Cycling Ellen

73 miles today
1794 total

Imagine you are in the shower looking up at the nozzle as the water sprays down on you.  Now reverse that image and have the water spray up from the ground and that will give you an idea of what it’s like to ride behind someone on a bike in the rain.  At the same time, water is dripping down from your helmet, water splashes onto your legs from the road and inevitably, a big truck goes by giving you a shower from the side.  Does that leave any part of you dry?  Not that I could figure!

Sometimes after a rest day, it can be hard to get out of bed to get back on the bike.  When the forecast is for rain and over 60% chance of severe thunderstorms, it does give one pause to wonder about our collective sanity.  Still, when I compare the challenges we face on the road in the rain versus people being treated for breast cancer or other illnesses, it doesn’t seem so bad.  It also makes it easier for me to stay on the road as some of the other women jump in the van.  I’m doing this ride for many reasons but one of them is to raise money and I’m happy that I have that chance.  If you were planning on contributing by how many miles I ride, consider paying double for today’s ride!

The first 16 miles today were actually just cloudy.  We headed out past the new stadium at the high school in Navasota as the students were lining up in their cars and pickup trucks to start their school day.  Again, we were in rolling farmland and rode past a couple of cattle auction houses and fields of cows and horses.  Carol set up the sag stop early at mile 18 before we got into the town of Anderson.  Not long afterward, the rain began, mildly at first.  I stopped to put on my rain jacket and then changed my mind as it felt too warm.

That all changed at mile 36 where Carol stopped with the sag at a park entrance in Sam Houston National Forest.  When I stopped, I felt cold so I put on the jacket, the stylish shower cap over my helmet and the rain pants I had stowed in the sag this morning.  It was too late for the neoprene booties as my bike shoes were already squirting water as I pushed on the pedals.

Somewhere past New Waverly, I realized my bike computer stopped working at mile 48.6.  The clock still worked so I watched the minutes go by at, what seemed like, a slower than usual pace.  Debbie, Pat and I ended up riding the last 25 miles or so in together.  We sang Biking in the Rain and laughed each time Pat said, “Here it comes again!”.  The rain came down really hard at times, lighter at others but always raining.

That was the fastest 73 miles I’ve ever ridden as we got to the Super 8 here in Cleveland by 1 p.m.  What a treat to strip out of the soaking wet clothes to go stand in the hot water in the shower.  I think 6 of us shared a load of bike clothes in the washing machine here at the motel and now have warm, dry bodies and dry clothes for tomorrow.  Now, if my bike shoes dry overnight (they are stuffed with newspapers to help that process), I’ll be ready for another ride tomorrow – our last full day in Texas!