When Is It Going to Rain?

We talked about a 60% chance of rain today at route rap last night. We got up to high clouds and sun, so thought perhaps the forecast had been wrong -- although the humidity was thick enough to cut with a knife and we had a bit of fog early in the ride this morning. By the time we got to the first SAG (mile 34), things had changed and it looked like not "if" we would get wet but "when."

There wasn't much time spent at the first SAG, even despite the great SAG treats provided by the Millers' family. Riders thought they would at least try to get to the next town (5 miles) and find a nice place to get a cup of coffee before it rained.

Dark skies came and went all day. By the second SAG (mile 67), where everyone gratefully enjoyed the treats sent by Brenda, riders still wanted to keep moving because the air was so close.

Ernst and I arrived in Troy at 12:30 and only had a few spits of rain approximately 25 miles out. It wasn't even enough to put the jacket on for, and as a matter of fact felt pretty good.

As I work on this posting, it has begun to storm. Hopefully, everyone is in. There are thunderstorm warnings and sounds like a bit of hail. After this gets through the area, the humidity is supposed to drop and be more comfortable tomorrow.

The route included quite a bit of bike path today, but started with a climb out of Little Falls this morning. There were other hills through the day, including one pretty significant climb on the bike path. The runner on the trail more easily navigated that climb than we did. I think all of this is just a warm up for the next two days. The ABB board that greets us each day in the lobby tonight says, "The Party is Over." Word from staff at breakfast this morning was Sunday's route will have three 15% climbs. I think this group will be up to the challenge.

We also rode through St. Johnsville, Nelliston, Fonda, Amsterdam, Schenectady, Colonie and overnighting in Troy.

There was a highly recommended drive in in Schenectady -- Jumpin' Jacks. Unfortunately, it wasn't open yet when we went through. A group of us stopped at Fresno's on the Hudson River as we came through Troy and had lunch.

I hooked up with Ernst early this morning. He is from Colorado, so a really strong rider and climber. We spent the day with him (graciously) pulling and me navigating. I definitely think I got the better end of the deal. We were able to really crank through the mileage today.

When you ride with a group, you pretty quickly learn strengths and weaknesses. Ernst and Alfredo made a 10 mile navigational error earlier this week that turned an easy 80 mile day into a century day. I made a couple of errors with Ernst today, but they didn't cause us any additional mileage as you often can quickly realize you made a mistake. Sometimes, though the next cue isn't for 10, 15 or more miles later. That's when you've got a problem.

We ride into Vermont tomorrow. It will require more serious riding again. Three more riding days....

Have a great weekend!
~ Lisa