Sunday, May 9, 2021

Day 15: 5/9/21: Conservation Area to Ellington, MO

 Below is a pic of my campsite last night.


It was nice, quiet and dark, and I slept well until about 3 a.m., when strong winds woke me up.  I tried to go back to sleep, but was unable to do so.  A little before 4, I looked at the weather radar and saw a thunderstorm heading my way with arrival about 4:30 a.m.  Once the rain arrived, it was predicted to be around until about 11 a.m.

My choices were either 1) stay in my tent until the rain passes; 2) wait until daybreak and break camp in the rain; or 3) go ahead and get up and break camp in the dark and try to beat the rain. I chose the third option. it started raining just as I was strapping the last items on my rear rack.  I rode to Houston in the storm and got to Hardee's about 6 a.m. to get breakfast and coffee to try to warm up.

I rode in a steady rain a couple of other times after Houston.  One downpour came as I pulled into Summersville (pic below).  Another time, there was a lighter rain in the midst of some steep hills.  The sun never came out, so all my stuff that got wet stayed wet.


Below are a few pics from today.





Pics below of Current River.



As I pulled into Ellington, the temp had dropped to about the mid-50s, and the north wind was blowing colder.  My intended stop tonight was a state park about 27 more miles from Ellington.  Since it was getting colder, I was wet and had been wet all day, I was tired, and I was stinking, I decided to pamper myself tonight and got a motel room in Ellington.  I took a long hot soaker bath and then a hot shower to wash the bath crud off me.  They both felt great.  I also laid my stuff out to dry.




Total miles today: 80.5

2 comments:

  1. I was getting shivers just reading about your ride. I'm SOOO glad you got a hotel for the night!

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