Written by Dave

Day 73 – August 9 – 61 Miles,  2,077 feet climbing (Syracuse to Herkimer)

Today we made a bee-line for Herkimer, choosing to ride on the road, not on the Erie Canal path. We feared that parts of the path would be very muddy or even flooded. Debby was here today in all her raining glory. The forecast included flash floods generally and regular floods in low-lying areas. We assumed that the path would fit in the definition of low-lying so we re-routed. We had light rain at the start, a hard rain for a spell before our morning tea stop, 45 minutes of very light rain and finally for the last couple hours after an early lunch, full on tropical storm –  you can’t get away from me, busting down Debby rain. It was not a pleasant day on the bikes.

When Chris signed up for this trip he probably knew he could have a day or two like today. The thing is, until you ride a day like today, it’s all theoretical. Actually riding it gives you a whole new perspective. Riding in the rain is somewhat solitary. Today this gave Chris time to think – he came up with the following perspectives for what has to be a “ride of a lifetime”:

Riding 61 miles in the rain ranks pretty low on the fun scale but I did learn a few things:

– Dave doesn’t stop to take pictures on days like today.

– Everyone focused on getting to our destination, very little chatting, not that we could have heard each other with the road noise (rain coming down, wind, car/truck spray).

– If you don’t tighten the sleeves on your rain coat, the arms become a collection point for water.

– Invest in a new rain coat before a tour vs using your 10 or 15 year old jacket.

– There is no drafting, not unless you want a face full of road splash.

– At some point you can’t get any wetter and if it weren’t for the puddles and the cars, you could almost forget that it’s raining.

– A hot shower and dry clothes are extra special after a long wet ride.

Yup, well said Chris.

We made our destination of Herkimer and the Red Roof Inn around 1PM. The gal working the front desk was kind and let us check-in early. (Earlier, Chris and I had schemed that we’d threaten to change into dry clothes in the lobby if an early check-in was denied). The gal even gave us a big bunch of work towels so that we could clean our bikes and bags off before bringing them into our room. The gal at the front desk warned us that the cleaning crew had just finished mopping our laminated wood floor so it might be a bit wet – and then she looked at us and said “well, I expect you’ll probably get it wet anyway!”

Nancy and I spent an hour cleaning our gear and getting settled. We’ve now been in our room with the heat on high for 2 additional hours, trying to dry all of our wet gear. Our floor is still not dry – and when we try to towel it off with some extra work towels the front desk gave us, it gets moist again in short order. The rain has started to slow but there is so much moisture in everything, it might be days before things dry out. Debby has been “mild” here in Central NY. We’ve had close to 2” of rain today so far. Yesterday parts of North Caroline received over 6 inches. I knew it was a good idea taking a more northerly route for our Chris-crossing adventure. Just think how many deep thoughts would have come up with today had he ridden through 6 inches of rain, instead of a mere 2 inches.

The storm is supposed to blow through here overnight, and tomorrow the forecast is for dry weather.  It’s a bit hard to believe right now, having ridden through all that rain, but it has in fact stopped raining and there are a few streaks of sun outside.  Let’s hope that was it for us, and that we have dry weather for our last 6 days of riding.

The only place to eat nearby to our hotel is Denny’s – so that’s the plan for dinner.  I’m sure it will add some more adventure to our day.