Full disclosure - today's GPS track includes 13 miles that we did not bike, but were driven by car, (see beeline on map), and ferried across Lake Champlain. See explanation below. We awoke to rain that was unexpected and heavy, delaying our start until about 1:00 pm, when it decreased to a steady drizzle. We couldn't make up time due to the treacherously wet roads, an appreciable drag from our yellow ponchos that flailed in the wind, and 3 flats along the way. By the time we finished our lunch at a Subway in Whitehall, we knew we had a race on our hands - to catch the last ferry over to Ticonderoga at 6:45 (we had made our reservations there because there were no vacancies on the VT side of lake Champlain). Actually the only reason we thought we had a fighting chance was because, in my haste, I was gauging our mileage that day on a simple road map. Whereas I had planned our actual route on Open Street Map, which was beautiful but more circuitous/longer than I estimated. Nicholas bravely led, providing me draft for our faster pace. Sometimes he literally gave me some power - pushing my fannier, erh, pannier up some of the more annoying grades - alas to no avail. By late afternoon it became clear that we were not going to make it. And if we missed the ferry, we'd have forfeited $125 to the Super 8 motel - not to mention that we may have ended up having to pitch our tent in a field for the night. So we chose instead to start flagging down pickup trucks, and finally induced some VT boys to give us a lift. While getting into the back seat of their pickup, I managed to avoid stepping on a rifle on the floor of the cab. Actually, I didn't even notice the rifle, as I was transfixed by a shotgun resting right in front of me on a horizontal rack. Thankfully, the guy's father came out just before leaving their driveway and made a reassuring quip, "...not to worry, he just likes to be well armed". Well, all went well and we made it to the dock with a few minutes to spare.