Because it rhymes with “luck.” See, my daddy always told me to be just like a duck. Stay smooth on the surface and paddle like the devil underneath!

Got a very early start this morning after some 4 am Omeals Chicken Creole breakfast ( I do like the Omeals food with Backpackers Pantry coming in 2nd). I was pushing hard to try and beat the rain.  Whelp, the first 25 miles of my planned 50 were good. I got to see Ft Herkimer Church it was beautiful and the trails through Little Falls may be some of my favorites. There was one section of the old rail trail that the rock-cut was at least 18 feet high. Then came the rain, ended up riding about 23 miles of it.

We been through every kind of rain there is. Little bitty stingin’ rain, and big ol’ fat rain, rain that flew in sideways, and sometimes rain even seemed to come straight up from underneath.

Mid trail in the pouring rain I prepped some Omeals Vegetable Chili and ate a chocolate chip cookie Clif bar, Lunch really warmed my soul and renewed my energy to push through the crappy rain and the under-construction squishy (wet concrete feeling) crappy trails before Randall. Waterlogged clothes are a recipe for chafing which I think I kept it mostly under control. I stopped at every lock I was able to locate but I was on the other side of the canal for most as the trail was an old railroad bed. I passed a spring in Minden and you know I topped off my water bottles there. Beyond that nothing too exciting en route,  I checked into a roach motel and grabbed a burger at a choke & puke in Amsterdam. I hope my shoes dry.

So even though I didn’t beat the rain entirely and got  soaked I’ll call it a W for the day. My favorite quote keeps passing through my mind..

“Don’t let your thoughts run away with you, don’t start planning to bail out because you’re worried about the future and how much you can take. Don’t look ahead to the pain. Just get through the day,”
― Marcus Luttrell

While my suffering and endeavors are nowhere as serious as what that American Hero went through but I can tell you it helped me greatly. Always Does!