Wadley to Statesboro to Richmond Hill

Saturday, the 7th of July, we cycled to Statesboro GA. for our final night on the road. After reviewing the suggested bicycle routes out of Wadley to Statesboro, and programming the Garmin, once again we took a chance on the back roads for over half the trip. This turned out to be a really good decision. The roads were in good shape with very little traffic and lots of trees. We met a nice couple who owned the convenience store where we reached the main highway once again. We visited for about 20 minutes as Betsy and I cooled off sitting in their store. We finished off the day with 30 miles of rollers and arrived at our hotel in Statesboro right on schedule at 1PM. Only one close call today as an idiot raced in front of us to exit off the highway at an off-ramp while coming into Statesboro. Betsy coined the phrase that "We have to avoid the potholes and the assholes." Both of which there seems to be a few of each day. We have found most drivers to be very courteous (with perhaps the exception of a certain county in Mississippi) and many tap their horns and wave as they pass us. We went to bed early after doing laundry at the hotel and eating a pretty good dinner at a restaurant next door. We were on the road early Sunday morning the 8th of July to both avoid the traffic and the heat. We were both excited to see Meg (our daughter-in-law) and our two granddaughters. Our daughter Stacey and her husband Jeff were also at Meg and Jason's house returning from visiting Florida for the weekend. Our neice Taran was also at Meg's as she went to Florida with Jeff and Stacey, so it was to be quite a reunion. It was with mixed emotions that we embarked on our last day of this most excellent adventure. We chose to go the longer road less traveled on Sunday and avoid traffic as much as possible. This entailed going through Fort Stewart, Georgia where Betsy and I lived when we first married. There was literally almost no traffic compared to many previous days on the road and Betsy and I both commented that it was comparable to being on the Chief Ladiga Trail and the Silver Comet Trail in Alabama and western Georgia. No hills at all today and no wind to speak of, accordingly we averaged 16 miles per hour over the 70 miles toal for the day. It was hot as usual but at that point we were used to it. We pulled into Richmond Hill at 12 noon to a warm welcome from our family. Jeff quickly made me a G and T and all was right with the world. Now we have to figure out how to ship our bike. The first bike shop I called says they cannot prepare a tandem for shipment. I am sure we will figure it out. We will fly home soon and resume our regular schedules once again. All in all it has been great. Betsy is still smiling and she says she still loves me. Pretty awesome after staring at my backside for over 2000 miles. Wonder what adventure we will choose next?

Milledgeville to Wadley Georgia - Sherman's March to the Sea.

We started out right after sunrise today in an attempt to beat the heat. The route we are following to Savannah is following the general route that General Sherman took during the civil war after burning Atlanta and trying to bring the south to it's knees (he succeeded). It was a total adventure today. We decided to follow the Garmin to our planned destination of Louisville, Georgia and the Garmin quickley took us down a beautiful cycling road that unfortunately became a gravel and dirt road after 3 miles of rollers. We were forced to turn around and choose a different route. There was a lot of climbing today, indeed Betsy posed a new question for the trip near the end of the day - - "How can everything possibly be uphill?" After near 70 miles and temperatures of 95 to 100 degrees and 90% humidity we finally arrived at our planned hotel, the only one in town - The Motor Inn in Louisville. The room did not look too bad - however the first clue that there was trouble was when I looked for ice I was told they "had to go get some and it would be awhile", then we found that the air conditioner was blowing only warm/hot air. When we brought this to managements attention they offered to move us to a different room though the only room available was smoking. We decided to reload the trailer - get back on the bike and move on down the road to Wadley a meer 13 miles down the road. The hotel here is wonderful - everything the one in Louisville was not. It was certainly worth the ride despite the 100 degree temp and humidity. Total mileage today was 80 miles. We plan an early start once again the morning as we continue.

Covington to Milledgeville Georgia

On the road again. Sixty miles today. We left the hotel in Covington at 7AM and arrived at our hotel here in Milledgeville at noon. We took the advice of one of the employees of a convenience store to head straight down 441 (usually not a good idea due to traffic) as they were doing construction on the highway and the speed limit had been dropped to 45 miles per hour. Great advice as it saved us 15 miles over the planned route and it was already 100 degrees with 90% humidity when we stopped for a break at 10:30. Also, as per the season, it is storming outside right now with a lot of rain, lightening, thunder, and strong (I'm talking 40 - 50 mph) winds. We have already lost power once. Another reason as to why we want to be off the road and indoors nlt 1PM. We are off to Louisville, Georgia in the morning via highway 24. We are looking forward to seeing Meg (our daughter-in-law, Grace and Harper in the next few days. It has been a once in a lifetime trip. It's not over yet, though. There's still plenty of road to ride, sights to see, and people to meet.

Atlanta to Covington Georgia

We are on our way once again. Jeff (our son-in-law) ran the Peach Tree 10K this morning and then Stacey and Jeff drove us out of the Atlanta Metro Area to the city of Covington. Betsy and I will resume the last leg of our bike adventure in the morning from here and hope to be in Richmond Hill by Sunday afternoon.

Anniston, Alabama to Cedartown, Georgia to Atlanta

Once we arrived in Anniston we found our hotel (an excellent Hampton Inn in Jacksonville, Alabama) which was literaly 300 yards from the turn-in point for our U-Haul and 1 mile from the Chief Ladiga Trail that we would ride on to Atlanta. In addition to all of the above, our hotel had a manager's reception of complimentary h-orderves, beer and wine--a dry county it was not! Additionally, we were told that a local sports pub catered to cyclists, had great steaks and would pick you up and drop you off back at the hotel after dinner. Oh my gosh, we were in heaven!!! Dinner was great and the ride the next day was even better. No cars or trucks allowed. Betsy and I talked all day and totally decompressed to include a picnic on the trail. We arrived in Cedartown, GA at the Holiday Inn Express. When the desk clerk found out we were biking she immediatly called a long term resident of the hotel named Kenny Herriot. Kinney just happens to be the number one rated hand cyclist in the world. He lost the use of his legs in 2000 in a freak motorcycle accident. At the time he owned a gym and was a physical fitness trainer. He is now a professional athlete and motivational speaker. Kenny spends part of his time training and working in his native Scotland and the other portion of his time training with a good friend here in Georgia. What a wonderful man to meet and talk with. We had dinner with him last night and breakfast with him this morning before we took off for Atlanta. We would love for him to come visit us and tour Oregon/Idaho. Once again we were reminded as to what this adventure is all about-meeting new people in new and unlikely places. Kenny's web site is(www.kennyherriot.co.uk). Do check it out. This morning we cycled into Atlanta where Stacey (our daughter) met us at the trailhead. It is great to see her once again and we are reminded of how very important family is to us. We are going to spend a few days visiting and then will push on to Savannah. The adventure continues. We will blog once again as we head to Savannah. I will have time for a few runs while staying here i(something I have not been able to do for over 4 weeks). We miss everyone at home and yet we still look forward to what is around the next bend in the road. Life is good. <

Pontotoc MS - Horror-, Anniston AL - Sanity

We have fast forwarded once again. For the first time in 1600+ miles Betsy and I felt at risk. We started out on Monday the 25th with cloudless blue skies and the usual hot and humid temperatures. We headed out on the only route available according to our Garmin and Google Maps to continue in an Easterly direction. We toured the campus of "OL MISS", the University Of Mississippi at Oxford, and it was great-a very bike friendly community. We then continued East, but as soon as we headed into Pontotoc County, MS we encountered trouble; first we were literally run off the road and crashed, then within the hour a very large Ford 350 pickup moved from the left lane to the right lane to pressure us to the edge of the road (no shoulder and a drop off), and the last straw was when a Semi stayed in the right lane (the left lane was empty) and blared his horn as he pulled even with us. All were clearly asggressive and dangerous acts. All within 2 hours of leaving "Ol Miss". Both of us were shaken and unfortunately we had no choice but to continue down the same route for another 2 hours. We were very defensive and did not stop until we reached our hotel (a 60 mile/100 degree day) without the usual breaks. After some discussion we decided that we would rather complete our trip alive and unharmed then push the envelope. We looked at the map for alternative routes that might have a shoulder. We had been told by a women at the Mississsppi welcome center that their roadways do not have shoulders - and she did not lie. No shoulders to be found. We decided to rent a car and put Mississippi behind us - CURSES - foiled again -no rental cars to be had. And to add insult to injury this was a "dry county" so I could not even have a G & T. Enough was enough, we looked up U-Haul on the internet, found a truck, loaded up our Tandem and fast forwarded to Anniston, Alabama. Tomorrow morning we will take off to ride the Chief Ladiga Trail and the Silver Comet Trail to Atlanta-100 miles of non-motorized bike trail. I would advise anyone and everyone to avoid Mississippi if at all possible. Enough said.

West Helena, Arkansas and Batesville, Mississippi

Two days and 120 miles (No post last night. We were both too tired to think). There are hills in Mississippi and I think we found them all. We keep leaving earlier and earlier in the morning. 100 degrees and 80% humidity and we are cooked by noon. We arrived at our hotel at 2PM today (The temperature from about 2:00 PM to around 7:00PM is just about unbearable). We took a swim in the pool as soon as we got to the hotel and are now formulating our dinner plan. We should be in Atlanta in a week and Stacey is making recreation plans (Think massage for both and pedicure for Betsy) for us. We will spend a few days in Atlanta visiting and then push on to Savannah. We met some nice people today. Two ladies at a gas station, right after we crossed the Mississippi border, made us sandwiches for lunch as there were no services until we arrived at our hotel. We miss everyone and our fun group rides but are enjoying each others company. This is the longest nonstop period of time that Betsy and I have ever spent together in our 36 years of marriage. Alone together really is our favorite place to be. Posted pictures include preparing to cross the Mississippi, crossing the Mississippi, arriving in the State of Mississippi, and some of the many drying sheds for tobacco that we passed all day.