There is nothing like waking up in your tent and hearing the rain. It was sort of expected since it rained last night. We had some pretty good wind and a couple of tents that weren't pegged down were almost airborn. While the rain wasn't that bad, it was enough to make things wet. I was tired and tried to have a nap a couple of times, but just wasn't happening.
Another amazing dinner and we all sat close under the tent and were just fine. But it's sad when you're ready for bed and it's only 7:30! I did manage to stay awake and was tucked into bed by 9:00 PM.
Then we woke up to rain this morning. It wasn't raining that bad this morning and by the time we were ready to leave, it had stopped more or less. However, I was barely on the road and it started to rain. Not really rain, but a good steady drizzle. Just enough to get you wet in not too long of a time.
I'm not sure what I was thinking when I packed, but I did NOT bring my big heavy rain coat. It would have been very useful today because I have to say that I was soaked. I don't think I've ever been so wet on a bike ride. Thankfully the temperature isn't cold or it would have been a frightful day. But the kilometers seemed to just fly by and then I was at the half way point. Then back on the bike and to the 3/4 point. It stopped shortly after that point and has been dry since then.
However, you start to imagine things when you're on the bike. Oh - did I just see the clouds lighten? It must be going to stop raining soon. Hey - did I see a shadow? The sun must be out. And funny how you think of everything and then at the end of the day, it's really all about nothing.
Despite the rain, it was a great ride. I got a good cadence going (again by myself) and I managed to maintain it for a good part of the day. A couple of times, the fast group passed me and I managed to catch up to them once, although I didn't say anything because I knew I couldn't maintain that pace. They stopped for a couple of breaks and then for a couple of flat tires, so I would meet up with them and then they passed me several times today. I arrived in camp shortly after they did.
My bike computer was messed up today. I knew that when we got to camp that we would be close to 700 M, but we were about 30 K away and I was at 300 M. Not good news, but when the percentage grade started reading 65% and 34%, I knew the GPS was struggling to get a good signal through the clouds. Once the rain stopped, it seemed to normal out and all of a sudden I was at 650 M. That was a good thing.
We did have one big hill towards the end of the day which wasn't that big of a climb, but the descent was long and since the roads were fairly decent, it was in fact a great descent. My knee was a big sore today probably because I pushed the speed a bit, but now that I'm off the bike, it seems to be OK.
So Mike is always asking - "what am I blogging about". I haven't told any stories, but here is one about him. At any campsite, after Mike gets his tent set up, he likes to take his chair and go and sit in a quiet space to read. Today, we have two camp sites and he situationed his tent close to the road. However as I'm writing this, he is basically the information point. I don't think a single person has come into camp and not talked to him! It's pretty funny - Andrew and I are sitting here chuckling each time someone else stops by to chat.
I've got everything all laid out on my tent trying to dry it out. Since I had arrived shortly after lunch and there is a nice restaurant just down the road, I decided to go there for lunch. A nice hot soup and some pasta. Brought back a piece of pie for dessert, but I'm so full from lunch.
I did see a real live deer today. That was my quota of wildlife as there weren't too much out when it was raining.
Jamie saw a bear - a black bear. I have no idea how she manages to spot all the wild life. It's kind of uncanny - almost like she's Grizzly Adams. Or the Dog Whisperer. But it's great that she can see so much.
I think that I shall keep the stories of the traffic to myself. You don't really want to know - it's totally crazy, the speed limit on this road is 100 K and I don't think anyone including the truckers respect it. While I haven't had a close call, it's just insane so best to keep those images out of mind. I will be glad once we hit the park and the traffic should be quieter.
On that note - I'm out of here.
Ciao!!!!
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