Day 35 Navasota to Cleveland, TX

Well it finally happened! RAIN. It started about 15 miles out of Navasota and continued for the 70 mile day. Most of us biked more or less non stop until we got to the Super 8 in Cleveland. This was bound to happen sooner or later and I'm thankful that it happened later. It's warmer now and, I'm happy to say, my Mary P. paper jacket kept me mostly dry. Everything in the handlebar bag got wet but the camera was in a ziplock, so it's ok. I thought the yellow bonnet cover was waterproof but NOT. We're on a new Adv. Cyc. map now and it shows absolutely no elevation which means we're on mostly flat roads. Today's roads were good and had shoulders most of the time. The logging trucks and others were considerate, at least for me (I haven't heard any horror stories yet from others). And, just as I approached Cleveland there was a rather long, old bridge to cross. An SUV behind me kept way back of me and in front of a huge truck to allow me to cross by myself. I waved my thanks. I stopped at a grocery at 50 miles to confirm that I was on the correct road. Found Phyllis there having a cup of tomato soup and a baked potato! We were both so cold that I took her suggestion and had soup, too, to go with my pb&J sandwich. I bought a can of tomato soup, dumped it into a tall styrofoam cup, added hot water and slurped it down! Didn't stay there more than 15 minutes. The goal today was just to get to Cleveland, but food and water are necessary! The prediction for tomorrow is dry weather. Great! Today is Judy's BD. She's requested spaghetti, salad and strawberry shortcake for dinner. I'm really looking forward to it and know it will be delicious!. . . Mary Kay did a cute presentation in map meeting tonight to identify poison ivy. . . Michelle told us of Lorraine's death 2 years ago in Cleveland - accidentally hit around 5 pm as she entered hotel parking lot after having missed the driveway and was returning to hotel driveway. Earlier she had had premonition of death on the trip and had even talked to Jackie, the ,Pres. about it. Seems she was a nervous rider and had just retired as an MD. Most of us had heard about this or read about it on someone's blog. Michelle was wise to give us the straight story. It's always good to be reminded of the importance of riding smart and safely. . . . Only 18 more riding days. :(( We'll all miss these days very much.