Day 48 -- Liverpool, NY to Little Falls, NY

Miles: 78.16
Total Miles: 3668.70
Time: 5:20
Average Speed: 14.6 mph
Max Speed: 28.2 mph
Flats Today: 0
Total Flats: 15
Elevation Gain: 1612 ft
Weather: Heavy rain for every minute of the whole freaken day

Today was the day when all of the rain that we had seemed to be avoiding the whole trip just dumped down on us for the entire ride. We only took 2 pictures today because the camera would have gotten soaked if we would've gotten it out. The only pictures we took were before the ride under the canopy so we could remember the rain we rode in all day. We woke up at 6:00, ate breakfast at 6:30, loaded at 7:30, then rode out into the rain. The first stretch of road wasn't so bad because we had a bunch of turns, so there was something to think about besides the rain. There wasn't anything between the hotel and the first sag stop, but I led the whole way. We were originally following Phil and the other fast guys, but they missed a turned and I didn't, so everyone decided that I was the man and they should all follow me. As you all know, that wasn't to wise. By following I don't mean drafting, but following about 5 yards behind. Because the rain was coming down so hard and because the roads were so slick, it would be too dangerous to draft. Anyway, we eventually made it to the sag stop, but we didn't stay long. We grabbed some food, some people went to a pastry shop, then we headed out back into the rain.
There weren't many turns between the 2 sag stops, so it was a little less interesting. Due to that, it was hard not to think about the rain pounding down constantly. About half way between the sag stops, I was able to stop thinking about the rain because the wind picked up, and it was a head wind... a strong one. We had the ultimate duo of heavy rain and head winds. We just slowly made our way to the next sag stop. Once again we grabbed some food, ate it quickly and continued on our way. For the rest of the ride it was just more and less turns. We basically stayed on Route 5 all the way to the hotel. When we got there, everything was soaked and all we wanted was a nice warm shower. That's exactly what we did. Also, after dinner tonight, Good Looking Larry, the 74 year old, played the piano for us, and he was awesome. When he got done, Gerard, the mechanic on the trip, played a little bit too, and he was really good too. Since we didn't have many pictures today, Wade took a picture of Larry and a video of Gerard so that the blog wouldn't be all gloom and doom today.

About 3 days ago I got an email from the office again. They decided that since I became such a big fan of feed lots in Kansas, they would make my office into one. Looks like Smitty found something he enjoyed and was good at. If you click on the picture, he has the animals and equipment well organized. Also, just today, I got another email from the office. It was their last Friday of Freedom while I was away to have fun, so they decided to play some cards and drink hard liquor. It looks like the game got really heated based off of what they were betting. I bet Barney (Brian) cheated to win, but that doesn't surprise me... he always cheats.