And on the 12th day, it rained on our parade

The ride from East Canaan CT to New York went something like this…

“Boy, that sky looks threatening. Let’s put on the raingear.”
“Do we need to put on the rain pants and booties?”
“Nah, it just looks like a drizzle. We’ll be fine”.

30 minutes later, sitting in the café having breakfast

“It doesn’t look like its letting up, does it?”
“No, it’s coming down harder every minute we sit here. How much more coffee can we drink before they throw us out?”
“Time for the rain pants?”
“Probably a good idea, but I don’t think we need the booties just yet. My feet are still pretty dry”.

30 minutes after leaving the café

“Are your feet soaked? Mine are.”
“Yeah, I’ve got water squishing between my toes. I guess we were wrong about the booties. Too late now, we’re already wet. This rain can’t keep up.”
“Aren’t we supposed to be crossing the Appalachian Trail real soon?”
“I thought so, but I can’t see a freckin’ thing. How about you”?
“I can’t see out of my glasses either. I’m better off without them.”
“Glad we have disc brakes. They worked well on that downhill. It was a steep one.”
“Hey, there’s the AT sign. Let’s stop for a photo. I wonder if it will come out.”
“Who has the camera? Which pack is it in?”
“I thought you had it. Keep looking”
“No, I gave it to you. Check that mess in your handlebar bag. I’m sure it’s there”.
“OK, found it. Let’s take the shot and get the hell out of here. I can’t believe that’s its coming down harder”.

Crossing the NY border

“I think we’re finally into New York. Wait, there’s the sign. We’re so wet it doesn’t matter. Time for another photo opportunity.”
“Ok, got it. I sure hope that the BOB bag and Ortlieb packs are as waterproof as advertised. Otherwise, we’re going to be cold, wet pups this evening.”
“The map says that there is a B&B in Pine Plains, about 10 miles from here. It’s the only hotel listed. Otherwise we need to go another 20 miles to a campground near Taconic State Park.”
“I vote for the B&B. Let’s get outta here.”

On the front porch of the B&B

“Nobody’s home and they’re not answering the phone. Let’s walk around back and look in the windows.”
“Met a workman and he said they are closed and there is no where else to stay in town.”
“Hey, I think it’s letting up. Let’s buy groceries and get our butts to the campground. I’ll call ahead to see if they have a laundry so we can dry our stuff.”

10 miles from the campsite

“It’s raining harder than ever, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, but it can’t do this much longer, can it?”
SPLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH
"What the hell was that?"
“I can’t believe that school bus just totally soaked us. That was like riding through an automatic car wash. You ok?”
“That camp better have a place we can dry off.”

At the Interlake RV Park, 6.5 miles E of Rhineback NY.

“You two sure look wet.”
“Yeah, it was a rough day”.
“Feel free to use the Rec Hall to cook in. The dryers are located there as well. By the way, we have a special rate for our bicycling friends, only $10 for the night.”
“Thanks so much. Maybe it will let up and we can pitch the tent without getting that wet too.”
“The news said that the rain should end this evening, and just be intermittent showers tomorrow.”
“One can always hope.”

The rain did let up a bit, the bags did their job and while everything was damp, it was relatively dry. We spent the night listening to the rain beat against the fly, building to a crescendo and then a mere drip, like the Chinese water torture you used to talk about when you were a kid. We spent a fitful night, staying huddled together in the tent. Morning broke with an intermittent drizzle, but we were taking no chances. We donned our full raingear; jackets, pants, neoprene gloves and booties. Today we maybe would be clammy, damp, and uncomfortable, but we had no intentions of getting soaked again.

Sometimes it comes easy…and sometimes you just gotta work at it. But we knew there was a latte and bran muffin waiting for us somewhere in Rhinebeck, and it was time to head on down the road and proceed on.