This morning it started raining at about 7:00. And it never stopped. I tried waiting it out but that obviously didn’t work so I got going a little late. I had to stop in town to get some groceries to last the final few days. I talked briefly with a couple guys with very strong newfie accents who recognized me as a cyclist just because I was dripping wet plus had rain pants and shoe covers on walking around the store. After leaving the store the rain lightened up briefly but got back to pouring again soon.
Because of the rain I pretty much never stopped for breaks. It just isn’t worth it if I have to stand in the rain. The only real break I took was underneath an overpass where I was able to get off the road and eat lunch. There was nowhere to sit so I just stood next to my bike and used one of my panniers as a table. Once I finished eating I got right back on the bike instead of staying around like I do most days. I had to get moving in order to stay warm.
About 30 minutes outside of Gander a guy in a pickup pulled a series of u-turns to pull up alongside me and offer me a ride. He probably thought I was crazy when I turned him down because I doubt he could have heard my explanation over the sound of the rain and his truck. I didn’t want to spoil this trip by taking a ride when I didn’t need to. Besides, I probably couldn’t have gotten any wetter if I jumped in a pool. My fingers are already completely pruned up as if I had been sitting in a tub all morning. The rain has also caused the leather in my gloves to turn to mush around the seams and start to come apart.
In Gander I checked into an inn which I had looked up in the morning in case the rain didn’t stop so I could get warm and dry. If the sun had come out I might have gone further to get to a campground. I was quite lucky and there was one room still available at the inn. It had two single beds but they were nice enough to charge me the price for a single person in a room with only a single bed. I probably would have been willing to pay the higher price just to avoid having to go back out into the rain. I cooked for myself in my room using my campstove (probably not allowed but I did it anyways) and watched TV all evening. The weather network informed me that I had just biked though a heavy rainfall warning for up to 50mm of rain that would continue until the early morning tomorrow.
| Distance | 105.89km |
|---|---|
| Time | 4:50:32 |
| Average Speed | 21.87km/h |
| Max Speed | 45.15km/h |
| Odometer | 8499km |