Well the storm came up from behind and rained, then rained a little harder, then started coming down in buckets ... I've ridden in rains like that several times, so no big deal, I just kept riding.

Then I went to move my arm, and it felt all stiff and numb ... and the rain had really started hurting by then, so I stopped to put my jacket on, and realized that I was being nailed with pea-sized hail, and it had collected in a sheet of ice all over me ... which was why my arms felt that way. Pea-sized hail and massive raindrops feel much the same.

As I was leaning over, buckling up my Carradice bag, a huge hailstone hit me in the back of the head ... and that's when I decided to seek shelter. As the marble-sized stuff started to come down, I dashed to some pine trees a little ways away to huddle under them and wait for it to pass.

When it finally cleared some time later, and I emerged ... the road was a white sheet of ice. It was amazing to see ... in JULY!