Perhaps I should have waited

Well,
Where to begin, eh? From Pengwang where I finally stopped on my first day, I got a good start. I went from there with the goal of Huzhou. I did get to Huzhou, and before noon. So far so good, but (and there is always a but..) it was raining. Steady, heavy and cold. Since it was so early, and I was already pretty miserable I decided to try to press on to Hangzhou. I didn't quite make it there, and by the time I stopped for the night, I was covered in mud. Yes covered, head to toe. Part of the road had some dirt that had washed down and so, it wasn't quite an unpaved road, but it was ..muddy. Very muddy.
I found a room, and did my best to clean off, and the next morning, it had stopped raining and was just foggy. I decided to stop in Hangzhou no matter what. I started out very pleasant.
First there were times of silence. I know, here in China. Sweet sweet silence. Then the farms gave way to orchards, and orchards gave way to bamboo groves, and bamboo groves gave way to bamboo lumber yards, and bamboo lumber yards gave way to bamboo crafts people ( I think it is a safe bet that the area is famous for bamboo). Then the fog gave way to clouds, and the clouds gave way to drizzle, and the drizzle gave way to rain. Then I rode into Hangzhou. Early enough I could have found something to do, but unfortunately it was raining. Hard.
I decided I needed the rest. So I had a hot shower ( I can't decide which shower feels better, the one after you are cold and wet, or the one after you are hot and sweaty. I might know the answer after this trip), got out my book, had a cup of coffee, and holed up in my room until morning.
This morning, the weather didn't start out much better. It was cold and raining.
So I kept on. I thought I would be able to get to Xiaoxing fairly early. But ( there is always a but) got lost trying to get out of Hangzhou and onto G104. For three hours. I searched for the way out, I asked people, I circled. For. Three. Hours. By 10am I was about ready to cry. So I hired a truck to take my bike to the highway. Ok, if you want to get technical, it was cheating. But I was riding in circles. In the rain. For three hours.
I finally got on the highway, and the guy in the truck was really nice. Rode by farms and factories, and finally got into Xiaoxing. The rain gave way to drizzle, and the drizzle gave way to clouds. Let's hope for a little sun tomorrow.
Till I post again, be safe, be careful, and be happy.