Today was another hot day, with morning temperatures starting at above 70 degrees and climbing through the upper 80s before the thunderstorms hit in the early evening.
For the first time in two days, I started feeling better and had a big breakfast at Barb's in Locke, NY (about three miles from camp.) Then, it was a big climb up West Hill Road, which was not the thing that I wanted to do just after a big breakfast.
As I was climbing later in the morning, I felt a pop from my back wheel but didn't pay it much mind until my mileage calculator magnet, which is attached to one of the spokes, started clicking on the receiver device attacked to the frame. When I checked out the noise, I discovered a broken spoke. The wheel was badly out of true, but I opened up the back brake so that the wheel spun ok and rode with Tom, Chuck and Gary into the town of Aurora.
We all stopped in a little ice cream parlor in Aurora and I figured that I was going to limp down the road to the first rest-stop and then get a ride into Ithaca, about 30 miles south. However, Bob, driving the sag wagon, saw our bikes out front and stopped into the store. I loaded my bike in the truck and we headed off down to Ithaca while he swept the route, making sure other riders were OK.
The close call was that Chuck, Tom and Gary took off south and Gary was hit by a car just three miles away. A woman driver didn't see him and hit him squarely from behind. I'm not sure if he was all the way on the shoulder or not. Gary was thrown up over the car, breaking the windshield. He was pretty banged up, had some short term memory loss and was transported to the hospital to spend the night. His tour is over but he was hoping to come by and visit the other riders on Friday, to let us know that he is OK and to say goodbye to the others.
I got my bike fixed in Ithaca, where I found The Bike Rack, which had a drawer full of exotic spokes, one that fit my Mavic rims. I finished the ride to the campground, where we are staying for two nights.
