Day 46 - After Over 3,000 miles, A Blowout of A Day!

We started the day on an exuberant note!  Fellow rider from Ohio, another "Don", was back on the road with us again today after being taken to the hospital for exhaustion and some annoying other problems.  After consultation and his wife flying in to be at his side, Don was given clearance and rode with the group from Liverpool to Little Falls, NY.  Here is Don's biking friend, Yuval with Don.

We passed through many beautiful small towns this morning.  One had a former church that was turned into a local attraction, the Greystone Castle.  Though it was closed when we ventured upon it, it looked like quite the gathering place for all former Knights of the Round Table while traveling in upstate NY.

We have passed through many areas where the Amish people live on our travels, and when we have passed a horse-drawn carriage, we were cautioned not to photograph them as it would not be appreciated.  In light of that, I had an opportunity today to have my photo taken with a Share the Road sign that we often see in Portland and other cities, only the picture on the sign is usually of a bicycle instead of this vehicle.

Now as for the rest of the day, the blue skies gave way to gray ones, and then to darker gray ones filled with rain.  And it rained for many miles.  The trouble with rain and bicycle travel on busy roads is that the road debris on the shoulders is impossible to see and is often picked up by the wet bike tires causing flats in the most unfavorable of weather conditions.  And that's just what happened.  After 3,300 miles without one flat tire, I had two within 5 miles of each other.  Both during rainy conditions.  

My wonderful team of guardian angels, Don (special Kudos to you!), Drew and Gardner all took over and while Don changed the flat, the others located the reason for the flat, patched the tire and made sure I could safely go out on the road again.  I was simply an observer with a camera, and I was very grateful for that designation.  It also got us all back on the road much, much faster and more efficiently than if I was trying to do the same job by myself (as my biking Beanie friends can testify to).   

First flat:

Second flat.  This one was changed in the loading dock of an ambulance service.  They were ever so kind as to let us use their cover to make the change.

So we are now counting down with just 4 riding days left.  Lots of hills are coming up in the next several days, so off to rest we must go.  Until tomorrow, signing off!