When Tom postponed his Lying Bastard Ride until tomorrow because it was raining in Frenchtown, he left a handful of us already dressed and ready to go. There was a ten minute scramble of emails, out of which emerged the plan to meet at Dave C's house at 8:30 for a mild 50-miler, precipitation potential be damned.
A drizzle began as I loaded Miss Piggy into the car. I missed the turn onto Business Route 1 in PA. Not only was I now going to arrive minutes before the start, but I was also heading into some real rain. By the time I had turned back around and pulled into Dave C's neighborhood, it was 8:26. But it didn't matter all that much. Dave, Jim, and Shawn from the Hood were standing in the rain, under a tree by Dave's driveway.
Dave and I checked the radar. There was a mass of precipitation headed towards us. We zoomed in. Dave showed me the direction of his route, which, he said, would take us away from the edge of the rain.
When we took off, it was no longer raining. The roads were still wet enough to soak our butts right away. It's the initial water that's the worst. Once you're wet, you're wet.
And we got wet. Instead of petering out, the rain got worse. It wasn't heavy, but it was there. By 20 miles, I was starting to get cold. I should remind everyone that this is still August. "Is it wrong to be craving hot chocolate right now?" I asked Dave.
I suggested that we cut out and head home. While Dave considered which of the three routes were possible from where we were, I squeezed my hands into fists to wring out my gloves.
Dave had originally planned to avoid climbing Jericho Mountain. We'd already gone around one side of it. Now, though, instead of going around the other side, we were going to go over. He took us up Thompson Mill, which looked and felt like a miniature version of the Eagle Road climb we did a few weeks ago. As with Eagle, as soon as we got to the top, we were going downhill.
Now is a good time to mention that there are only half a dozen or so road names in this particular part of Bucks County. There are several Creamery Roads, two Street Roads, and a few that have "Pine" or "Stony" in them somewhere. For the already directionally confused, this makes orientation even more confusing.
We managed to knock 13 miles off the route, which, although being too short (anything under 40 is too short), ended up being a good decision. The last couple of miles were in real rain. The upside is that the real rain washed the half-rain crud off of our bikes.
Dave invited us inside, but Jim said, "I just want to get into the car with the heat on." I remind everyone, again, that this is August.
I toweled down Miss Piggy, but I didn't bother drying myself. I'd be in a hot shower soon enough. Did I mention that this is August?
As is to be expected, when I got home it looked as if it had hardly rained at all in my neighborhood.
*****
NOTE FOR NEXT WEEK: My listed Saturday ride will be on Sunday instead. I'm heading to Boston for a few days. I'll post a reminder and a route before I leave.
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