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We were glad we had made the decision to stay in the gym last night, as the
storms did materialize around 2:00 am and we were joined in the gym by
several others whose tents were flooded. We packed up and had breakfast
there at the school, then headed out into steady drizzle. It rained steadily
as we rode along side roads, and a quick 14 miles brought us to the first
rest stop. We snacked and wrung the water from our gloves, then continued
along the road. A bit later we joined a brand new section of the Canalway
trail. Since it was new the stone dust was not yet packed down, and the
overnight soaking and standing water made it worse. We went about 1½
miles at a speed of between 4 and 5 mph, all the time fighting to stay
upright as our front tire kept digging in. Others were having similar
issues. We came to a cross street and a group of about 12 decided to head
off the trail onto side roads; we ended up joining what was last year's Erie
Canal route. The detour added about 5 miles or so to the ride, but we still
got to the second rest stop ahead of others that had continued on the trail.
We found out later that they closed the trail and diverted everyone onto the
side roads. After the 2nd rest stop we were done with the trail for the
day. The rain got steadily worse and at some points we were riding through
sheets of water running across the road, or puddles over 6" deep. This was
worse than the day on Big Ride Across America from Napoleon, OH to Sandusky,
OH. Once arriving in Syracuse, we had quite a bit of climbing to get to Tent
City at Syracuse University. When we arrived there, the rain was coming down
in buckets, and after some creative gear shuffling, we got our gear, bike,
and selves to the dorm where we are staying the night. We spread our stuff
out to dry, took hot showers, and took a nap before dinner.
Dinner was catered at the Syracuse student center and was very good,
especially after the wet and stressful day. After dinner we went back to the
room, organized for tomorrow, and went to bed early.
While today was extremely challenging, and I don't think either Liam or I
have been wetter outside of complete immersion, I feel a strong sense of
satisfaction that we got through it with minimal problems. Liam did
exceptionally well as this was his first real rain day on the bike, I'm very
proud of him for sticking it out and keeping good spirits.
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.jpg "Rest stop #1")
.jpg "Rest stop #1")
.jpg "The Erie Canal in the rain")
.jpg "Rest stop #2")
.jpg "Rest stop #2")