May 21, 2010

Riding through Hail

The Olympia Presbytery met for at Pacific Beach, Washington yesterday. An absolutely beautiful spot on God's earth.

The only thing is, it is out in the middle of no where.

When I knew about the location of the presbytery meeting, I decided that I would take my motorcycle out there. It is about 125 miles each way and it has some pretty awesome twisties, not to mention the incredible sights along the way.

I had been excited about this ride for a long time.

The only thing I had not counted on was the weather being so...what's the word...hmmm...nasty. Yeah, that pretty much describes it. In the short ride, I rode through:

  • pouring rain
  • sunshine
  • mist
  • hail. that's right hail! at 70mph, with no windshield or fairings!
  • all at 40-50 degree temperatures
I had to stop three times on the way out to the meeting. First, because it was so stinking cold. I couldn't feel my fingers or legs. I have excellent gear but it had no chance against the cold temperatures, freezing rain, and hail. I was sooooooo cold! I really needed more protection (windshield, fairings, and deflectors) and I needed better gear (heated grips, leather chaps, heated gloves, etc).

Then, as I was traveling at highway speeds through the rain, the rain really started getting painful. And then I noticed that the rain was bouncing off my bike and off my helmet. It wasn't rain. It was hail! I can testify that getting hit by hail at 70mph on a bike really, really, hurts. I had to pull over until the hail stopped. The only thing was that I ran into hail three times! Thanks a lot Washington!

But, I did have a good laugh. Really, I was laughing out loud because when I first realized it was hailing on me, I said to my self, "What the hail?!?!?!" and started cracking up.

The third time I stopped was because I saw a Big 5 (sporting goods store) in Aberdeen, WA., and I knew they had something I desperately needed - hand warmers!!! I bought a pack of 10 - each capable of reaching 132 degrees, and lasting up to seven hours.

I wasn't going to take any chances. It was freezing cold!

But you know what? I would do it again. It was beautiful! 

But next time around, I will be better prepared.

What I really need is a new bike!

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