Originally Posted by indyfabz

Two years ago I abandoned a cross-PA tour (Youngstown, OH to Philly) after only 3 days. Thursday night, before I made the drive out to Youngstown, the forecast was calling for some rain Saturday but pretty descent the rest of the week. Somehow, that all changed in about 24 hrs. It started raining Saturday morning while I was at the Motel 6. By the time I dropped the rental off at the nearby Vienna Airport a few hours later, it was raining in earnest. And it pretty much didn't stop--for three days. Half way through the first day a guy at a restaurant told me that some areas were expecting up to 20" over the next couple of days. And it was rather chilly. And there was a headwind, so the rain was blowing into my face. And wouldn't you know it, my rain jacket was no longer waterproof, and I forgot to pack my rain pants. Got a motel the first night instead of camping. The second day was worse. Got a motel that night too. The third day was even worse. I rode through a puddle early on that turned out to be hiding a giant pothole on the shoulder. I nearly wiped out (my ass came off the saddle and one of my hands came off the brake hood) and fell in front of a car. At times I was riding in 2' of water running down the side of the road. By then, my FD was no longer functioning. I think the combination of water all day then heated motel rooms at night cause it to seize up, because when I finally made it home I tried to shift and the cable snapped. Did the entire day in my smallest chainring. Got another motel at the end of the third day. Also, there was a chance that if I kept riding I would ride into the remnants of a hurricane. An old friend--the guy who got me into cycling way back in the 80s--drove 4.5 hrs. to pick me up late the next day. We then drove to his country house that night and to back to the city on Wednesday morning. But everything in my panniers stayed dry.

I posted this picture from my Day 2 hotel before. Never use the circulars to line your leg warmers when it's wet out. When I pulled them down I freaked for a second thinking I had somehow suffered massive bruising.