Tour Day 61 Mirrors and Rain Aug 26 2010

Last night I was about to fall asleep when I got to thinking how cool this whole trip is. I mean not many people get to sleep next their bike for weeks upon weeks.

I awoke this morning hoping and praying the weather was wrong and it was not raining. Well I hate to say it the weather was right. I went outside and it was pouring. What went through my head is do I want to ride in this? Is it worth a day of misery?

Time was ticking by and the gears kept turning in my head over a nice pot of oatmeal. I had made my mind up I was heading out for at least 60km’s but really I had my hopes set a lot higher.

About 10 minutes after I got on the road it started to pour about as hard as it was in Quebec. I was second-guessing myself at first but the thought that I was on the road so I have to make it worthwhile.

New Hampshire was only 20km away and this is where I got my biggest scare on the bike so far. I was forced into the two-lane turnpike that had a bunch of cars ripping around it. The rain made the visibility very limited so I was hoping that drivers were able to see my bright orange jacket.

By this point my jacket had started to soak through and I was getting damp. Still my feet were dry and my legs were still moving, but I had to use the washroom. I knew the second I stopped I was going to feel all of the water hit my skin. I knew that I was not going to want to keep riding after that stop.

Thankfully having that time to mentally prepare I got back on the bike and was infact smiling. This lady in the ford escapes looked at me at a stop light and I gave her the thumbs up. Because really I had come to terms with being soaking wet. The only thing I was holding near to my heart was the fact that my feet were still dry.

This is when the clouds really opened up, and the hills started again. I was climbing these rolling hills with a river flowing against me. When I got to go down the other side it was just as bad because I had to ride my brakes so that I didn’t wipe out. My brakes themselves were almost as useless as my new shoe covers (plastic bags). Yes they worked to keep my feet dry but I kept ripping them so I had to stop to replace them.

At this stage the roads were just dangerous to ride on. I was deadest on making 100km today but it just was not worth risking my life. To put it in prospective it was the first time that I had ever seen a storm drain overflowing with water. I made my mind up that as soon as my feet got wet it was time to stop because shoes take forever to dry out. One day of misery is enough but having to relive that tomorrow would have just sucked.

At just over 80km’s I hit a series of the largest puddles I have ever ridden in. I had no choice though because it stretched the entire highway. At the deepest point the water was at my rear derailleur. This puddle also got my feet soaked so the hunt was on for a cheap motel because there was no camping between here (16 miles from Boston) and Boston. As well I will be honest I wanted a place to hang my gear to dry for the night.

This motel is special because it is the first place I have ever been in that has mirrors everywhere. It feels like I am in a funhouse at times. At least I know it’s clean because the lady was cleaning it out as I rolled in. It was either the mirror room or the heart shaped hot tub room.

I know that it was the smart move for me to stop but I just hate stopping when I still have energy. Here is hoping that tomorrow’s weather is better. And here is also hoping I can navigate Boston with no map. I doubt that last statement so I am going to get out of here a little earlier so that I can budget some time for to find myself a map or an information centre.
Trip Distance: 85km
Ride Time: 4:16hr
Avg. Speed: 19.90km/h
Total Distance: 8927km
Total Ride Time: 415hr
Destination: Peabody , Massachusetts