Saturday began with a tasty breakfast. Donna made an omelette with leftover asparagus, mushrooms and onions that she served with prosciutto-wrapped cantaloupe.  It was a great start to the day.

Omelette with prosciutto-wrapped cantaloupe

After breakfast, we were undecided on the day’s activities. We talked about hiking. I wanted to get my mountain bike out. We looked online at mines, ghost towns and other attractions in the area, but they were all a little too far away.

Donna hadn’t been to downtown Cottage Grove, so we decided to ride the scooter to town and have lunch there. We could hike and bike in the afternoon. The forecast called for cooler weather. Clouds moved in. There was a possibility of rain late in the day, but the forecast showed 0% chance of rain until 5pm or so.

We headed out on the scooter. I had on my usual uniform of the day – shorts and a T-shirt. Donna was more sensible and wore a jacket. After seeing my photo yesterday, Donna wanted to check out the Dorena covered bridge, so that was our first stop.

Scootering through the Dorena covered bridge

About 10 miles down the road, a few rain drops hit my windshield. It was very brief. It was overcast, but remained dry until we were a couple of miles from town. Then a light, steady rain began to fall.

I parked the scooter on Main Street. We stood under an awning over a storefront and looked up and down the street. As we walked toward a restaurant, the rain started coming down harder. So much for the 0% chance of precipitation.

We had lunch at Jack Sprats Cafe. We both had a cup of shiitake miso soup. Donna had a grilled cheese sandwich while I went for a meatball marinara on garlic pita. We lingered over lunch, but the rain didn’t let up. We finally resigned ourselves to a wet ride home.

As we walked back to the scooter, the rain stopped! Perfect, we thought. We donned our helmets and took off. Within two blocks of travel, the rain started coming down. By the time we hit Row River Road, it was raining hard. I knew the next 30 minutes would not be a fun ride.

I was completely soaked after a couple of miles. The rain was pelting my hands and running down my nose behind my faceshield, which I had to have cracked open to keep it from fogging. Visibility was poor. I avoided riding over any painted markings on the street. You don’t notice it so much in a car, but on a two-wheeled conveyance, you realize how slippery the paint is when it’s wet.

The wind chill over my wet body had me shivering. I clenched my teeth to keep them from chattering. I told myself I can endure almost anything for 30 minutes. It was one of the most miserable rides I’ve been on. The only other ride that compares was a trip Donna and I made on our Moto Guzzis to a rally in Datil, New Mexico. We hit a rain squall on that ride. It poured down and the temperature quickly dropped. On that ride we had gloves, warm jackets and boots though.

Once we were back home, I quickly changed into warm, dry clothing. It rained off and on all afternoon. I downloaded and watched the Moto GP qualifying from Silverstone. Then I took a 30-minute nap. The cold ride had me whipped. I was a couch potato for the rest of the day.

Today, we have nice weather. No rain, just a few clouds in the sky and the temperature should reach the upper 70s. I need to work on a couple of projects. I also want to watch the Moto GP race. I need to clean up the scooter. Maybe I’ll still have enough time and energy to get out on my bike.