I read that Oz has scorpions too...not as dangerous as some snakes but would be pretty creepy to wake up to. Locally in Wash DC area it's not uncommon to see harmless little black snakes sunning themselves on warm bike paths; occasionally panicking pedestrians. Venomous Copperhead snakes are the only dangerous local variety though apparently rare.

We got caught in a hailstorm here in Tassie on Sunday.

Good rain jackets with hoods helped a lot. So did other clothes like tights, shoes, full-fingered gloves and helmets.

And we had come through a grove of trees on our way out, so when the hail started, we made haste back to those trees.

We weren't touring, but we were riding a road I've never ridden before and Rowan has only ridden once at night so it was unfamiliar to us. If we had been touring, we would have done the same sort of thing.

When I have been caught out in hail it was most often accompanied by lightning. A grove of trees like you chose to seek shelter in is probably an OK choice. On the other hand, for those in situations where there is only a single tree it might be safer to stay out in the hail unless it is really big hail. Other wise you might be avoiding one danger in favor of a worse one.

Our hail here is a variation of snow. It snows at higher elevations and rains at lower elevations ... but somewhere in between, it hails. All a part of winter in Tasmania.

There was no lightening.

If I understand you correctly, that sounds more like what I would call sleet here. Hail is more of a summertime phenomenon and occurs when there is a strong updraft associated with strong summer thunderstorms, so it is most often accompanied by lightning. It is inhibited by colder weather and is unusual in winter.

Hailstones can be quite large, and while not the norm, golf ball sized stones are not that unusual. There have been reported cases of hail as large as 8" (20 cm). I haven't seen really big hail while on tour but have seen 4" diameter hail a couple times in my life.

Hail - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

J Murphy that is large. I think the largest I've ever seen is about a cm or a bit bigger, but that size is really serious stuff.

I do have a few memories of "ouch" moments with smallish hail, half a cm or so, the size you usually see, getting caught out for a few seconds in it a few times, but like I wrote a while back, if I were ever caught out without shelter, putting a pannier or two over your head would be a good way to protect yourself while standing up. The times in my life I've seen hail come down, its always been over in a few minutes and its almost magical in how in just 5 or 10 mins later, the cold temps go away, the sun comes out and back up to summer hot temps, the hail all melts on the hot asphalt and its like it never happened.

I had read this thread, and even commented (#48) with little thought that I might actually "get caught" in any real weather. Yet... with a day-long forecast of sunny.... and blue sky as far as the eye could see I went cycling.

No need for taking a rain bike! No poncho, no jacket, not even the little disposable plastic poncho thingy I sometime stick in my jersey pocket. Thank God... I always carry my money and phone in a zip-loc bag.

I rode a vintage-ish 89(?) Trek Aluminum (1400) I had recently cleaned-up. It was it's maiden/test ride. I'd already bicycled on my daily rider that morning before it got too hot. But decided that after lunch I would load up the old Trek in the truck and drive it to the rails-to-trails (something I rarely do) for a fast 20 miles.

I parked and rode to a "station" 10 miles up the path. It was fun easy... and most people seemed to somewhere else... maybe avoiding the mid-day sun. I hydrated for a brief period and headed back to the truck.

Suddenly... it got dark. I felt what I thought might be a few rain drops and stopped to look at what was going on. Sure enough huge dark storm clouds were moving diagonally across my position. Judging by the size and movement of the clouds, my speed a location of my truck I felt confident I would have no problem getting home dry.

I was wrong! I got soaked. There was thunder.... I didn't see it at the time... but there was lighting. The wind and rain was so bad I had real trouble just staying on the paved path. But I ran for it.

No, not sleet.

These are stones, often of quite a decent size. Sunday's were only about 1/2 cm in diameter, but I've seen them larger.

It's something that occurs quite often in winter here. Keep in mind that winters here aren't like the Canadian prairie winters I was used to. Although it gets quite cold on the mountain tops, near the ocean it rarely dips below freezing. But the combination of the mountains and the ocean and systems coming up from Antarctica can create some interesting weather.

In the summer we can get the big hail ... last summer we had a couple storms of golf ball sized hail.

It is pretty exceptional and did a lot of damage. It was big enough to dent cars and the cars back then had much heavier sheet metal than newer cars do. I suspect that it could be lethal if caught out in it with no protection.

Heh, I read your nick as "Drop Bear Fan" at first… I haven't had my morning cup of tea yet. ;-)

Yes, seen a few scorpions. It's a bit disconcerting when you put your hand on a vertical rock face to steady yourself when bushwalking, the rock you put your hand on comes away to reveal a scorpion underneath. Doesn't happen often but it has happened.

One more lightning tip to add: as anyone growing up on a ranch on the prairies knows, don't take refuge near a wire fence (e.g., barbed wire). A lightning strike can run down the fenceline and arc out at you (cattle get zapped like this because they often push to the corners of a field in a storm).

Noted, a zapparoo fact I didnt know.