We had some Type 2 fun today.

When we left this morning, it was about 53 degrees with light drizzle. Less than an hour later, it was a steady cold rain. After riding 8 miles we stopped at a convenience store where a very kind couple, who also ride a tandem, offered us a room at their house for the night or a ride in their truck to Sturbridge. They were absolutely sincere in their offer and we appreciated it very much. The kindness and generosity of people we meet on the road is heartwarming (and we cold use all the warmth we could get today!), but we decided to push on.

By the time we reached the next store/deli 5 miles later, it was colder and the rain had increased. We were soaked. The owner and employees of this place could not have been nicer. They gave us some towels to dry off with and told us we were welcome to stay there as long as we wanted. We took off our wet gear, dried ourselves off the best we could, and sat our bedraggled selves down to warm up and wait out the rain. It was really raining and windy at this point. We asked one of the employees, Wendy, if she know of anyone with a pickup who could take us and the bike the rest of the way to Sturbridge. She really didn't, but said guys with trucks often came in and maybe someone would show up we could hire to transport us. She also offered to drive us herself after she got off work at 1:00PM. This sounded like a great plan to me. We sat there for nearly an hour and then the rain and wind started to let up. Kerry asked if I would consider trying to ride on. At first, I said no, I was ready to find a ride, but the weather did look better and I hated to be a wimp. So, we thanked Wendy for her gracious hospitality, donned our only slightly less wet gear, and set out.

If we had been smart enough to get out dry socks and gloves, the rest of the ride would have been a lot less uncomfortable. I thought it would be no use to get out dry stuff just to get wet again, so we didn't even talk about it. Shortly after leaving the deli, the rain stopped and it didn't rain again until we got to Sturbridge, but it was windy and got colder.

We hadn't taken any pictures today, so when we got close to the Massachusetts border, Kerry got out the camera to at least get a picture of the "Welcome to Massachusetts" sign. There turned out to be no sign at all marking the state line, but we did ride past a pretty little lake. Here are the only pictures we have from today. Kerry took these because I couldn't. He wanted me to wear his gloves because they are much warmer than mine. (That is a kindness which will not go unrewarded :)) They felt wonderful, but I couldn't use the camera while wearing them.

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By the time we got to the hotel about 1:45PM, the temperature was down in the mid 40's. We checked in, helped ourselves to at least our fair share of the cookies in the office and then went to our room and tried to use all the hot water while taking a shower. Once we were finally warm again, we walked across the street to McDonald's and enjoyed a very well deserved burger and Diet Coke. Life is good.