Today is the kind of day that tested my commuting mettle. For sure it would have been easier to drive.

Right before I left the house there was a monstrous downpour complete with thunder, lightning, wind and hail. Some of the hail was the size of golf balls, but thankfully most of it was marble sized. The hail stopped and the rain lightened so I hopped on the bike and hit the road. It looked like it had snowed, but it was actually hailstones covering the pavement.

I took the winter bike, as the road was covered in hail and the 35F temp meant it wouldn't be melting off any time soon. The wind was a steady 35 mph but I lucked out in that it was mostly a cross-wind so I didn't have to fight it head on. There were low areas and intersections that were flooded. Lots of sticks on the ground from the wind and hail. The news even reported a turkey buzzard that crashed to the ground as its wings got so ice laden it could no longer remain airborne.

Made it to work unscathed. The temp is supposed to drop and the wind and storms are predicted to continue all day, until it finally turns to snow. Forecasts keep changing but every time I hear them the snow amounts go up. Right now they're thinking this system will drop somewhere between 11"-14". So the ride home could be equally interesting.