Welcome to the Adirondacks

One thing I'm learning about the Adirondack Mountains is that the weather can change in an instant.

I've never been on a bike ride in the pouring rain. Light rain, drizzle, sure. Not blinding, stinging, thunderstorm rain. Always avoided it.

Now I can affirmatively check that off the list of things I've never been through. Actually wasn't too bad. We had already gone down the steepest descent to get a feel for how fast and technical it really was. It was still very sunny as we headed over to Upper Jay and turned around. Only had about 15 minutes left to ride when the thunder and clouds rolled in fast. Then the sky just opened up and DUMPED all over us. I'm talking now about blinding, stinging, thunderstorm rain. I can tell you that those sweet Oakley's I got are worth every penny. Never fogged up and the rain just beaded right off them. Bike handled really well and the tires had great grip in the rain. Knowing that beforehand has instilled even more confidence in my trusty steed and will undoubtedly help if the rain comes in during the race.

As far as the descent, it's about a 5.5 mile descent that's almost straight down the mountain. I hit 42.5 mph and wasn't even trying to go fast. I'll be careful, but a little faster come Sunday. I'm so glad we rode that section today, just to get a feel for it.

Still need to get a short swim in down at Mirror Lake, but another big storm has moved in. I'm off to take a nap, then swim in a bit.