Day 7 - Rainy Ending to a Hot Day

Another late start again today not hitting the road till after 9. We ran into problems in the late morning when Owen caught a flat. It was a routine fix that shouldn't have taken too long given that we went through it on Day 1. However it ended up delaying us about an hour or so because a bolt on Owen's bike had also gotten loose and we couldn't find it anywhere. He needed it to ride his bike and we were 13 miles from the nearest bike shop. Luckily a nice man stopped and offered to take us to the hardware shop down the road to get a temporary bolt for the time being. Owen went with him and got what he needed. Once they returned, we fixed the bike and it was good to go. The man asked permission to say a quick prayer with us, to which we said of course. It was quick and off the top but felt genuine and was very meaningful. He prayed that God help us and keep us safe in our journey. I think we all appreciated that man and his short prayer. I definitely hoped that was another sign or continuation of our luck turning around.

With that we kept moving, covering good ground. We had to stop again around 3 because it was so hot out and needed to rest. We didn't get moving till after 4, we had just 16 miles left to cover. Unfortunately, with 3 miles to Towanda -our destination for the night- it started pouring. We all got completely drenched. We originally planned to camp along the Susquehanna River again, as Route 6 (the route we've been riding along) follows it for the entirety of Pennsylvania. But we decided to give in and finally get a room in a motel for the night given the thunderstorm that rolled in. We lasted nearly 7 days without having to sleep indoors, longer than I think all three of us expected. At least we'll be able to do some laundry.

Stats for the day:

Yeah that's right, I hit 43.1 mph today. Kind of disappointed though, I was convinced I broke 45 when I was on the bike. Sure felt like it. The wind was hitting my face so hard if I didn't have my glasses on I wouldn't have been able to keep my eyes open. It's a little scary knowing there's little to no margin for error when going that fast. But personally, I can say the adrenaline rush is well worth it. The view from the top of the hill that got me goin that fast was probably the most amazing I'd seen yet on this trip. I wish I stopped to take a picture. I keep forgetting to take pictures during the day, I'll try to get more as we continue.

It was a rough ending for the day with the downpour and all. That made the last 2 hours of the day feel longer than the previous 6. Sleeping on a comfy bed tonight will be nice for a change and hopefully make up for the rough ending to the day. Until tomorrow.

-mike