A dry rest day was just what i needed. Today was up and over the Ararat Mountain, a 6 mile uphill monster. The other side was a straight 5 mile ridge, my first boring straight road of many. The weather was pretty good so i stopped for lunch at the last gas station for 20 miles. You can guess what happened next-massive thunderstorm.

It was the nearest to being in a hurricane as i think i will ever get, deafening lightning, horizontal rain, the works. The station became a heaven for everyone within a 5 mile radius, and we all had a good chat huddled in the back room where i learned that this area is nicknamed thunder alley. They should really put that kind of info on maps. Today i learned my first lesson-when particularly close lightning strikes in the bible belt, dont shout 'jesus'. Sorry guys.