View Full Version : Hail is MP
shinomaster
03-30-2008, 08:25 PM
I rode up to my studio today which involves an ascent of the West Hills of Portland. Near the top I was caught in a hail storm as I raced down the other side to the studio. Ouch! Hail hurts my face at 25mph!
On the way back home it began to hail again, as well as rain! What are the chances? It was so painful that I covered my face with one hand as I steered with the other, on the wet slushy roads. I chose to stop under a tree as it wasn't about to cease. If soft snow feels like pretty butterfly kisses then hail feels like an abusive relationship with a cactus. After waiting a few minutes I got pretty cold and decided a drop in elevation might be my only escape, and I raced down the rest on the 900 foot hill with one hand covering my face. No, there was no Starbucks to pull over at....believe it or not. No bars either Darren.
What do you guys do when your stuck in inclement weather? I bet a neoprene face mask would have helped, but only complete wimps use those in Portland.
Fat Robert
03-30-2008, 08:28 PM
ouch
M.Sommers
03-30-2008, 08:30 PM
I rode up to my studio today which involves an ascent of the west hills of Portland. Near the top I was caught in a hail storm as I raced down the other side to the studio. Ouch! Hail hurts my face at 25mph!
On the way back home it began to hail again, as well as rain! What are the chances? It was so painful that I covered my face with one hand as I steered with the other, on the wet slushy roads. I chose to stop under a tree as it wasn't about to stop. If soft snow feels like pretty butterfly kisses then hail feels like an abusive relationship with a cactus. After waiting a few minutes I got pretty cold and decided a drop in elevation might be my only escape, and I raced down the rest on the 900 foot hill with one hand covering my face. No, there was no Starbucks to pull over at....believe it or not. No bars either Darren.
What do you guys do when your stuck in inclement weather? I bet a neoprene face mask would have helped, but only complete wimps need those in Portland.
Here's to your ride:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qIYG2zDBxg
:beer:
chrisroph
03-30-2008, 08:51 PM
wimp!
at least it hit 40 today. Yesterday, we rode into the bull run in 35 degree temps and snow for 40 miles. it was rain for the last 15.
the hail today felt like a sauna compared to yesterday.
we need to toughen you up or you are NEVER going to win a cross race.
I drove into hail yesterday, between Ontario and Baker City.
I couldn't believe there was still that sort of crappy weather hanging around.
At least I had a windshield in front of me.
Where the H#ll is spring????
shinomaster
03-30-2008, 09:10 PM
wimp!
at least it hit 40 today. Yesterday, we rode into the bull run in 35 degree temps and snow for 40 miles. it was rain for the last 15.
the hail today felt like a sauna compared to yesterday.
we need to toughen you up or you are NEVER going to win a cross race.
It wasn't 40 were I was, no way. :no:
pdxmech13
03-30-2008, 09:12 PM
Just harden up shino...and think about sunshine and 70 degrees. :beer:
shinomaster
03-30-2008, 09:17 PM
It was just my face that hurt. Once in Boston I was riding over the Mass. ave. bridge and was caught in blinding sleet in 20 degree weather. That was worse.
pdxmech13
03-30-2008, 09:20 PM
Well at least the sun should be poking out this week :beer:
bironi
03-30-2008, 09:29 PM
this "spring". I get lazy this time of year, and optimistic, and always under-dress. I am just tired of having to dress for the worst. I was out today under-dressed, but lucked out. The misery was half of what it could have been. A good day. :beer:
DarrenCT
03-30-2008, 09:35 PM
woah that sux shino
thxfully it didnt hail when i was there. i kinda liked the brief rain shower tho
shinomaster
03-30-2008, 09:39 PM
woah that sux shino
thxfully it didnt hail when i was there. i kinda liked the brief rain shower tho
It's really not so bad once you're out in it.
rounder
03-30-2008, 09:58 PM
Shino...off to new orleans. The coffee there is chickoree and evervone drinks hurricanes instead of beer. Oh yeah...and they say it never hails there...except when the saints go marching in.
chrisroph
03-30-2008, 10:15 PM
It wasn't 40 were I was, no way. :no:
ok 39
shinomaster
03-30-2008, 10:17 PM
ok 39
In Washington Park it felt 38.
chrisroph
03-30-2008, 10:36 PM
In Washington Park it felt 38.
seriously, yesterday was my coldest ride of the year. i couldn't wait to get off the bike and soak in the shower.
today was a lot better but it still was really cold. i got hammered with hail too. can't wait for my second ride of the year with bare legs. the first was 4 weeks ago in california.
can't wait for my second ride of the year with bare legs. the first was 4 weeks ago in california.
I've had a number of those, unfortunately I had to travel 1700 miles south to Arizona to do them.
Now I'm back home ................... :crap:
Heya Portlandmos, I too froze my fingers off on Leif E today. Really wasn't out to do more than get part of my 70 mins in; went from sunny on 23rd and Thurman to hail and 33* at the trailhead. Went up to the top, came right back down, and thought my fingers were going to crack off. Not sure why I got so cold today in such a short time; weird. The bike is a mess; feels like October already!
shinomaster
03-30-2008, 11:13 PM
Heya Portlandmos, I too froze my fingers off on Leif E today. Really wasn't out to do more than get part of my 70 mins in; went from sunny on 23rd and Thurman to hail and 33* at the trailhead. Went up to the top, came right back down, and thought my fingers were going to crack off. Not sure why I got so cold today in such a short time; weird. The bike is a mess; feels like October already!
It really is crummy, especially after a lovely February.
tbushnel
03-30-2008, 11:24 PM
Seemed pretty warm (relatively speaking) and dry when I left (shorts, knee/arm warmers, longsleeve base). Didn't take long until I knew things were not going my way. Temps dropped, a bit of rain - no problem, I'll be a bit cold, so what. Just past the turn-around point, it starts to HAIL, and not just a little.
Man that stuff is painful. :fight:
Top it off, I flat my new tubular :crap:
Gotta bring out the sewing kit.
coulda been worse though. :banana:
ted.
shinomaster
03-30-2008, 11:49 PM
Chris, was you bath like this?
[QUOTE=shinomaster] If soft snow feels like pretty butterfly kisses then hail feels like an abusive relationship with a cactus.
as one that has had numerous run in's with cacti, abusive relationships hurt a whole lot more.
sw3759
03-31-2008, 01:41 AM
i had a run in with a hail storm some years ago and had to get under some trees to try and get away from it.golf ball size hail really hurts.i ended up getting some cool dents in my helmet and poison ivy from the tree..that was a great day :cool:
William
03-31-2008, 05:14 AM
Hey Shino, I’ve felt your pain!
We got hit by a hail storm heading back into town on Peoria Rd. outside of Corvallis once. We could see it coming across the valley floor, mostly grass fields with little cover. We were hammering to try and beat it….it caught us. When it hit it hurt like heck, but we just figured it would be better to suck it up and get into town as fast as we could. I had to hunch down and tilt my head toward the hail using my helmet as a shield. It didn’t help a whole lot, but it kept most of the hail from hitting my face. It still stung quite a bit. Just as we got into town it stopped, and as we crossed over the Willamette the sun came out. The weather can be funky this time of year.
William
PS: What do you call it when you are contemplating a ride and you see the sun shining during the months of Jan through April in Oregon? A “sucker hole”. You were a sucker for thinking that you could slip in a sunny ride because the moment you get about five miles out of town it’s going to close up and pour on you….SUCKER!!!! ;)
shinomaster
03-31-2008, 12:13 PM
Maybe it was graupel? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graupel
shinomaster
03-31-2008, 02:45 PM
Relentless!
AgilisMerlin
03-31-2008, 03:18 PM
Is that dandruff ?
shinomaster
03-31-2008, 03:30 PM
No.
BURCH
03-31-2008, 03:47 PM
Ah, that sucks.
Never got hit with hail thank goodness, but get forced to take shelter from thunderstorms every once in a while. Nothing too crazy about that though since I imagine that most here have had that experience.
Karin Kirk
03-31-2008, 04:39 PM
Maybe it was graupel? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graupel
I heart graupel! Skiing on it feels like skiing on a trampoline, kinda springy and bouncy. It definitely hurts your face though.
Some hail does look a lot like graupel, but it's different. Hail can start out as graupel, but then the particles are exposed to some freeze-thaw cycles in the atmosphere. This makes hail into little ice balls, whereas graupel is made up of tiny (microscopic) little specs of ice that adhere together.
shinomaster
03-31-2008, 05:23 PM
I heart graupel! Skiing on it feels like skiing on a trampoline, kinda springy and bouncy. It definitely hurts your face though.
Some hail does look a lot like graupel, but it's different. Hail can start out as graupel, but then the particles are exposed to some freeze-thaw cycles in the atmosphere. This makes hail into little ice balls, whereas graupel is made up of tiny (microscopic) little specs of ice that adhere together.
Well, then it was hail. These were icy ball bearings. :)
jeffg
03-31-2008, 06:25 PM
I got hit with a little of it a few weeks ago, but I will never forget getting hailed on during my first ever double century on Mount Hamilton!
The descent of Mount Diablo at 6:45 am (wet and about 36) seems worse to me, though. It did to this guy as well, who has a great summary of that day:
http://www.ultracyclist.com/2002dmd.htm
I just love the following quote:
"Who whipped who?" That is the question. For me that's it, three strikes and I am out! No more DMD's. This year's Devil Mountain Double stands out among those rides which have caused me intense suffering. My first Death Valley Double is still first on this list. The torture between the descent of Salsberry Pass and the last rest stop at Furnace Creek will be etched in my memory forever. The Tour of North Texas with its 500 plus miles of infernal headwind used to run a close second. The 2002 DMD may take its place. Even the misery encountered on some of the very cold and wet nightly descents during RAAM does not equal what I went through on the descent from Mt Diablo. How riders like Richard Boetner and Craig Robertson, riding in just their cycling jerseys were able to complete this ride, blows my mind."
Those guys, and you Portland riders are tough -- We Norcal folks are not made for hail and freezing temps
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