August 19, 2021
Final exam day
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Lets talk about the weather. It rained all day. The rain was in two modes. There is torrential downpour. I know when it is a torrential downpour when the rain creates bubbles in the puddles. Then there is torrential showers. This is when the puddles look like they are the floor of your bath shower. Today we had 60% torrential downpour and 40% torrential showers. To give you an idea of how we felt, put on your biking clothes and then go into the shower, turn it on and stay there for 6 hours.
Today is final exam day for the tour. The final exam had two parts. The first part was the short essay part: an 8 mile climb of over 1500 feet. The second part was a long multi- choice part: over 40 miles of short hills and another 2200 feet of climbing.
The morning started with us packing up and starting out in the rain. We had 3 miles of flat riding before the climbing started. Then the climbing started while it rained cats and dogs. Right at the start there was a section of over 10% gradient. Then we had steady 5-9% for next 6 miles before ending with another mile of steep gradient. So how did we do. Ross rocked it as always. He is so fast on climbs, I am sure he set a personal best for the climb. Janet did super well also. I remember the first passes we climbed in Washington. Compared to them Janet did awesome. In the first mountain passes Janet had to stop every half mile to rest. Today the only time she stopped was when the old guy (me) had to stop to catch his breath. In Washington she struggled. Today it was climbing with confidence and strength. I am really proud of her.
The rest of the day was a long ride in the rain. We had lots of downhills with lots of short climbs. The rest of the ride followed the White River so there were no long steep climbs. The rain was tiring, not being able to see because of all the rain on the glasses is also tiring. About 10 miles from the end of the ride my rear disc brake broke. I had to remove the disc pads so now I have no rear brakes, I still have a front brake. I am going to try to make it through the next two days without a rear brake. Tomorrow we are riding a bike path all day so that won’t be a problem.
Two days left on the tour. We are excited to be nearly done.
Today's ride: 68 miles (109 km)
Total: 3,751 miles (6,037 km)
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3 years ago
Thanks for the encouragement and the story. Actually, Janet wanted to bring an umbrella on the trip. We wouldn’t let her because of the weight. I think she proved (again) that she the smartest one of us.
Take care!
Terry
3 years ago