Suzy says:

The signs at the top of this section signify two separate stops. Sometimes our writing falls too far behind the adventure, so we regroup to catch up.

Wednesday we left Great Barrington at 9:50 in the morning, looking at a forecast of a 30% chance of showers. By the time we were five miles north of town, we were in the midst of that 30% and stayed inside the envelope of showers until we were making the final climb into Northampton about five hours later.

I considered writing just one line about this whole day -- we left Great Barrington, rode through the rain, and arrived in Northampton seven hours later -- but it's all part of the story. Wet days have their own special features, and one shouldn't leave them out, just because they are so wet.

Our route was north on Route 7, east through Lee on 102, and east again on Route 20 until turning north on Route 112, where we would make the final climb of the day, right before the grand descent into Northampton. The wettest and most stressful part of the trip was the section along Route 20 where highway crews were replacing the pavement. First we rumbled over about a mile of "milled" pavement. You know the kind, where they rough it up with some magic rake so the new layer of pavement will stick. After the milled pavement we moved on to the trucks laying down layers of new asphalt accompanied by policemen directing traffic and lines of cars in both directions. As we approached the big truck laying down the asphalt (with another truck about 40 times bigger than we were following close behind) the policeman motioned us to move by. At this very moment, the hot asphalt hit the wet surface and a huge white cloud entirely engulfed us. Tim said it was like a sudden white out. Having no idea what was ahead, he braked a bit, then thought about the truck behind us, and quickly pedaled forward. The cloud was short-lived and we emerged just as we had started out -- wet but with no pieces missing.

We continued down Route 20 in the rain and I started thinking about the forecast. The next day looked pretty good, but the day after that, Friday, June 13, when we were supposed to finish our trek east to visit Chris in Concord, the forecast was a 90% chance of heavy rain. I kept thinking, if this is 30%, what would 90% be like? The more I thought about it, the more I dreaded the idea. So my mind moved ahead. We were supposed to arrive in Block Island on Sunday. What if we arrived Monday instead? We were scheduled to ride to Barre, Massachusetts on Thursday and stay at the Jenkins Inn for just one night. What if we stayed there two nights? We were getting pretty tired, and we could stay an extra day and wait out the rain. That would mean adjusting the next two nights' stops. I suggested the possibility to Tim and our spirits lightened at the thought that this plan might work.

Right after we turned onto Route 112 to start the final climb to the top of Route 66 just west of Northampton, we stopped at the Country Store in Huntington for hot chocolate mixed with coffee and whipped cream, along with a cheesecake brownie, to give us energy to climb the hill. When we first walked in, all wet and dripping in our yellow slickers, the lady behind the counter looked a little frightened. But as we sipped our chocolate and started to talk about how we were traveling and where we were going, she loosened up considerably. By the time we left we had heard all about the wonderful vacation she and her husband had had on Block Island and how lucky we were to be going there. Perhaps scary-looking people are not always as frightening as they first appear.

Restored by the chocolate, we ventured out into the rain again and started the steepest climb of the day, actually one of the steepest climbs of the trip. The mile up County Road between Route 112 and the top of the hill on Route 66 took us about an hour. The advantage of a tricycle is that there is no speed that's too slow, as long as your direction is forward. Tim, the extra non-pedaling 70 pounds of luggage, and I made our way ever so slowly to the top of the hill, and miracle of miracles, about half way up, it stopped raining! It was quite exciting to reach the summit and start the descent into Northampton without the rain. Near the top we visited Outlook Farm for more coffee and snacks. Then we flew down the hill and made a cleverly planned left turn through the Smith College campus to arrive directly in front of Tim's brother's house.

Andy greeted us, offered showers and said sure, I could use his wife Diana's wonderful washing machine for our dirty clothes. In an hour we were clean, rested and ready for dinner. Diana was away, but Tim, Andy, and I ate at La Cazuela, a traditional stop for us when we visit Northampton.

After dinner I took the cell phone and started my inquiries about taking a day off from the ride to escape the rain. All the way down the line, from The Jenkins Inn in Barre to Chris in Lincoln, there were no problems. The day I was dreading would be spent resting in The Jenkins Inn in Barre, MA.

Thursday morning we got up at six to see Andy off to work. We had breakfast at Jakes and then packed at Andy and Diana's before starting off north, around the Quabbin reservoir, and on to the Jenkins Inn in Barre, MA.

Wednesday was so wet that the camera spent the day in a plastic bag in the panniers. Thursday, before we left Northampton I took a few shots to show where we stayed. On the left is Andy and Diana's house. On the right is a closeup of some pinks from Diana's garden.

Thursday's trip to Barre was much improved in regards to the weather, but not so much in regards to our muscles. We had planned to ride every day from home to Block Island with no days off in between. As Thursday progressed, the extra unplanned day in Barre looked more and more attractive. This was our eighth day out and our muscles were setting up picket lines demanding more reasonable working conditions. Where is the day of rest? they demanded. Coming soon, we replied, coming soon. The ride was great, not too too much traffic, lots of flat land heading north out of Northampton, and mostly reasonable hill climbs around the northern end of the Quabbin. It was pleasant without a lot to separate one scene from another, with one exception. As we rode along, just beside the road, I called for an immediate stop when I saw three flowers -- all alone. There weren't beds of them, just these three. And to me, tired from traveling so long and working so hard, these Lady's Slippers were spectacular.

After a few more miles of climbing and descending, some cracks about maybe it was time to call a taxi, a few empty promises from Tim that it was all downhill from here, we actually got to the Jenkins Inn at about 5:30. This day, with a forecast of 30% chance of showers, we must have been in the 70%, because for us, there had been no rain at all. :+)

We were greeted by David Ward and Joseph Perrin and welcomed to our room at the inn. I cannot express how absolutely wonderful it has been to stay here for the extra day. Until Thursday, there were three bed and breakfasts at the very top of our list for all around perfection. Now there are four.

We rested, ate delicious meals, and watched Friday's 100% chance of heavy rain fall outside our windows. As another bonus, we ventured outside for a short walk to visit the bicycle shop in Barre, which had a 110psi tire that will be our spare should we need another in the future.

We feel as though we have had a brief visit to heaven. Perhaps the link to the Jenkins Inn website and these pictures I took will give you some idea of what it is like.

http://www.bbhost.com/jenkinsinn/

To attempt to answer the question I get asked so often, "Why on earth do you take this trip?" I'd like you to picture two scenes. First, two tired wet cyclists, standing by their trike in the rain, on the edge of Route 20, watching and listening to the traffic and sharing a bag of trail mix. Now picture these same two people, showered and rested, sitting at the table above, having for dessert (yes, Suzy ate dessert for dinner, not once, but twice) an ice cream truffle which consists of raspberry sherbet and vanilla ice cream, coated with white chocolate, served over chocolate sauce, with a scoop of whipped cream on the side. Do you see how the contrast makes the second scene even more exquisite?

Tim says:

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