Wind, Rain and Coffee

Waterproof panniers are fantastic if you're traveling by bike.  The only problem is that they're waterproof.

Let me explain.  This morning, I had made myself a big mug of coffee along with the usual oatmeal we eat when riding (it's the only thing that keeps hunger at bay until lunch).  I usually get about half way through my mug while eating and sip at the rest while packing up.  I put my mug down on my bike seat as I was putting the last few items into my rear pannier.  Bad idea.  When it tipped over, I not only missed the catch, but I smacked the mug mid-air so that the lid popped off and dumped my remaining coffee into the pannier with my tent.

Waterproof panniers means they keep water out.  It also means they keep coffee in.  Not having enough time to properly dry my tent out, it stewed all day in my well-sealed pannier.  Now everything smells of instant Nescafe.

We only made 20km today and it was hard going, with strong headwind the whole day and intermittent rain.  It is the wind that rules this land.  We rode through a battlefield of trees that tried to stand against it.  Gnarled, bleached and broken, the logs lay gathered in the same sheltered knolls we took refuge in for lunch.  Five minutes down the road we watched darkness rushing at us like a train.  Diving into another knoll we huddled under my groundcloth for ten minutes as the rain and wind's combined fury passed over.

Amy and Chip were having a hard time with the wind -- which would slow them down -- and the loose gravel which would cause them to lose traction.  Chip was able to unclip from his pedals as they were about to stop, but Amy wasn't getting out in time.  She, still attached to the tandem, crashed sideways onto the road over and over again.  The rear panniers offered some protection, but she was taking a beating.

I now have a better understanding of what Joanna means about "making a home," and finding it easier to do so as a single entity rather than as half of a pair.  I sat i my tent this evening and strung clothes lines and made loops to hang my candle lantern and didn't have to worry if the light would be good for another tent-mate.  Sure, not the same as Jo's dilemma, but a similar source.  As the storm rages around me, I can make my portable house into a home just as she builds a fire in winter and warms her house into a home.  I wish I had a chance to talk to her last Thursday -- instead I got her office-mate, Russell.  I wish I'd told Russell to tell her that I miss her and love her.  Because I do.