What started out as a really tough day turned out really nice.
The original plan was to camp at the state park a mile outside of town, then ride in for dinner. However, the forecast said a bunch of rain this evening and thunderstorms, so the prospect of riding to dinner in the rain was not appealing. So I booked a room at the historic Gould Hotel in the middle of Seneca Falls, which has a restaurant on the first floor, so we don't even have to go outside.
Not to worry, their best efforts can only do so much to compensate for when we bring the bikes in.
With all the bikes and panniers lying around it looks pretty much the same as our room at the Motel 6 last night. The real difference is I'm all worried about getting grease and dirt all over the walls and carpet, which is never an issue at Motel 6, because there is grease and dirt all over everything when you get there.
Due to the oppressive heat yesterday, with more expected today, we got off to an early start, with breakfast eaten and pedals turning before 8:00 AM. Unfortunately the heat started early too. So it was ride a half hour or so, and take a cool down break in the shade or in a nice air conditioned gas station convenience store.
To be honest, we spent way more time sitting in gas station convenience stores than sitting in the shade by the scenic canal.
But we pressed on, despite a flat tire, and temperatures in the 90s, with humidity. The hope was to get in by 5 before the storms came.
But the rain came early, around 3:00, while we were still about 12 miles out. And it was great! Ripping tailwind, cool refreshing rain, and an immediate 15 degree drop in the temperature. We did the last 19 miles without stopping, and were in to the hotel by 4:00. (I know you are thinking 12 mph is not impressive. Remember my bike weighs about 100 lbs with all the gear on it.)
Max was not happy with his pasta with marinara sauce though. He has been ranting about how fancy restaurants mess up even the simplest dishes, by adding special touches like spices and "nuances". I tried his pasta - it was just lousy marinara sauce. My pot roast was great, and I replenished my electrolytes so it was mission success for me.
There was one other panic attack catastrophe to overcome. When I got in after riding an hour in the rain with the phone in the back pocket of the bike jersey, my phone was dead. Obviously I have ruined yet another phone by getting it soaking wet again.
Nonetheless, I started thinking of all the other very tenuous reasons why the phone might not be working, while searching on my Chromebook to see whether it is possible to buy a phone in a store that works on Google Fi.
Maybe the battery is just really dead because I left the hotspot on all day. Even though it was on the charger for 2 hours.
Maybe the charger is bad.
Maybe the outlet is bad. Nope, Max's phone charges right up.
After reading every thread on Reddit about dead Pixel 2 phones, I tried the silliest, dumbest cure ever. I blew into the USB charging port.
And it started charging right up. There was crud in the USB port. That's all.
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