Distance: 52 km
Elevation: 570 m
Date: August 13, 2022
During the night we had a very intense thunderstorm. There was thunder and lightning everywhere and it was poring rain for hours.
My tent kept me safe from the rain but you do feel a little exposed nonetheless.
In the morning everything was wet and misty. I made my usual breakfast consisting of porridge with nuts and strong coffee. Suddenly Peter brought over a fried egg with sausage and onions. He said “I hope you are not a vegetarian”.
Peter and Maureen had had their last night in a tent on their trip. They would now visit a friend and then be home again. I was a little jealous and felt homesick.
Maureen said “Remember, you are doing this for yourself you know? You can always stay at a motel if it gets too wet.”
After we had said good bye, I packed up trying to keep things as dry as possible – which was virtually impossible. I had washed my cycling clothes yesterday and they were now soaking wet.
It was … refreshing shall we say. The temperature had dropped by almost 20 degrees and it was a little chilly now.
When I started pedaling around 9:30am the rain came back. I climbed “hungry hill” with a 500m incline over 5 km.
I had by now left the coastal mountains and was in area that resembled the German “Allgäu“. Lots of rolling hills with meadows and cows on it.
It was raining stronger when I reached Houston, BC. I ate at a restaurant and was freezing.
Houston has only 3,000 people most of them work in the wood industry. On my coffee cup it said „saw dust is men glitter“.
I just wanted to get out of the rain. The forecasts of different providers said “rain all day”. So, I took a room in a nearby motel which was both expensive and run down.
I had a long, hot shower, washed and dried all my clothes and then had a nap. When I woke up the rain had gone. I felt both tricked and miserable because I had given up too early.
A quarter of an hour later it rained again. I was not sure what to feel. I am certainly rather a good weather cyclist and not made for cold and rain. And I somehow needed a break.
There has not been a single donation so far on this trip. I am not doing it for the money alone but it IS a fundraising project. That fact did not contribute to a great mood either.
Today was not my greatest day. I just hope that tomorrow will be better again.
