Outrunning the Rain.... And the Train

Today's Tracking via GPS and Ham Radio

I set out to get going earlier today to get a haircut, but as I was rolling the trike out of the garage, I remembered the tracker had not worked well during the last couple rides I'd taken.
Rather than put it off again, I worked on the electronics before I took today's ride.
I suspected the rough ride from a couple days ago when I got lost on several miles of rocky gravel country road might have jarred a solder joint or other connection loose so I got out my trusty soldering station, warmed it up, and began poking and peeking inside the radio pouch for loose wiring..  The radio had power to it, but the GPS converter's blinky LED light was not blinking.  I could not find any loose wires, so I finally turned off the soldering station and dug out my signal tracer to see if the GPS was working and sending its noisy data stream to the radio.  Sure enough, there was no signal whatsoever coming out of the GPS converter's plug.  Wondering if it was the Garmin 350 GPS or the Argent Gtrans Data Converter, I tried my spare converter, still new in the shipping bag, and pow, the data was loud and clear.  I could find no cuts or bruises of the input and output cords, so now I \'m thinking one of my rainy rides may have gotten water inside the housing, which is of course not good for electronics.  I'll take it apart after my feet cool off and see if I can figure out what's wrong or if I just have to spend the money and buy another new spare.
After putting everything back together and the tools all back where they belong, I finally got going almost 2 hours later than I'd anticipated.  The barber shop thankfully was still open when I got there just before noon.
After leaving the hair-cutter, I called Jacque and told her I wanted to do a longer ride since the day was so pretty.  I was starting to feel a bit of sunburn after the first mile, so I pulled into the parking lot of our local defunct radio station with its nice shade trees and lathered up with sunblock, while taking a break for the feet.  Within minutes after getting underway again, the sun disappeared behind a bank of clouds and stayed that way for the rest of the ride.  Perhaps I wasted the sunblock cream, but supposedly ultraviolet rays from the sun penetrate through clouds - I'm never sure about all that.
I wasn't at all sure whether I was going to get rained on, but it motivated me to keep moving.
As I approached the railroad crossing just north of home, I heard the train a-coming, its whistle screaming.  I looked at the crossing closely,  expecting the cross arm barriers to light up and block the crossing.  It was still clear as I pulled close so I put the pedal to the metal and scooted across.  The noisy train was crawling slowly on to the siding, evidently to wait for a higher priority train to  come through.  In just a few more minutes that happened, but I was safely almost home by then.
The absence of direct sunlight didn't upset me at all.  Made it home with only slightly sore feet and less hair around my ears.

Ride Started:  11.17 AM      Ride Ended:  1:01 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage:  13.0  Ending Battery Voltage:  12.8 Lowest Voltage:  12.7

Beginning Blood Glucose:    121     Ending BG: 84

Lowest Temp:  71 F    Highest Temp:  75 F
Stats from the GPS:  Total Miles:  5.23
Distance Walked: 1/2 mile
Overall Average Speed       Moving Avg          Max Speed
   2.2   MPH                           5.6  MPH            16.3 MPH
Total Trip Time                   Moving Time        Stopped Time
 2 hours 22 mins                 56 minutes          1 hour 26 minutes