There were predictions of serious rain for today, but for the most part we only got a glancing blow.
I headed out of camp, practically the last one and in full rain gear. We took Peoria Road to Harrisburg. It was mostly a long, straight road through a farming area. Much of the ride was flat, including this section of about 23 miles, but there was a strong head wind.
Head wind is like a climb that never ends. All I can do is put my head down and pedal on. I stopped at about mile 15 and took off the rain pants. There wasn't any rain and I was getting overheated.
I was never so happy to reach a rest stop! Our stop was sponsored by Mo's, a famous chowder place here. They didn't have a way to keep the chowder warm, so brought other goodies instead.
What a relief to ride out in a different direction and have no head wind! It was fabulous and I felt lighter, not having to struggle against the wind. I finally decided that it was safe to take the rain jacket off around mile 35. We traveled through a lovely section with rolling hills, trees, and farms. This was a favorite section of mine from our rides so far.
Without the wind, I arrived at stop #2 fairly quickly. The stop was in Browsville where much of the movie Stand by Me was filmed. It seems like a town worth checking out, including a large synagogue with stained glass windows.
Not far beyond the rest stop, I started feeling a little drizzle and thought of how lucky we were to only have drizzle on a day when serious rain was predicted.
Maybe you have already guessed where this story is going. As I rode further, the size of the drops increased and then so did the speed at which they came. I was hoping to ride past the clouds because I could see better skies ahead.
Unfortunately, the rain got down to business while I was going up a hill without much shoulder. At the top of the hill, I got out the jacket and started for the pants as well but it seemed to be stopping, so I left the pants in my bag and continued. After a turn at the bottom of the descent, the rain poured full force, in fact, seemed to be flying sideways right at me. Well, too late for the rain pants now! I was in the thick of it. Not only was there no place to pull over and put them on, there was no use, I was already soaked.
I still had the booties on, but the force of the rain meant that the water ran inside them anyway. Fortunately, the cloud burst was short lived. I dried out pretty quickly except for the shoes and socks which staying sopping wet.
I continued along great terrain, saw some sheep and ducks and enjoying myself again.
Somewhere around mile 57, I made a turn and went smack into another terrible head wind. It was taking a lot of effort to make any progress, but at least the drizzling had stopped and the sun was out. I pulled into a driveway of sorts and took off the rain jacket and booties. I was hoping that the strong winds would dry my sodden socks and shoes. That was not wholly a success, but they did get drier.
At that point, all I could do was put my head down and turn the pedals and hopefully the next turn in the road would get me out of the wind.
At the last turn, my wish was granted and it was like the wind didn't exist! I cranked up the gears and sped down the road to camp. I got up to 24 MPH at one point, which leads me to believe that I had a tail wind.
After the ride, I stopped by the massage therapist's tent for a massage. My neck was quite sore and tight, which typically happens after multiple days of riding. One's position on a bike isn't natural and it will get to you. For me the neck can be much more uncomfortable than the legs.
Rain returned while I was getting a massage. I'm thankful to the person who brought in the towel that I had put out to dry.
The picture is of rest stop #1. Old fashioned gazebo next to a river.
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