2020, Day 22: It Never Rains, Only Pours

Living in a state so dry even the snow is dusty, mom and dad aren't used to a lot of rain anymore, even after spending varying periods in Washington State. New Yorkers expect a downpour in fall, Utahns expect wretched heat until it's suddenly winter and you're buried in a foot of snow. Still, always the Eagle Scout (and the father of a handful of others), dad came prepared with rain gear and a can-do attitude. Then again, it never rains, only pours.

A weaker man, or a saner one, may have taken the cue to use one of the multiple days that dad's ahead to wait out the storm, give it a rest, and let the weather delay the trip a bit. No, on through the deluge dad rides, through not hell but certainly high water, acting as a mudflap for his own front wheel. I'm sure he enjoyed it thoroughly, and got that impish glint in his eye that he gets when he's really enjoying something but doesn't want you to know. You know, the look when he's about to pull either a fabulous or terrible punchline. Or when he's leaning dangerously over the edge of the roof hanging Christmas lights. Or when he pulled the pencil-quarter trick on you and made you draw graphite lines down your face. THAT look, my favorite dad look. I'd bet my lunch money on it.

From Dad:

It was humid today. Really humid. Okay, it was raining. This was the first time we have been affected heavily by rain since the first day in Michigan. The first couple of hours were pretty decent. The roads were wet, but not much was coming down. After two hours, the travel lanes were even getting dry. I was tempted to take off the rain gear, but decided to leave it on since the shoulders were still wet and my tires were throwing mud on my back. It’s a good thing I left it on, because suddenly, the skies opened and it poured for the rest of the ride. Pretty soon I was so wet, it didn’t matter if I stopped; I couldn’t get any wetter.

Once we got to Utica, the road signs got a little confusing. I had given Mom an address to navigate to so that we could meet up somewhere near the center of town. The Garmin took her on a freeway--a faster way--but it messed with her head. Meanwhile, avoiding the freeway turn, I went down what looked like a reasonable boulevard, and once again, got lucky. So even though we went different ways, we were able to meet up in the city center. Another half mile or so, and we were finished for the day. 44.6 miles in 4:13, which included sitting in the car for a while hoping the rain would stop. Mom commented later that she thought I would want to take a nap, since I usually get really sleepy after going swimming.