The Art of Riding in the Rain - Day Four

Beverly Beach to Florence: 56 miles

All week, to paraphrase an old rock song, “I fought the rash (law) and the rash won.” The rash that started in Denver wasn’t letting go but instead was taking all the body territory it wanted. My head was itching, for crying out loud. I'd knocked over at least three trees trying to scratch my back!
So on Friday I visited a clinic in Newport instead of biking. This was the advice Marsha had gleaned from her phone research the prior day. It was just the ticket: they shot me up with some steroid to calm things down (calm the rash, not me!) and it worked. The doc said it should last for 3-4 days.

I was on the road again the next morning. With 132 miles in the saddle and a rest day, I was eager to roll out of Beverly Beach and head south. The sky threatened, but I had rain pants, booties, gloves, and my trusty old Gore-Tex jacket. “Bring it on!” I got 22 miles behind me before the rain came on.

Now, if my bike, who’s named DEAN, were telling the story like Enzo, the narrator in the book, “The Art of Racing in the Rain”, he’d probably say something about a cyclist first needing to check all his gear to make sure it’s working right. Like racing tires. Or rain jackets. I’m sure DEAN was laughing or at least snickering at me as rain trickled then poured through the nylon shell I could have sworn was Gore-Tex.

What DEAN would also probably tell you is how important it is to be prepared for the unexpected. I was, to some extent. As the rain quickly penetrated my trusty old jacket I was thankful I’d switched from a simple cycling jersey to a synthetic polypropylene t-neck just before leaving the trailer. I was certainly drenched to the bone, but the nylon kept the wind off and that shirt kept me warm and marginally comfortable. I shook my head a few times, still smiling in the rain, in realization this was turning into an Adventure of the first water. “Yeah!”

I rode past Seal Rock (no seals), Yaquina Bay (pronounced Ya-Qween-A – but no Queen-A), Yachats (Ya-Hots), and navigated the tunnel at Heceta Head (the second of the two on the route). I suspected another cyclist was ahead of me because the lights were still flashing to alert drivers. It was odd, though, because when the rains come you hardly see any bikes on the road. Hmmm. So here I was without a rain jacket, biking in the rain when most other (What? Smarter?) cyclists were huddled in their tents, yurts and trailers or hotel rooms out of the rain? Except maybe one, just ahead of me.

I caught up to a biker in a bright yellow water-proof rain jacket, panniers and pants under a tree a few miles down from the tunnel. Our destination, Florence, was less than 12 miles away. I’d ridden almost as many miles as my previous days, most of these in the rain, and was feeling great. The other biker said his name was Ocean – no kidding, that’s what he said – and he was biking to San Diego. We agreed the rain sucked as we ate our energy bars under dripping branches. I wasn’t too thirsty.

I left him at the tree and made good time down the slight grade toward Florence. Then the Adventure got even more Grand: the back tire went flat as the rain came harder. I pulled over into a driveway and could only shake my head and, to nobody in particular, exclaim aloud, “Okay, enough with the Adventure already!” At that point there was no “getting wetter” – there was no dry spot left. So I changed the flat with a fresh new tube from my gear bag. DEAN, and Enzo, would have been proud: bring the right equipment (rain jacket the exception).

Ocean caught up to me and we pulled into a Fred Meyer supermarket together, one of the Kroeger chain, huddled under the roof, and declared we were done. If I felt I could have done more miles, perhaps it was that steroid shot the prior day? And then Marsha pulled into the market within minutes of my arrival – perfect timing, planning, whatever you want to call it. But, alas, I’d not put any change of clothes in the car. DEAN sat in the back of the car and told me I still had lessons to learn about riding in the rain.