As it turns out, this part of the world is having the coldest, rainiest summer since 1961. A local woman told me that there had been only 5 days without rain all season and I easily believe her. So, while riding in the rain the other day, I had a little talk with myself. “See the silver lining” & “remember, the glass is half full” I admonished myself.
–Water from one deluge…glass was sitting on the picnic table. So, I began to compose a list of reasons to love the rain. Let’s see what I came up with:#1 We are not dealing with forest fires and smoke. This is a huge boon. We had some mildly smoky days back up on the Dempster Highway that mainly was bothersome in that it diminished the mountain views. Since then there have been no fires and no need to use our particle masks.
#2 We have used up little of our sunscreen and have not had sunburns. Hurray for low solar indices!#3 While we are talking about skin benefits, exfoliation is not necessary when one is routinely cleaning off road grit
#4 Dental hygiene. There is no need for a water pik… just smile as you ride rapidly in a driving rain#5 Camping can be a particularly rewarding experience when you have the option of wading just outside your tent (or inside if you chose your site poorly
#6 The group gets to work on team building skills when the camp kitchen is surrounded by an unexpected lake
#7 You get to meet some awesome people. On one particularly dismal stretch of road in pouring rain, there was heavy commercial traffic (huge trucks) and road construction that left us with no shoulder to ride on. Robbie, a hotshot, agreed to take Jim and I with our bicycles down the road 20km past the construction despite the fact that he was actually headed the other way!! We were so cold and wet…it was just an amazingly generous act of kindness. Thank you Robbie!!
(PS for those of you who don’t know, a hotshot is a guy with a rig who is available at a moments notice to run supplies or whatever to drill sites)#8 If it is raining, then the temperatures are above freezing
Frost on my bike saddle one morning. It was 29 degrees F ( or about -1 C) on our first climb that day
It warmed to 35.5 degrees at the top of the climb. Balmy!#9 One really appreciates the sun when it appears, especially when it comes with good roads too!
#10. And last but not least, you might get to see a spectacular rainbow
Wish you all a rainbow in your day. Ta-ta for now.
oldfolkswithbikes 
Sounds like you are doing a great job keeping your spirits up! Rain and thunderstorms here today, no problem as we were inside.
Thanks for keeping us posted-at least we can get a glimpse of what it would be like.
Mary Sent from my iPhone
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Sheesh! I guess it would be worse to be so hot you can’t ride.
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Now that’s accentuating the positives! You are a superb example to us all, Barb. Thanks and keep up the great work.
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Barb.. You make me feel proud to call you Sister!
Incredible photos … It puts me right there with you!
Keep the stories coming..
Jan
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Love your blogs, sharing them with Joe. He says Hi to Junior!! When are you home?
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I have so much respect for you two. Biking and camping in the rain and a frozen bike seat is my version of hell.
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Ah yes ..about the time I think this is crazy, the rain stops or the sun peeps out, or the view becomes fantastic, or we have a stunning descent, and I think ” nevermind, I do love this” 😏
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Love your blog – especially the latest one.
Weather – Ouch! The forecast was terrible for B.C., and I guess it turned out that way.
Your Jasmine is still blooming – pic attached if we can make it work.
70 degrees for supper tonight….
With love,
Dwight and Jutta
/Users/jdwightgibb/Desktop/IMG_3547.JPG
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