Day 11 - Santee to Sumter, SC - 57 miles planned, 41 miles executed, 518 feet ascent
“Oh, it's good Scottish weather, madam. The rain is falling straight down. Well, slightly to the side like.”
~ Mel Gibson as William Wallace in Braveheart
“Don’t you think you could have picked a better day than this?”
~Random driver passing in the rain
Words of wisdom for the day: Don’t start fantasizing about a hot shower in the first five miles of the ride when you don’t know if the hotel has water pressure.
Greetings from rainy Sumter, SC home of Shaw Air Force Base and the Hampton Inn. Today’s ride was about resilience, flexibility, and limitation awareness. The morning began with rain and as of this writing, it is still raining. Add to this 25 mph gusts and you have a true character-building experience and a waterlogged set of cycling clothes. The forecast predicted up to a third of an inch of rain which by some coincidence is the same amount of water I poured from my shoes. The forecast also predicted the rain would end, but that did not exactly work out for us.
Full disclosure: after two uncomfortable nights in spartan lodgings, the Best Western in Santee was the Ritz-Carlton of roadside motels. Leaving this state of semi-luxury too incredible self-discipline. We were in good spirits despite the gloomy forecast and the knowledge that we would soon get completely soaked. Aside from the weather, the day started out with good omens. We had two bald eagle sightings going across Lake Marion. We also saw the white caps and waves resulting from the lake wind advisory. The winds were out of the northeast and our route tacked between north and east keeping us close hauled. This could be fun except that we were on bicycles not sailboats. Riding on wet newly paved roads is actually kind of neat, you can watch yourself ride in the reflection off the asphalt.
When we reached out first rest stop at 22 miles, Arlen learned that the site intended for lunch would not open due to inclement weather. The planned route today actually passed the hotel and continued another 16 miles where we would load the bikes on the roof of the BIKEternity van and backtrack everyone to the hotel. This was planned because there were no hotels near the end of the ride. Instead our lunch stop was moved to the hotel, where we coul decide whether or not to continue. Fourteen miles later we arrived at the Hampton Inn and decided to call it a day. Thankfully the hotel staff had readied our room greatly simplifying the check-in process.
No one—absolutely no one—likes pulling up early from a ride. Absent the customary victory beer, shutting down at 42 miles makes sense for a few reasons:
Blame the weather guy. Weather guessers expected the rain to abate so we dressed accordingly not for a 100% chance of rain.
Helping hands. Lost dexterity-our hands were cold enough to frustrate gear shifting. We change gears a few hundred times on every ride. It would have been exceedingly difficult to change a tire on the side of the road with numb fingers.
Dress for success. We needed a change of clothes. Nothing more miserable than cold wet clothes getting colder and wetter.
We’ll regroup and come up with a plan for tomorrow.
The local American Legion Post 175, Dalzell-Shaw, SC hosted us to a delicious lasagna dinner this evening. Post Commander Jack Lonergan greeted us warmly and shared some history about the post and its extensive involvement in the local community. It was a fun evening and was topped off by a last minute come-from-behind win for Navy football over Temple.
In the morning we’ll enjoy a standard hotel waffle and assess the weather and road conditions from a safety perspective. Semper Fidelis. Semper SWO. Semper Gumby. Life on the road is great, even if that road is covered in puddles. See you soon, Bill. Go Navy!