Well I had my first day of rain. It started as a few big drops then cascaded into a full downpour that lasted all day. People often ask me, “what do you do when it rains?” My response is always the same: “I get wet.” I have not figured out how to ride in the rain and stay dry. In this case I was riding in the contryside with no cover anywhere–not a tree, not a bridge, not a bus stop or a shelter of any kind, so I just put my head down and pumped all day.

The good thing is that I made my highest distance day–114 km. Thankfully it was not cold so even though I was soaked through it was not that uncomfortable really. It seems on rainy days I often go further. I guess this is because I am less tempted to stop and enjoy the scenery, so I take fewer breaks. I did stop at a gas station for a hot cup of coffee. It was the best coffee I ever had.

I was a little concerned about lightening. I’ve watched those documentaries of people just standing around and then they get hit  by lightening and lose their memory, or worse. You just have to pray that it is not your time to go. Once I was riding and lightening struck so close to me that I felt the electricity through my body. It was scary. I had to get off the road and huddle under a cliff for a few hours.

After several hours splashing through puddles and getting sprayed by passing cars and trucks, I managed to find a hotel in the town of Curuzu Cuatia in northern Argentina where I spent the next two hours emptying all my panniers and drying everything out. It could be worse–I could be camping. Now that would be fun.