Fessing up to being a journalist is dicey business these days, thanks to our perennial ranking among the Top 3 most despised professions. But every time I find myself being asked on this ride how much of my reporting I plan to make up or whether I'm tight with Dan, I have a sure-fire response that deflects attention to another dubious profession, at least among weather-sensitive cyclists.

"Hey," I'll say, "what was up with that forecast for today? Could they have been less wrong or what?"

For the last two years, Cycle North Carolina has been plagued by rain like Joseph Smith was plagued by locusts.

My next door tentmate for this evening, Jim Heil, says during last year's ride, after a wet day on the road, a window of sun opened as he and Tim Cullip arrived in camp. Assuming the worst had passed, they threw up their tents and draped their wet gear over them to dry. A short while later, as the two were exploring downtown Lumberton, it began to pour. Jim chuckles over the event -- now.

Bruce Rossar of Cary, also an accomplished whitewater canoeist, recalls getting of his bike during one deluge last year and looking down at his feet. "There was whitewater pouring around my shoes. There were these nice little eddies."

And Phillip Weaver of Carrboro remembers getting to Kinston two years ago just as a tropical storming was also arriving. "It took me 45 minutes to ride three miles. On the downstroke, at times, my foot was in the water."

At the mandatory riders' meeting Saturday night in Sparta, ride director Mike Caleen went over ride protocol before an Alleghany High School gym packed with cyclists. It's a CNC tradition and gives Caleen a chance to update riders on any changes not on our pre-printed daily route map/itinerary. (Example: "Thursday night in Rocky Mount," Caleen began, "the campground there is a bit unique." A murmur went up among those familiar with Caleen's dry sense of humor. Rightfully so: The campground's uniqueness stemmed from the fact it was under construction.)

Eventually, Caleen got to the weather.

"Last year, in Boone we had a great forecast for the week. Then, we had" (pause, voice drops) "three days of pretty much straight rain. But it was a warm rain."

Ominously, we had a similarly optimistic forecast for this week. A slight chance of rain Saturday night, mostly sunny for the remainder of the ride.

Though it had clouded up over night, there were signs of sun as we rolled out of Sparta this morning. Clouds soon gave way to more of a haze as we pedaled the rolling hills through Alleghany County's Christmas tree country. I took it as an especially good sign when I came upon a cyclist identified as "Beer Sherpa" from Cary on the CNC license plates we're all given to put on our bikes.

"Is the beer in those panniers?" I asked, referring to the luggage bags hung from a rack off his rear wheel.

"No, but I am carrying it."

The morning got better as we crested the Blue Ridge Parkway and descended a winding, freshly-paved stretch of N.C. 98 that rocketed down hill.

But then, the light began to dim.

"We gonna get wet?" Curt Devereux asked not long before we rolled into Dobson.

Yes, it would soon turn out. Very.

For the first 30 miles, we basked in partly cloudy. For the last 30, paddling was a more appropriate option at times.

Funny thing about CNC cyclists and rain, though. Not even a Noah-worthy downpour gets 'em down.

"I don't mind riding in the rain," observed Matt Lavin of Raleigh, who at 24 is one of the youngest cyclists on the ride. "I just don't like sitting in it." By that he meant getting to camp and having it continue to rain.

Fortunately, he didn't have to. Right about the time we rolled into Veterans Memorial Park, home for the evening, the rain had stopped. By mid-afternoon, the sun emerged.

As we set up our tents, neighbor Jim put some perspective on such inclement weather.

"Once I'm wet, it's not that big of a deal." He paused, then added, "Unless my feet get wet."

Squeaky shoes.

Tomorrow: Mt. Airy to Eden, 67 miles.

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