Day 46 - Albany, NY to Brattleboro, VT - Miserable Rainy Day

Day 46
Albany, NY to Brattleboro, VT
79 Miles. First 10 miles overcast, Next 69 miles or hard pounding rain and 6,200 ft of climbing.
A great day to NOT ride a bike.

I really wanted to have some funny stories to share with you today. Rain isn't funny and heavy rain really isn't funny so today your stuck with a unfunny posting.

Well, the good news is I crossed another state line. Today's ride is best described as the wet ride from hell.
The roads during much of the ride we terrible, potholes, ruts, cracks and little or no shoulder. When the first heavy rains began the holes, cracks & ruts would fill with water and with all the rain it was very difficult to see and we had to ride very slow and still we were bouncing in and out of holes.

At one point the rain was coming so hard that we couldn't see enough to continue so we pulled into a restaurant that was closed and waited for about 15 minutes and realized that it wasn't going to let up so we pressed on.

                                               Rain bouncing off the picnic tables

                                              Crossing over The Hudson River

I really wish that the weather would have cooperated with us today, I'm sure that some of the viewpoints that we had while riding over the mountains were really great but with the thick low clouds and rain there was nothing to see.

The "Gang of 5" decided after a couple hours of fighting the roads and the rain that we would keep a safe distance between bikes allowing extra distance due to limited visibility. These last couple days we have been extra careful knowing that the only thing that could stop us from our goal of EFI would be an accident. Above is a picture of a late day "flat party", I hope that this is the last one of the trip. For those keeping score, my flat total is 6 for the ride.

Ruby Jean was really tired after today's ride. It took 30 minutes to get her cleaned up and ready for tomorrow. I don't have the heart to tell her that the rain looks like it might still be here in full force tomorrow.

Tomorrow is the last full ride day. We ride 91 miles through VT & NH and end the day in Burlington, MA.
I also get to see Stephanie and my buddy Mike tomorrow who are going to be at the beach on Friday as we ride into Boston and end the ride at Revere Beach at 9:00am.
As I finish writing this tonight it is still pouring outside. I'm crossing my fingers that the roads will be rideable tomorrow, we have come 3,315 miles on the bike and have ridden Every Fantastic Inch, we have no intention of reaching Revere Beach in any way other than on the bikes.

Thanks for following along.
Dream BIG, Jeff

Day 45 - Little Falls, NY to Albany, NY - Ruby Jean gets rattled.

Day 45
Little Falls, NY to Albany, NY
72 Miles, Great weather, Crappy Roads.
The donation link is open...give it a try.

Boston.....that a' way.

This morning we opted to get a later start since we were only riding 72 miles and the climbing was minimal. The route today was a mix of some beautiful countryside and some not so beautiful run down parts of town.

                                                        Beautiful Countryside

                                            .....not so beautiful, run down parts of town

The Mohawk River along with The Erie Canal were off our right side for 20 miles of today's ride.

The Gang of 5 are all that is left for EFI and today we became very protective of our group. We only have 2 full days of riding remaining and keeping the bikes upright is the #1 concern. We have ridden 3,000 miles together and we know each others moves and habits. To toss a new rider in the mix could upset the apple cart regardless of how good the rider is and the only thing that will stop us from EFI is a wreck. Dave, Adrianne, Chris, Penny and myself will stick together until we reach the beach in Boston.

The road today was a mix of good and bad and the bad was really pretty bad. We were shouting "Hole", "Glass", "Bump" etc to let the rider behind to know to be careful. Ruby Jean took a beating today with all the bumps and holes that couldn't be avoided. As soon as we arrived to the hotel she wanted a hot shower to loosen those tight carbon muscles.

I suggested that she might want to take bath but she really likes to feel the hot water run through the spokes.

Tomorrow is a good climbing day in Vermont.
We only have 2 days and 3 states remaining.

Dream BIG, Jeff