Hail M & M !

From Tammy Berger


Mike F. wanted to catch a "longish" ride on Sunday morning, so five of us (Mike F, Bob D, Paul T, Stan E, Tammy B) headed out on a reverse Martinsville & Mahalasville route.  Paul wanted to add some miles and some climbs, so we started the day by going out Kerr Creek, Birdie Galyan, and Brummets Creek.

We reached the top of Brummets Creek only to find Mike had broken a spoke.  After a few minutes of deliberation Mike decided to head back to town to get the bike fixed and the rest of us headed out.  We had smooth sailing until Lick Creek when the rain first started dripping on us.  It stayed light and even stopped for a while and we had hopes to make it to Martinsville without significant rain, alas that was not to happen.  When we reached the wide open flat of Mahalasville Rd the storm broke over us.  The wind was so strong that the HAIL that was pelting us was actually horizontal!  The wind finally won out and literally blew us off the road.  We took shelter in the ditch for about 10 minutes as the storm blew over us, then rode the last 3 miles into Martinsville in the pouring rain.

We stopped at Starbucks to get something to warm us up just as the rain cleared.  After warming up for a little while, comparing welts from the hail, and slightly drying out we headed out for the return to town.  Paul just had to have one more good climb and took us all home by way of Hacker Creek.  I for one was just happy to make it to the top today!  Shortly after the climb to Hindustan we met Mike again with fixed spoke and Mike and Paul chose to return to Martinsville to complete a "longish" ride for Mike.  Stan, Bob, and I chose to return to Bloomington and I am happy to say we had an uneventful end to our 70 mile HAIL M&M ride!