Great Outdoor Images

Today’s Highlights:
We left Brunswick at sunrise via a very depressed part of town. There was a surprisingly abrupt transition from the depress neighborhood to one with nice homes and landscapes yards. After seven miles, we reached Rt 17 again and cycled over the Sidney Lanier Bridge to cross Turtle River. The bridge was the scenic highlight of the day. I met Brenda and Kirt on the bridge and rode with them for 25 miles to the one rest stop of the day. It was really nice to have their company, and we took turns drafting each other. It made the time and miles go by fast.
I left the rest stop alone, expecting to met up with other riders, but unfortunately I cycled the next 35 miles alone. Route 17 is flat, long and straight, and it was pretty boring after a while. I tried talking to myself, but that was even more boring. The best scenic areas were the many wetlands we past when crossing over streams and coastal inlets.
We reached a very blue bridge that crossed the St Marys River at mile 50 to leave Georgia and enter Florida. Reaching Florida was a nice milestone, and it was a relief to know there were only 24 more miles to finish the ride and the tour. Barry, Rene and Alan caught up to me several miles from the end, and I rode with them to the hotel.
I cycle 1600 miles in 21 days, plus 4 rest days. I spent 103 hours on my bike, and burned over 36300 calories. The first day was very tough, the next nine were a challenge, and after that it got progressively easier and downright boring the last two day. I only had a couple pains to work through along the way. I finished feeling strong and relaxed. Best of all, I got to ride and spend time with very nice people and made new friends.
This evening, we will all have dinner together for the last time. I will be catching a train later tonight to go to Maryland where Sue and I will vacation with our son and his wife for one week. Maybe I will even take a bike ride with them.

Pictures Of The Day:

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Today’s Highlights:
Our 81-mile ride from Savannah to Brunswick started at 7:30 this morning with beautiful weather. We were on busy city streets for several miles at each end of the route. About seventy miles of the route was on Rt 17, which varied from a four lane divided highway to a two lane main road. It was flat and comfortably smooth, and we made good time. There was a lot of traffic, but nearly all the drivers gave us plenty of room when they could. I almost had a run-in with a logging truck that pulled out in front of me, but I had just enough space to stop. I cycled pretty hard for the first 36 miles, averaging 18 mph, then took it down a notch to finish the entire ride with a 17.4 mph average. I arrived at the hotel at 1:00.
Although it is easier overall to cycle on the flats, the drawback compared to a hilly ride is that you use the same muscles for the entire ride, and there is no relief. With hills, there are slight variations in which leg muscles you use, and you get a little recovery on each descent. These flat rides are like riding in a gym, with resistance, for five hours straight. Imagine that. It can get monotonous too when the scenery doesn’t change much. So at this point in the ride, we are just trying to get to Florida. We are all in fine shape, and it feels good to just power through an 80-mile ride with relative ease. Even finishing in 95-degree heat does not feel bad anymore.

Pictures Of The Day:

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Today’s Highlights:
My rest day started with a 6:00 AM walk in the dark around Savannah. I wanted to try some night photography in the town squares and streets. I strolled along several blocks and shot into dawn. Then I had a pre-breakfast at Panera Bread, a drink at Starbucks, and eventually a real breakfast at the awesome Goose Feathers bakery with Kirt, Brenda and Sara. Then from 9 to 1:00, I strolled all around the city looking at the architecture and parks. Forsyth Park was especially nice and had a lot of visitors.
In the afternoon, I spent a couple hours on photo editing and bike cleaning. Then I was back out for another walk to sightsee. I met my friends at 5:30 for dinner at the Shrimp Factory on the Savannah Waterfront. It was very good. We joked about finally getting to eat with real silverware and use cloth napkins. That doesn’t happen often on this trip.
Savannah has a lot of interesting architecture, parks, history, and good restaurants. It’s well worth visiting for those things. I didn’t find much art or quality shopping, and the museum was closed on Labor Day.

Pictures Of The Day:

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Today’s Highlights:
It was another perfect day for cycling, with comfortable temperatures and low humidity, and a little wind generally at our backs. The roads were flat and straight. There were so few turns today, that I almost fell to sleep on one long stretch. There were several places where huge moss-covered trees stretched over the road creating a tunnel. I also saw more than a dozen vultures feeding on a dead deer. In case you didn’t know, it was International Vulture Awareness Day two days ago. Look it up.
Near the end of the route, we cycled through the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge. The Little Back River flows through it, and that is the border between SC and Georgia. Several miles after crossing into Georgia, we reached our hotel in downtown Savannah. I finished the ride just after noon, averaging 17.5 mph. With all the conditioning we have had in the past three weeks, everyone is finding a flat 75-mile route to be a comfortable morning ride.
We have our last rest day tomorrow in Savannah. There is a lot here to explore.
Pictures Of The Day:

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Today’s Highlights:
The tropical storm has completely passed, and today’s weather was the best we have had since we started this ride three weeks ago. It was just perfectly comfortable for cycling, with a wind from the north to clear the air, cool us off, and occasionally give us a push down the road. We had a late start at 8:30 this morning. With only 67 miles to ride on flat roads, there was no rush to leave. The main reason for the delay though was so the crew could drive ahead and see if there were any flooded roads or downed trees that we would have to detour around. The route was clear, and there were no issues the entire way.
Our route was similar to recent days, on country roads with farms and forest. Today, however, there were several horses and some longhorn cattle along the way. I also saw many black vultures in the sky, and three places where they were feeding on roadkill. A couple were opossums, and surprisingly one was an armadillo. We passed through one tiny worn out town, St George, with a mural letting us know it was the Town of Friendly People. I didn’t see any people.
I finished the ride around 1:00, a little slow due to the rough roads. As we often do, we arrived at the edge of town near an interstate exit, and all that is here are a few motels, McDonald’s and Ruby Tuesday. I have no idea what Walterboro SC is really like. We are all looking forward to cycling into Savannah tomorrow and having time to explore that town.

Pictures Of The Day:

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Today’s Highlights:
Hurricane Hermine hit Florida yesterday and weakened into a tropical storm as it continued through Georgia and South Carolina. We were supposed to cycle to Santee SC today, but the forecast was for 5-7 inches of rain with 40 mph sustained winds. The ride was canceled, but we had to move forward anyway. So, this morning we loaded the luggage truck in our civilian clothes, and loaded all the bikes on top of the two vans. All 16 riders and 4 staff people fit into the two vans, and we drove from Geogetown to Santee. We arrived around 11 AM while it was raining hard, but before the worst of the storm. We are save and dry for today. Tomorrow will be a very nice day to ride, barring any flooding.

Pictures Of The Day:

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Today’s Highlights:
If we had turned left out of the hotel this morning and traveled down busy Rt 17, we would have reached Georgetown in 55 miles. Instead we turned right, headed north, then made a long lazy loop to the northwest and meandered around South Carolina. Forty-three miles later, we were about 20 miles due west of North Myrtle Beach in the town of Conway. And, ninety-seven miles later, we finally reached Georgetown. However, it was a beautiful day, and the roads were very flat and mostly smooth. The 97 miles was an easy ride, and I suppose we got to see just a little more of SC.
My only challenge today was a very stiff and painful achilles tendon. It started out mild, but half way through the ride, I was mostly pedaling with my left leg. It’s a good thing that the roads were so flat.
I hooked up with Kirt and Brenda on their tandem bike a few miles into the ride. We took turns following each other. It is really nice drafting behind a tandem, because all that mass reduces the wind resistance significantly. But I took my turn in front too. Best of all, I got to take pictures of them. I stayed with them until the first SAG stop at mile-35.
For the next 52 miles, I cycled alone. It’s a lot easier to stop for pictures when I’m not trying to stay with other riders, and I enjoyed looking around a little more today. Interestingly, most of the route was through pine forests which were being logged. There were clear-cut areas, which always look very messy and sad, and some newly planted sapling, some new growth forest, and some mature forests. Once in a while, a big logging truck would pass by. The trees they were hauling were not very big – maybe 12-18 inches in diameter. They were being hauled to a paper mill near Georgetown.
I reached the historic section of Georgetown, SC around 1:30, and was pleasantly surprised. It’s a very beautiful town with a waterfront, marina, lots of very good restaurants and shops. And, in the blocks off the main street there are beautiful, large old homes with manicured yards.
At the hotel, I met up with Alan, Rene and Barry. We cycled back one mile to the historic district and had an excellent lunch at The Atlantic House. Dinner tonight was at Aunny’s Country Kitchen, also in the historic district. It was a small family run kitchen with a very homey feel.
By the way, I will probably stop talking about the humidity. After all, we are in the deep south now and it’s just soggy all the time. This morning started out comfortable, but it did hit 102 on the road before the end of my ride. It gets hot, but I am getting used to it.

Pictures Of The Day:

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Today’s Highlights:
We had our second rest day of the trip today. After leaving the seaside town of Portsmouth NH, our route dictated that we cycle over 1200 miles in 17 days before seeing the Atlantic Ocean again. Who planned that! Along the way, we saw miles of lush, green forests and farms, crossed many rivers and climbed many hills. Variety is good, but it is especially nice to be seaside again and be able to gaze out to the horizon and listen to the waves all day and night. There was a colorful sunrise this morning, followed by an overcast morning with a little rain. By 2:00 pm the sun was back out and the humidity continued to drop. The afternoon and evening were most pleasant.
I caught up on chores today, like bike cleaning, laundry and email. And I worked on my trip pictures some more. Overall, it was very relaxing. The rest was important, because we have to cover 100 miles in each of the next two days.

Pictures Of The Day:

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Today’s Highlights:
We had our most comfortable day of cycling so far on this tour. Although it was warm and humid by most standards, it was far better than the passed week. Partly cloudy skies and some shady country roads also kept the temperature comfortable. We cycled 60 miles of flat, smooth roads, with only a couple rough sections. I joined Rene, Barry, Larry, Steve and Alan all the way to the South Carolina state line, and we moved along quickly in a paceline. Our route continued through small farms similar to the past few days. Without much interesting scenery, I mostly took pictures of my fellow cyclist.
At the NC/SC state line, I continued on alone to the hotel. After crossing over the Intracoastal Waterway, I cycled three miles along Ocean Blvd to the Best Western. I finished the ride just before noon, and later joined several riders at a beach side restaurant for lunch. Our hotel is right on the beach, and my hotel balcony looks directly on the ocean. This is by far the best stop of the trip.
Seven riders are ending their trip here, by plan. I will really miss Gregg, Don and Donna, who cycled at my speed and were always cheerful and good company.
We were on our own for dinner tonight, so five of us went to the best seafood restaurant within walking distance (one mile is short for us). Dinner was awesome.
Tomorrow we have a rest day right here on the beach. Nice!

Pictures Of The Day:

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Statistics:
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Today’s Highlights:
Our 72-mile ride today seemed easy. The route was fairly flat on good rural roads, and we had the wind with us most of the time. The temperature ranged comfortably from 70 to 85 under an overcast sky, with only a brief period in the 90s when the sun shown through, but it was so humid that I was soaked and dripping for the entire ride. After cycling the first 12 miles by myself, a group of about 10 riders caught up to me moving like a train. I hopped in line and picked up some speed for the next 15 miles to the rest stop. It was nice to be in good company.
I left the SAG stop on my own again and reached Elizabethville 47 miles into the ride. The Corner Cafe was a recommended stop, and I had been looking forward all morning to getting apple pie. I went in and found out all they had were eggs and pancakes, but the waitress told me where the town bakery was. Just as I was about to leave, Don, Donna and Gregg showed up also looking for a treat. So off we went to Burney’s Sweets & More one block away, and we all enjoyed the most delicious pastries. It might have been the best treat of the entire trip. I cycled the remaining 25 miles to Whiteville with them, and after checking into the hotel and cleaning up, we went to a Chinese restaurant for lunch. I really enjoyed their company and getting to know them a little more.
Tonight we are having a pizza party in the hotel. There are no restaurants close by (the China King doesn’t really cut it for dinner), so pizza delivery is the option tonight.

Pictures Of The Day:

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Statistics:
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