Caught by a storm

The day started benignly with cerulean sky and a few puffy clouds. The wildflowers sang their joyous summer song.

When I gave K her choice of pose atop Hug Hill, she was creative! This time, she perched on top of the stump!

A short time later, I was riding solo, having left K at home after our joint mountain bike ride. As I climbed through a dense forest toward a ridge, I heard rumblings from the sky. Upon emerging on the exposed ridge spine, I caught a glimpse of the storm brewing.

After pedaling a little further, the realization dawned on me that I was probably about to get hammered by a huge storm. Look at the gorgeous, yet terrifying, horizon. The Continental Divide was hidden behind the clouds.

I began pedaling for my life. I knew where the first trail was that would get me off that exposed ridge, and I wanted to get to it before the storm's fury was unleashed upon me.

The timing was perfect. I found the trail and dove down it at breakneck speed into the forest. As I rumbled down the hill, hail started barraging my world. The flashes of lightning terrified me but I knew that I was in a relatively safe place, well below the ridge and in a dense forest.

Without a jacket, I had to seek shelter under the boughs of a pine tree because the hail was stinging my bare arms too much for me to bear. In a remarkably short time, the storm's peak fury passed, and I rode home in a steady and soaking rain. It felt nice in our warm (60 deg) air.

I, like the wildflowers, was drenched. Mother Nature showed me who is boss, and it's definitely not me.

It stormed on and off all day. We found a window of relatively calm weather for our evening hike. The sky beamed blue behind the swirl of clouds. Mother Nature can be both furious and beautiful.

For myriad reasons, my posting may be erratic for a little while. Please don't worry about us!