Crisis!
My camera is missing!
I have torn the hotel room upside down and no camera!
How can I bike without a camera?
Well, luckily I have a spare.
When I bought the G11 for this trip, I kept my old G9 and brought it with me.
But my G11 has all my photos I've taken since Astoria!
And I haven't downloaded all of them yet.
I must have left it at dinner last night - and the steak house won't open till 11.
Must go.
Worry about it later.
Flummoxed, I hit the road, G9 around my neck.
It's hard to get started on today's photos.
The sky dull gray, featureless.
The camera feels odd.
The small towns look foreign through a different viewfinder.
Even the garden decor takes on a sinister look in my altered state of mind.
Tell me...
Don't you think this is a little bit creepy?
OK.
Barns.
What could be more normal than a barn with a bright blue steel roof?
I'm calming down...
...getting into the groove.
Talk to farmer John...
He's bringing in his squash from the roadside stand.
-We have rain coming, he warns.
Better get to the SAG...
Turn right at the castle...
Get to the SAG wagon just as the heavens let loose!
I duck under a nearby awning and wait for the deluge to slow down.
By the time the rain begins to let up, we have a deluge of cyclists at the SAG.
Come on, Rod.
Let's get going.
As soon as we get started, the rain starts to come down in buckets again.
The next time I see Rod he has stopped to help New Jersey Mark with a flat tire.
Is Rod a great guy or what?
Smallest church in the world?
Barely big enough for a door.
I was going to skip this photo-op, but when I saw Todd stopping for this picture I decided it was worth the soaking.
Another 10 miles of cold drizzle down our backs....
Finally we find a gas station where we can stop to wring out our frazzled hair.
Bikers love adversity, yes?
Margo looks like she's having a great time.
And Dan always has a smile on his face.
My route sheet is falling apart.
Even my diet coke got wet!
The next SAG is only 12 miles away.
By the time I get there the rain is letting up.
And I find my Alex.
She, too, had a flat in the pouring rain.
Changed it herself.
What a girl!
I leave quickly from the SAG.
I try to keep ahead of the group.
But when I stop to take my last picture of the Erie Canal...
...Al and Canada Jeff whoosh by me.
The rain turns to sun.
I'm in a hurry now to get to Little Falls - check on my camera.
This is no time for a flat.
Little Falls looks scenic...
Interesting signs distract my eye...
But I'm on a mission.
Yes! The steak house back in Liverpool has my camera!
I grab a taxi - I won't tell you what it cost - and book it back to Liverpool to rescue my wayward pixilator.
Pete, my taxi driver, says he can't use the a/c - he's allergic.
So I pay an arm and a leg for a two hour drive to retrieve my camera in a sweltering hot van.
Am I dedicated?
Or just crazy?
But I'm thrilled to get my camera back.
And we only have 4 more days to bike.
I'm beginning to think I will make it.
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