After completing our midnight run last night – a 5 mile ride under the headlights of my support vehicle to get us past a road block that was being set up the next morning – very creepy, very cold, very annoying… – I got up this morning, looked out the window, and saw rain. Lots of it.
So I decided, not for me… I’m going to wait it out.
It didn’t hurt that we really liked the bicycle hostel/church we were sleeping in – and thought that staying another night for free sounded pretty good idea. So while I did want to get some miles in today, waiting out the rain would have the added benefit of keeping us close enough to stay another night.
And as we waited, another pair of riders showed up at the hostel – Andy and Dave, from England. (I didn’t realize, but the town we’re in is on the main “TransAmerica” route put out by the main bicycle tour map company, Adventure Cycling – which explains why there are so many visitors in the guestbook who are doing the TransAmerica trail.) Really nice guys – Andy and Dick – and really give me a sense of perspective about where I stand on this bicycle ladder… Andy has already crossed 4,000 miles in about 50 days (an average of 80 miles a day – I’m averaging about 45 so far) and has already completed 13 “century” rides of 100 miles or more during the journey. And oh yes, he’s doing it all alone, without any support vehicles and with about 90 pounds of luggage (panniers they call them) strapped to both the front and back wheels of his bicycle. Perhaps THAT’S why his legs are the size of small tree trunks.
And about mid-day, my waiting paid off. A break in the weather, the sun peeking through – and I was on my bicycle and on my way to John Day, Oregon.
For about 30 minutes, that is…
About a half hour later, my friends/assistants in the support vehicle drive up behind me and wave me off the road. Apparently, soon after I left, a huge rainstorm – wind and hail and sideways rain – hit the town and was heading my way. A nasty storm. And since they’re under instructions to protect me from any hazardous/dangerous weather conditions (did someone say “Tornado Country”?) they thought it best to save me from the storm. And I was happy they did.
We stopped in the nearest town for about an hour, picking up on some much needed supplies (and for them, some much craved Subway sandwiches), before the storm passed and I was able to get back on the bicycle to finish my ride into John Day (another storm was brewing on the far side of town as I arrived – so I called in my support team to pick me up and bring me back home, safe and dry).
And therein lies the difference between me, the fair weather rider, and our new friends Andy and Dick – who earlier in the day, as I was complaining about the prospect of getting soaked while out on the road, cheerfully explained… “always remember, once you’re saturated – it can’t get any worse.” Words of wisdom I’m sure I’ll have to remember as I ride through the thunderstorms of the Midwest.
But for now, I plan to stay as warm and dry as possible. And with the help of my fair weather friends/support team, it seems I may have a chance to do just that.
From my warm, cozy, Pugh in the Daysville Community Presbyterian Church, this is Ted Schneck wishing you and yours a wonderful day/night along the Dog Cancer Ride Across America.
See you down the road…
-Ted Schneck
