You got a worse story?
by Clint Hosman on September 11th, 2008
When it gets around September in Phoenix we expect a little bit of a reprieve in the monsoons. This year they seem to be hanging on and last night was no different. Travis and I meet up for an after work ride and everything looked fine. We headed out east which is typically the direction storms blow in from so normally we can see anything coming our way. It wasn’t long though before we started feeling the sting of sand on the backs of our legs and turned around to see that we had a huge sand storm creeping up on us from behind. It also didn’t help that pretty much every light looked like this one on our way out of town
The fact that you can peddle the bike at 35 mph with little effort was little consolation in because we knew that as soon as we turned back for home we would be facing these 35+ mph winds head on.
The fact that you can peddle the bike at 35 mph with little effort was little consolation in because we knew that as soon as we turned back for home we would be facing these 35+ mph winds head on.
This picture here shows what a typical dust storm is like, all those grainy things in the picture is sand and dust in the air.
Hey Travis how do you feel about riding headfirst into a sand storm?
When I got back my eyes where completely scratchy and blood shoot and I had cool sand marks on my forehead where the dirt blew through my helmet and stuck to my sweaty melon.
Maybe I am spoiled or maybe I just plan to well but I seldom ride in too inclement of weather. Keep in mind I don’t consider blazing hot temperatures inclement, that’s just normal. What’s some of the worst conditions you have rode in?
Filed under: Daily Grind
September 12th, 2008 at 7:38 am
Yeah nothing like being sand blasted in the face. So I cancelled my weekly Microderm Abrasion.
September 12th, 2008 at 10:21 am
Writing to you from Duluth, MN,(sponsored EVOMO rider). I’m a firm believer in the fact that horrible conditioned rides are relative, but in training for the Trans Iowa last year one sticks out in my mind.
For those of you not familiar with Northern Minnesota, consult your map and you’ll see that Duluth sits proudly on the western most tip of Lake Superior, thus we get everything Superior can give us in regard to weather. One January morning I left my house at 3:30 a.m. in the chill of night to meet my training partner for a 100 mile ride. The point of leaving so early was due to the fact that he has a child and wants to spend time with her on the weekend and we just wanted to see if we could up the toughness factor. As I rolled downtown without a car insight I noticed the temp. on the bank stating minus 15 F. My buddy and I embarked on a 50 mile out and back into some bone chilling temps which amounted to minus 25 with the wind chill. We had to pull over several times so my buddy could shove his extra hat and gloves down his pants to protect his little man. As we approached our turn around my camel back which was positioned under my outer shirt and jacket was frozen solid. Ya gotta have fluids so I was forced to disrobe and put said camel back against my skin, then throw my clothes back on over it - NOT FUN! Anyway, we survived that ride and I think I cried like a little school girl sitting in the tub while my feet thawed out.
Tim Ek
Duluth, MN
September 13th, 2008 at 2:11 pm
An early spring ride in northern wisconsin where I took advantage of what seemed like a perfect 60 degree sunny day. So about 53 miles into my trek to green bay, the clouds rolled in, winds picked up, temps dropped like a rock to about 36 degrees and it started a full on blizzard with some 4 inches of new snow by the time I arrived in green bay. Definitely not the right day to rock bibshorts and short sleeve jerseys. The sack definitely hid for a while.
September 13th, 2008 at 6:27 pm
wait till I get down there……..
September 14th, 2008 at 8:36 am
rain. every freakin day. doesnt matter what season.
spring = warmer rain
summer = sunny rain
autumn = cloudy rain
winter = cold rain
September 14th, 2008 at 3:33 pm
Dude I got caught in that sand storm/haboob. I was at SoMo riding DC when it blew in, gotta love the sand in the face.
September 15th, 2008 at 10:48 am
i got a gnarly itch in my groin after leaving a strip club in miami once.