Weather Stop

I missed my bike in February. My riding was derailed by a combination of injury, gales, torrential rain, hail, snow and ice. Cycling hasn't been for the faint of heart - which seems to me, these days. A few people will be happy to hear that!

Today held the promise of better weather - lots of sunshine, for once, and a more moderate wind. I left under a dazzling sun and took a trip up the valley to Grassington, returning up the last hill home in the same bright light that I'd left. In between, I passed through no less than four heavy bursts of hail. I could tell when they were coming because the wind would get up and the light would drop by a few thousand lumens. It didn't really matter. They were only short bursts and the hail was hard enough to bounce off. I'm not going to worry about a few dents in the helmet. I didn't get wet. It was just so, so good to be out. I needed that ride.

A slow-moving hailstorm hit me as I descended into Grassington and as I turned around to come back down the other side of the valley, I was in danger of catching up with it. It seemed sensible to stop for a few minutes and take some photographs.