Day 47 Little Falls NY To Latham NY

Day 47
Little Falls NY to Latham (Albany) NY
Miles Ridden 75.5
Climbing  2305 Ft.
Total  Miles Ridden 3399.3
Miles To Go 192.5

Good luck with the weather that held since we crossed Lake Michigan broke resoundingly today and turned a relatively easy day into a major challenge. Heavy rain started overnight and greeted us at the start of the ride. The forecast was for heavy rain all day and flood warnings were posted.

 Earlier in the trip I mused about self-supported riders crossing the country laden with tents  and gear with no fixed destination for the night. They probably thought we were pampered and soft in comparison and maybe we are. On the other hand, I'm pretty sure no rider would venture out in the conditions today voluntarily unless they positively had to make it to the next motel by nightfall.

When riding in heavy rain, most of the riders wear their usual gear plus a rain jacket. The jacket doesn't keep you dry as you quickly sweat through. It only keeps you warm enough to keep riding.
Very quickly water is sloshing in your shoes, dripping into your eyes and soaking your shorts.

Nearly 4 inches of rain during our ride

We left Little Falls in the rain and fog and passed over the scenic locks and Mohawk River without a photo opportunity. There wouldn't be many today. We pedaled  on quiet rural roads, through a few more decaying old manufacturing towns like Canajoharie (former home of Beech-Nut Baby Foods before they adulterated their apple juice)  at a much slower than usual pace to reduce the dangers of riding in the wet.

Stoppng for a wet lunch at Jumpin Jack's Drive-In in Scotia

 Near Amsterdam, about halfway through the ride, we passed an  construction site which turned out to be a mammoth distribution center for Dollar General. This was significant because there was a constant flow of dump trucks to and from the site. Fuel and oil that dripped from the trucks was being raised by the rain from the road surface and drained onto the shoulder where we were riding and made things extremely slippery. I almost fell a couple of times and Jeff from New Zealand (by way of Long Island) took a spill about a half mile behind me as he tried to stop at a gas station. He hit his head, broke his helmet and thinks he was out up to 15 minutes. He was on the ground in full sight of the customers at the gas station but nobody helped him. He came to and called a support vehicle which took him to the hospital to get checked and bandaged up. Likely slight concussion.  Later that day, he decided to cut the trip short.

The traffic was now much heavier and the riding even more stressful and miserable. Luckily, we were routed to an excellent bike path along the Mohawk River for most of the 25 miles and, while still wet, did not have to deal with the traffic and slippery road surfaces.

Lock 8 on the Mohawk River in Schenectady

I had planned to ride with Evin to my mother's new residence at a retirement home in Albany. It turned  out to be about an hour ride each way through traffic from our route and the hotel and we were told that many of the local roads were flooded so I had to cancel. I'll stop by on the way home.

Wet and miserable after seven hours in the rain

The group was pretty well exhausted physically and mentally after a very tough and dangerous day through what turned out to be 4 inches of rain. Haven't been as wet since this year's Kentucky Derby. The rain was forecast to continue through most of Saturday as it moved east with us into Vermont.