On all of the trips that Ted and I have taken we have been lucky in not running into too much rain. Little drizzles here and there have been rare but nothing where we have been caught in a downpour where we get soaked to the bone.
Given the weather of this Spring, I was a bit worried that our luck would change.
Up the road from the bear-paw-track sighting we met a trail volunteer who was checking for damage. “Be careful,” he admonished us. “You have pretty good tires, but there are a bunch of mud washes that are going to be tricky.” We thanked him for his advise but being veterans of the C&O Canal Trail such a warning was unnecessary.
The rain started to pick up in intensity and we got on our rain gear.
Given his warning, we slowed our pace so we could spot the washes and with our slowing came more rain. And then more.
For our last 8 or 9 miles we biked through a deluge. There was no conversation between us just a steady determination to get to our motel safely. As my glasses fogged up, covered with water, I removed them to get a better albeit myopically altered view of our path. With my hood pulled over my helmet, sounds were few except hollow thuds of rain falling on my jacket.
To either side of us were fields that were already partially under water and did not need this additional precipitation. Under a set of trees a pair of riders were taking shelter and calling for what I expect was rescue from their drenched condition.
The volunteer was correct about the mud washes but neither of us had any problems managing them. We slogged on.
In this type of weather you can’t get out your maps or phone. You have to continue on memory.
We are both soaked. My shoes are filled with water and my shorts are dripping. But as it is warm rain, we are not cold just wanting of a room with a hot shower.
We finally find the turn off into Waynesville, where our motel is located. We find a picnic table shelter in a park to double check our route; we are less than 1 mile away from our motel. The field is filled with water as are our shoes as we walk back to the road.
As we are on roads with cars and trucks and not bike trails, in the rain, we put our lights on mindful of our safety. For the most part cars are respectful of us giving us a wide birth though one pickup truck does not and sends a stream of water at me. It doesn’t matter. I can’t get any wetter than this and anyway the motel and a hot shower is just a few minutes away. But we are here and with a wet grin on our faces know that the worst is behind us.
