 100 to 150 foot trees densely packed - and our first concern was falling trees. So we guessed at the wind direction and stopped on a section of road parallel to the wind that was also open. Had about 5 minutes and we know the road well.

The wind hit and only one time in my life have I heard that many trees cracking off - sounds like explosions. The wind must have exceeded 50mph with gusts another 15mph. The sand and grit from the road nailed us and we had to crouch like toads but still wanted to watch for falling trees and limbs. Literally 500 branches and small limbs hit the roadway in the 70 yard stretch we chose and over a dozen trees within our eyesite were blown over or the top half shattered off. Turned out to be a good call but we were not ready for what came next.

The wind dropped to about half strength and we were contemplating getting back on the bikes to find shelter when a roaring sound began to windward. We turned and saw a wall of rain only seconds away and looked at each other with a grin thinking we were going to get well and truly soaked. Then it hit the roadway - acorn size hail! Caught in the open, we ran for the uphill side of the road where a cliff offered a slight lee but before we even got there the pummeling began. Wearing nothing but a summer jersey and thin shorts, the hits literally felt like 3/4 strength paintballs. Smack-right on the ear. Crack- right on the knuckle. Before we got to the side of the road it had turned to running on ball bearings. Strangely neither of us thought to drop the bikes which slowed us down.

Against the cliff, we really didn't get any protection and I'd estimate we got hit with several hundred in the 3 minutes. It was long enough we both stopped swearing at the hits and were getting kinda dazed/incredulous that this was really happening. There was literally nowhere to go and nothing to do as the cliff was too steep to climb and the other side had a cliff downward just as bad.

The bike helmets were a godsend but about every 10 seconds a hailstone would score a direct hit down the vents right on the skull. Maddening. Just before it quit we were both experiencing an ice cream headache from the ice jammed into the vents.

We walked until the hail melted off the road enough to ride, then got on and threaded our way among the branches and debris. Several times we had to dismount and carry the bikes over large trees across the road. A few cars were trapped between these roadblocks. Another biker appeared and it was another buddy who did not know we were out. He'd had the misfortune of being on a long and fast descent when the hail hit without warning. He had obvious welts all over his bare legs and arms.

Incredible as this seems, this was the second strange ride in as many days for me. Yesterday I passed a large deer at the beginning of a climb who did not move much as I passed him. A few minutes beyond the climb, my right pedal shattered and I turned around to limp home. As I began the descent, I saw another rider laying at the bottom of the hill. Turned out the deer had jumped out in front of him as he screamed the descent (easy 35mph without tucking). Stayed until the ambulance took him and heard today he has a punctured lung, broken ribs, etc etc.

Anyhow, strange riding. Can't wait to see what's on the agenda for tomorrow's ride....

DougM

cary · 06-30-07, 12:08 AM

I don't know what tomorrow holds, but a full face helmet and body armor might not be a bad idea.

mtb_rider · 06-30-07, 12:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cary

I don't know what tomorrow holds, but a full face helmet and body armor might not be a bad idea.

And then jump on your mountain bike!!

Fly Rod · 06-30-07, 12:20 AM

Why do you get to have all the fun?

IdahoDoug · 06-30-07, 12:25 AM

I dunno. I have long felt that I have more (way more) than my share of odd/strange things happen to me. Nothing harmful, no huge tragic things - just unusual experiences that come my way for some reason. Hmm.

DougM

OZCAL · 06-30-07, 12:30 AM

might want to replace the pedal first anyway

KliersLC · 06-30-07, 12:39 AM

I see a move to Moscow in your future. Nothing exciting ever happens here.............

Well, except for shootings and murder and whatnot.....

TJDIV · 06-30-07, 04:20 AM

double up

crholliday · 06-30-07, 07:15 PM

Great story!

Glad you were ok.

semlin · 06-30-07, 07:42 PM

good story. i love weather stories.

scottm · 06-30-07, 08:54 PM

Ouch, that's kind of hard to prepare for. I'm glad you didn't get nailed by any trees, those tree tops could do some damage. The deer story is bad, for some reason seeing deer in the dark on my bike every couple mornings really creeps me out. I see possum and racoons, owls, dogs and cats, but deer are big, and sometimes they'll just stand in the road, staring at my helmet light. I've nearly hit a few, I'm not sure just how that'd go. Hopefully not payback for the many deer I've hit with cars. I sometimes do hillwork in the dunes, but I have to keep the speed down for the sharp turns. Glad you're ok.

IdahoDoug · 07-01-07, 12:59 AM

With Tonya and the kids out of town for a couple days, I had a few hours to kill after church today. So I asked one of my doc buddies to violate about 100 HIPA medical privacy laws and tell me where this guy was. He walked me through the hospital, pointed at a room and said "He may or may not be in that room..." Heh.

Anyhow, I introduced myself to him as the guy who stabilized his neck and told him a story about missing a deer on the exact same spot while he was laying there. He invited me in. He's 65, a heck of a story teller and has been all over the world doing fun and amazing things. I was there for 2 and a half hours and there was hardly a quiet moment between us. Great guy - we'll meet for coffee when he's up and around. He told me he literally slammed the deer's haunch as it tried to sprint away from him. His bike rode on without him as the deer impact nearly stopped him from 32 (it's a hill and he'd just looked). The deer was not hurt at all, as you'd expect. Importantly for all you bikers out there -----the bike was unhurt!! Always the second question after a crash. Nice new Kestrel.

So, it's good the deer creep you out. They can kick your ass in several ways. Steer clear of the bucks in rut season. They're wacky around here.

DougM

scottm · 07-01-07, 06:36 AM

Ouch again. Story time? I hit an old black lab on my tri-bike many years ago. New asphalt road, I had a stiff tailwind, and was doing a sprints as hard as I could in the aero bars on a tuning ride. I'm not sure what my speed was, over 40. When I hit the dog I flipped in the air, landed helmet - shoulder - tailbone, rolled and slid for a while. Luckily I had a big torso pack on with two water bottles and tools for tweaking on this ride. That saved my lower spine. I broke my frame, helmet, and collarbone, but didn't know it at the time. I got back on and gingerly continued to my turn point and back, and stopped at my sponsors house on the way home. The bike frame was custom built for him by Fuji when he was a semi-pro, and he noticed the downtube was cracked through. He's a chiropractor, and he noticed my collarbone was snapped off where it meets the sternum. I've been nervous riding past animals ever since.

Like you say, a deer can do crazy things. I've been around horses and cows enough, they can get aggressive, so I'm sure a deer can get mean if I knocked one down or tangled with it.

yooper · 07-01-07, 08:35 AM

Yikes. My wife or children could have easily been out for a walk or bike ride when we got hit by 10 minutes of golfball size hail last week.

scottm · 07-01-07, 03:37 PM

Did that roof ever pop out as someone suggested it might?

yooper · 07-01-07, 06:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scottm

Did that roof ever pop out as someone suggested it might?

Nope. I even threw a bucket of ice water on it on a 95° day and it looks the same as far as I can tell.

bigndn · 07-02-07, 08:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yooper

Nope. I even threw a bucket of ice water on it on a 95° day and it looks the same as far as I can tell.

Wait for a hotter day and use dry ice.

Doug, glad you're OK. That must have sucked. I drove home Fri night in a rush to collapse my popup camper and button down some other things. I got done just before the storm hit. We were without power for about 2 hours, but I have neighbors that just got power late yesterday. In our area, we had lots of down trees and at least two down powerlines. We had friends and neighbors coming by to get water, take showers, and borrow our generator. I guess some of my neighbors are nuts.......they were cutting trees off the powerlines.

Got to work this morning to find a tree leaning up against my office. It doesn't appear to have caused any damage, but I guess we'll see.

Junk · 07-02-07, 08:02 AM

Stop being a whiney pussy

If you put your shirt over your helmet then nothing would have hit you in the head.

yooper · 07-02-07, 08:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigndn

Wait for a hotter day and use dry ice.

There aren't any hotter days here, part of why I live here in the North. It's gonna get fixed and cost me $250 (deductible) no matter what I do. Meh. If I get the opportunity I might try dry ice just to do the experiment...

yooper · 07-02-07, 08:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Junk

Stop being a whiney pussy

If you put your shirt over your helmet then nothing would have hit you in the head.

There's always something to learn on MUD! If I am ever caught in a hailstorm with my bike helmet on, I'll now remember to pull my shirt up over the helmet!