Stormy Bike Ride

The day started out with clear blue sky and a chance of afternoon showers. As part of new summertime exercise routine James and I decided to take an extended bike ride exploration together. Typically we will go off on our own expeditions on the bike, running errands and such, but today we figured we would combine our plans and spend the day together.

We road up to the next town north, Lexington, which is actually quite big. We encountered a Farmer's Market, stopped and bought a few fresh veggies for dinner. We sampled a few locally made items, and then got on our way. We were about 5 miles into the ride and had about 4 more to go. At the end of the Minute Man bike trail we stopped in at bicycle store for a look around. Now at about 3pm the day was going quick. We decided to get back on the trail and head back home. On the way back we made one more stop to have some water and use the bathroom. Now we where ready to make our way back home, as tonight was bike night (motorcycle type over in Lowell).

About 2 miles later the sky got dark and the rain came down. We pedaled on for about a half mile, maybe more, and then the rain just became too much. We detoured off the trail over to a little shop called Four Seasons. Unfortunately, they are for some reason closed on Tuesdays. Huddling under an awning we decided to wait out the storm. To our disbelief the storm got worse, the temperature dropped and then the hail began. I couldn't believe it, but right there in front of my eyes was pea-sized hail falling from the sky. Half crying and half laughing we patiently waited.

Finally, about a half an hour later the sun appeared. We made a break for it and headed home. With 5 miles to go we raced home, fearing that the storm was not over yet. We rode through puddles drenching ourselves even more, but we had to get home.

Soaked from face to toe (heads were covered with helmets), we made it home. Immediately following there was a hot shower, tea and fresh clothes. It reminded me of our cross country trip were we were repeated rained on day after day. I was officially initiated into the world of the cyclist. Thankfully we made it home just in time to miss the next round of rain and hail.