Once again, rain was in the forecast for today. A light rain started around 2 AM and lasted a very short time. Rain hitting the top of ones tent is hard to
ignore or sleep through. Once it
stopped many of us thought we indeed missed another threat of rain. Upon waking around 6 AM to calm air and no rain we found our tents only
slightly wet. Half way through breaking
up camp, the winds started from nothing to blowing furiously. Within 10 minutes the rains started to come
down in buckets. Then wind, thunder and
lightening and rain continued until around 10 AM . We were very lucky to have a covered outdoor
area for our bikes and gear and a warm indoor area for us to wait out the
storm.
Some of us left around 9:30 ,
after the rain had let up significantly but before it had stopped completely. Since we are prepared for all kinds of
weather, we road off in full rain gear which protected us from getting wet or
cold. The rain had stopped completely
within a short time, but the sky stayed dark with threatening clouds until
early afternoon. By 3 PM the sun came out and by 5
PM one would never guess how the day had begun.
Tonight we are staying indoors in very nice bunk houses at a
place called Shepherd Sanctuary. Of
course, as timing would have it, there is no forecast of rain for either
tonight or tomorrow. This place is
interesting to say the least. One of the showers is open air. Three walls, a double swinging door and a
shower head. No roof, just you and the
sky. The walkway that leads to the
outdoor hot tube passes right by the doors of this shower, so it is not a place
for the modest. The buildings are laid
out such that no two are in the same line, thus the paths between buildings
meanders around the grounds. There are
pieces of “art” everywhere that are not likable by themselves, but some how
are interesting when taken as a whole.
Preparing for Halloween, there are decorations through out the grounds,
adding to the interest and character of this camp ground.
And last, a few words about the ride. Having noted so much about the rain earlier,
you can imagine that a good deal of the early part of the ride was dealing with
weather. The roads were good and perhaps
the best was saved for last. The last 10
miles of road was smooth, there was a tail wind and it was slightly downhill. Flying along at 20 plus miles an hour was
easy and required little to no effort.
Sweat!
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