I thought about stopping in at Pat's one more time as I rolled out at 8 am in the wind and rain. The open garage door looked very inviting but I thought if I stopped only 5 minutes into my ride that it would be only the first excuse of many to pull out of the rain for a bit. I went down 21 before the festival set up and got out in front of the steady rain somewhere after my first gas stop.
I hit the Maryland line to sunshine and 80 degrees, took off some layers, fired up a cigar and enjoyed lazy back roads for the last hour. As it was, it took about 6 hours to make the 300 miles home.
The Vermont crew didn't have a fun trip. Russ' green America died after 5 hours in the rain near Saratoga. None of the usual solutions worked so his roomie Matt Harley'd home, picked up his pickup, rescued Russ and they made it home around 9 last night.
Thanks again to Pat and his support crew in Canandaigua. Can't wait to do it again next year.
