Again I woke up way too early, my alarm went off at %:30 AM. Outside at the tent where they had bagels, muffins with egg and cheese, and coffee, I guess I really woke up when I was outside and had my first cup of coffee. I met Philip during breakfast. He decided to bicycle the 100 miles tour today. It was a cool day and we had overcast. I asked one of the volunteers whether it was going to rain and she insisted that it was not. I left my rain-gear in my room in the dorms. Then I overheard someone else saying that it was raining heavily in Boston. I asked the volunteer again and she still insisted that it was not going to rain. I wondered if she learned this from the weather forecast. She responded that she did not believe in weather forecasts. Well, I took my rain-gear along.

Before the start and also during the Tour several bicycle mechanics were available. The 100 mile riders started at 7:30 AM today and the 75 miles group followed already at 7:40 AM, 20 minutes early, because most riders were ready to go.

The route for this day was more hilly than yesterdays. A few miles before the first rest stop I found a group of riders who were going at a good pace, so I joined them. At the rest stop they had again the delicious plums. While we stopped it started raining and then the rain got worse. I put my rain-gear on, some people had wind breakers. After the rain eased off a little we continued.

The rain came on and off many times and I got tired of putting on my rain gear and then taking it off again and again. In the end, after loosing the group I was with, I put the rain pants back into the bag and was only wearing the rain jacket.

After the third rest stop, in Eliot, ME, I was again bicycling with the group. The rain got worse. We had to walk on the sidewalk across the Memorial Bridge to Portsmouth, NH. Just when we got off the bridge the rain was pouring down on us worse than a shower and then the draw bridge was closed and pulled up. Less than one mile later was another bridge. We saw a Support and Gear (SAG) vehicle standing on the side of the road just before the bridge with its lights flashing. A support person was waving the riders down. On the sidewalk we saw a rider with blood on his arms and face limping across the bridge. He must have fallen. The floor of the bridge was a wide spaced iron grid which was very slippery. Even walking across it was not easy.

The roads along the coast were very narrow and did not have a shoulder for the most part. It was quite dangerous to ride with all the water on the road hiding potholes, and the bad visibility due to the heavy rain. The cars however were driving very carefully past us. At the lunch stop, i.e. after 45 miles, we were told that the organizers were thinking of pulling the tour, i.e. stopping it. We were taking shelter from the rain under the tent of the lunch stop and warming ourselves with hot coffee. Unfortunately they just ran out of soup, but there were lots of sandwiches and drinks left. After a short while we were told that the tour was pulled. Everyone had to stay at the lunch stop and wait to be brought back to UNH. The volunteers were distributing t-shirts, sweat shirts and jackets to the soaking wet riders to keep warm. SAG vehicles came in constantly taking bicycles and cold bicyclists with them. I was not feeling cold as I had my rain gear to keep me warm and did not get too wet. So I waited for the cold and shivering riders to get brought back first.

After reaching UNH every rider had to check in so that the organizers know who is left on the road. At the check in I met Marissa from work. We were totally surprised to see each other. I did not know that she was volunteering for the MS Society and she did not know that I was riding. After talking to her and some riders for a while I went back to Worcester. There was no rain in the afternoon.