Thursday, April 27.
We stopped to check mail in Garnett and got some stamps. We also had lunchat Housey's Grocery, sitting in the shade next to the building. Microwave hamburgers and chips had never tasted so good. We'd come 40 miles of the day's 67-mile trip.
We had a long ride down a nearl desolate 2-lane raod into Gillisonville, SC, where we found a lovely park to enjoy. Under the shade of a poplar tree, we watched clouds sail by. I got goosebumps in the cool breeze. We laid there on the grass, using our Camelback water-carriers as pillows, for a long time--just enjoying the moment. It was pure heaven.
We were now only 11 miles from the Point South KOA Kampground. Little did we know how good it could get. When we arrived, we had our pick of campsites--we picked one near the pool (yes, POOL), and got all set up. Then we went and SAT IN THE HOT TUB. Paradise.
After the hot tub, and showers, we walked to a nearby Denny's for dinner. Our waitress, Tia, was exceptionally fun and took geat care of us. A bowl of broccoli-cheese soup and two chocolate shakes made it to our table--but not to our check. We were both happy and very full! We walked back to the kampground in the dark, and were able to catch sight of rabbits, deer, and armadillos along the way. It's a chilly night, and we're looking forward to climbing into our sleeping bags and sleeping under the stars on our first night in South Carolina.
Sunday, April 30, 2006
Homemade Maps to TripTicks
Thursday, April 28.
We decided late laast night thta we would have to go on past Garnett and Robertville, and go all the way to Point South, SC, to a KOA Kampground there since the weather was supposed to be cool and theere were no identifiable places to stay short of Point South. It would mean about 70 miles instead of only 43, but there were flat miles and with the cool temps we figured we could do it. A call to the kampground confirmed that there would be room for us.
We headed on down the Savannah Highway, finding short stretches like yesterday's where we could ride on a paved, but not yet open,length of highway. Some of the roads had no shoulders, but traffic was pretty light; gsto\d onbridge andd got a picture near some emerl green water in a pond of some kind.
Things Seen By the Side of the Road Update:
A String of Green Beads
Two John Deere tractor mailboxes
One John Deere Road sign
Once odd, but now seen in such abundance that they are now commonplace: Turkey Vultures! And no, there are not following us.
We knew we would leave my makeshift route today and pick up the Adventure Cycling (www.adventurecycling.org) Atlantic Coast Route, but the moment it came was almost anticlimactic. Nancy was behind me and had just called out "Truck Back" to warn me of a truck coming up behind us. I couuld see a truck coming from the opposite direction. We were already hugging the meager shoulder, but up ahead I could see a crossroads where we could pull out, and as we drew closer I could see that it was the one we were looking for. We needed to go left but prudently pulled off to the right to allow the trucks to pass before crossing over to Clyo-Kildare Road, making our entry onto the Adventure Cycling maps we have for so long anticipated following. For a little while, we rode in awe that we had come so far in just 6 days. We got a turtle to take our picture--we'll upload it soon.
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
GA Bike Route #85
We've been on GA Bike Route 85 most of the day today. VERY quiet roads, but
the punctuation marks are made by 18-wheelers blowing by us. Fortunately,
the GDOT gave us lots of shoulder, and this time even put the rumble strips
between us and the road traffic. btw, the name of this route is "Sherman's
March to the Sea"
the punctuation marks are made by 18-wheelers blowing by us. Fortunately,
the GDOT gave us lots of shoulder, and this time even put the rumble strips
between us and the road traffic. btw, the name of this route is "Sherman's
March to the Sea"
Georgia Plantation
We passed this plantation and historic marker today (Wednesday). The
original plantation was over 5,000 acres, but General Sherman took care of
that when he came through on his "March To The Sea".
original plantation was over 5,000 acres, but General Sherman took care of
that when he came through on his "March To The Sea".
Mural in Historic Louisville
As we came into Louisville, GA, there was this great mural depicting
Louisville's historic place in history as the first permanent Georgia
capitol.
Louisville's historic place in history as the first permanent Georgia
capitol.
O'Quinn Mill
This was a beautiful old mill and waterfall that we passed Tuesday on
Deepstep Rd. The millhouse is behind Matthew on your left (Matthew just
looks like he's going to fall over).
Deepstep Rd. The millhouse is behind Matthew on your left (Matthew just
looks like he's going to fall over).
Kaolin Mining
I stopped to take this shot of a huge piece of machinery moving around huge
piles of kaolin. We rode a long ways in "Kaolin Kountry"
piles of kaolin. We rode a long ways in "Kaolin Kountry"
The Road Ahead
The view that I have most days--since I'm the only one with a mirror and
have to watch for traffic. This road was pretty quiet, so I could get off
this shot (while riding my bike with one hand tied behind my back).
have to watch for traffic. This road was pretty quiet, so I could get off
this shot (while riding my bike with one hand tied behind my back).
Stop in Deepstep
We needed a break, and then suddenly there's a town! You're lookin' at the
Library AND City Hall here.
Library AND City Hall here.
Dinner in Camp
Before I can make dinner, though, I've got to make the dinnerware! Here's a
shot of our origami cups--arguably the most difficult of the pieces. The
plates are the easiest . . .
shot of our origami cups--arguably the most difficult of the pieces. The
plates are the easiest . . .
Cows to the Left of Me, Hayfields to the Right
Here I am, stuck in the middle with you! We did get one of the cows to take
a picture to mark our FIRST 100 MILES! Not bad, considering they don't have
opposable thumbs.
a picture to mark our FIRST 100 MILES! Not bad, considering they don't have
opposable thumbs.
Our First--and Only--Campsite
Why wouldn't you want to do this every night? We would, but so far we've
been in small towns that don't have any kind of camping facilities. But we
had it all right here in Hard Labor Creek State Park.
been in small towns that don't have any kind of camping facilities. But we
had it all right here in Hard Labor Creek State Park.
Tim Brakes for Horses
Right before we stopped here, Tim had a very close encounter with two
horseback riders who charged the road without looking. Thankfully, Tim was
able to stop in time and no animals were injured in the making of this
picture.
horseback riders who charged the road without looking. Thankfully, Tim was
able to stop in time and no animals were injured in the making of this
picture.
We Brake for Waterfalls
We simultaneously decided to stop when we crossed the bridge over Morgan
Falls. Great place for a photo-op!
Falls. Great place for a photo-op!
Pondering . . .
This family graveyard had stones with death dates from the early 1800's.
Some of the gravestone markings have been worn away by time, and impossible
to read fully. One stone marked the a baby's grave. All of the family
names were either Ponder or Williams. We took a few minutes to ponder
things, too.
Some of the gravestone markings have been worn away by time, and impossible
to read fully. One stone marked the a baby's grave. All of the family
names were either Ponder or Williams. We took a few minutes to ponder
things, too.
Beer and Chips--Big Night in Winder
Before the whole gang arrived in Winder, Walt, Tim, and the Cosmic Duo
kicked back for a couple of beers and some appetizers.
kicked back for a couple of beers and some appetizers.
Numerical Disorder
Not that there's any real explanation that could explain this group, but
here's where all the numbers started. What a great send-off!
here's where all the numbers started. What a great send-off!
First Flat Tire
Well, as long as Matthew is having bicycle problems, he might as well have
the honor of the first flat--on the first day of the trip. His mirror broke
the next day . . .
the honor of the first flat--on the first day of the trip. His mirror broke
the next day . . .
Day 5: Turkey vultures! And, half a highway all our own
The weather cooperated with us and we had another lovely morning on which to ride; we took a short jaunt down the Louisville Bypass to 17, and turned left towards the airport. It was not too warm and we had a steady pace set so we could make it to Millen, 35 miles away, for lunch. Our day's destination, Sylvania, lay 55 miles away (I hoped). It was nice for yesterday's journey end up being almost exactly 55 miles, as I had expected; it restored my confidence in my map-reading skills.
The road was nice and quiet, for the most part; the trucks that came by almost always went to the far lane to pass, giving us plenty of room. That made the sudden blast of air less buffeting and more refreshing, as well.
New feature: Things seen by the side of the road
I will refrain from listing the myriad roadkill that clearly exists on every road. Instead, I will make note of the more INTERESTING things we have seen.
1. Five brassieres (including a light blue frilly number . . . Hm.)
2. Over the course of an entire day (yesterday), $0.68. I did not pick any of it up.
3. A Barbie doll. Also left on the side of the road.
More later.
The southern Georgia heat was not at it's worst, and most of the ride today was very nice. We are beginning to experience, shall we say, SYMPTOMS, that require the liberal application of Boudreaux's (those in the know understand; if you don't, look it up). Spend 6 hours on a bicycle seat, that's what you ought to expect.
We came upon a flock of about 30 turkey vultures as they enjoyed a stinky mid-day repast, thankfully in a ditch and obstructed from view. Turkey vultures are flying behemoths that have big beaks that tear; they were scared of us, though. We decided to take a short break after that in Midville, halfway between Louisville and Millen. We found a shady spot and enjoyed a Clif bar. Yum. Peanut Butter Crunch.
In Millen, we at first considered stopping at a Subway, but I really wanted to find a "local" place, even if it was just like the mexican place we stopped at yesterday. We found the Post Office, thinking it was the library, and got the scoop on where to eat -- Cindy's Cafe, right around the corner. They had a buffet with all kinds of vegetables and chicken-fried stuff (including a chicken-fried pork chop, which I mistook for an extraordinarily large chicken breast). Nancy had a salad with bleu cheese dressing, some peaches, some beets, some potato salad, and a roll; I had green beans, lima beans, creamed corn, mashed potatoes, broccoli casserole, that chicken-fried pork chop, some interesting potato thing in white gravy, a couple of thin potato cakes, and a roll. AND, we both had dessert. We spent a little time writing in our respective journals on the LifeDrive (see www.palm.com), and then left Millen around 1:30.
Oh, the road to Sylanvia. Outside of Millen, you have to turn right to get on to SR 21, a quiet divided four-lane highway, which leads right to Sylvania. It has rumbles on the shoulder, BUT unlike earlier incarnations, there was ample room on the farmland side of the rumbles for us to ride. That was fine; for a while it seemed like Sylvania must be on the top of a large hill, because it felt like we were climbing most of the time. The long, happy downhills, though, kept a fresh breeze in our faces and gave us a little time to relax.
About 6 miles out of Millen, we saw that SR 21 was under construction ahead. Our side was closed, and eastbound traffic was diverted onto a single lane on the westbound side. There was little shoulder to speak of. The closed side, however, was beautifully paved as far as we could see. So we took it, figuring we could cross back over to the traffic side if we had to. We then rode for nearly 8 miles on a nicely paved, closed road. We had two lanes of smooth blacktop all to ourselves. Heavenly.
Of course, that came to an end near Sylvania, and we had a few close situations because much of the traffic down heah in these parts is big ol' TRUCKS, ya know. MANLY trucks with big LOGS and stuff. We are accustomed to riding in traffic and this was not outside our comfort level, but it was still stressful. As we neared the town itself, we passed by the Screven County-Sylvania Recreation Complex, and we decided to stop and ask the nice men with weed-whackers where we could camp near town. Nice guys in attractive orange jumpsuits, which I realized as we were taking our leave said "State Prisoners" on the back. Nancy didn't realize it until just now. They gave us pretty good directions, but it was way far out of our way and down 301, which is a not-so-quiet four-lane divided highway. We ended up going for the known quantity, a Days Inn right in the heart of Sylvania, near the public library and plenty of food options.
The weather seems to be threatening tonight, and it may rain overnight. That will make for a cool ride tomorrow, as we leave my makeshift Georgia route and join the Atlantic Coast Route, already in progress. Nancy has uploaded a bunch of pictures for your enjoyment. Keep the comments coming -- we love to hear from you! If you'd like to send us an e-mail, send it to nancy.matthew@gmail.com.
The road was nice and quiet, for the most part; the trucks that came by almost always went to the far lane to pass, giving us plenty of room. That made the sudden blast of air less buffeting and more refreshing, as well.
New feature: Things seen by the side of the road
I will refrain from listing the myriad roadkill that clearly exists on every road. Instead, I will make note of the more INTERESTING things we have seen.
1. Five brassieres (including a light blue frilly number . . . Hm.)
2. Over the course of an entire day (yesterday), $0.68. I did not pick any of it up.
3. A Barbie doll. Also left on the side of the road.
More later.
The southern Georgia heat was not at it's worst, and most of the ride today was very nice. We are beginning to experience, shall we say, SYMPTOMS, that require the liberal application of Boudreaux's (those in the know understand; if you don't, look it up). Spend 6 hours on a bicycle seat, that's what you ought to expect.
We came upon a flock of about 30 turkey vultures as they enjoyed a stinky mid-day repast, thankfully in a ditch and obstructed from view. Turkey vultures are flying behemoths that have big beaks that tear; they were scared of us, though. We decided to take a short break after that in Midville, halfway between Louisville and Millen. We found a shady spot and enjoyed a Clif bar. Yum. Peanut Butter Crunch.
In Millen, we at first considered stopping at a Subway, but I really wanted to find a "local" place, even if it was just like the mexican place we stopped at yesterday. We found the Post Office, thinking it was the library, and got the scoop on where to eat -- Cindy's Cafe, right around the corner. They had a buffet with all kinds of vegetables and chicken-fried stuff (including a chicken-fried pork chop, which I mistook for an extraordinarily large chicken breast). Nancy had a salad with bleu cheese dressing, some peaches, some beets, some potato salad, and a roll; I had green beans, lima beans, creamed corn, mashed potatoes, broccoli casserole, that chicken-fried pork chop, some interesting potato thing in white gravy, a couple of thin potato cakes, and a roll. AND, we both had dessert. We spent a little time writing in our respective journals on the LifeDrive (see www.palm.com), and then left Millen around 1:30.
Oh, the road to Sylanvia. Outside of Millen, you have to turn right to get on to SR 21, a quiet divided four-lane highway, which leads right to Sylvania. It has rumbles on the shoulder, BUT unlike earlier incarnations, there was ample room on the farmland side of the rumbles for us to ride. That was fine; for a while it seemed like Sylvania must be on the top of a large hill, because it felt like we were climbing most of the time. The long, happy downhills, though, kept a fresh breeze in our faces and gave us a little time to relax.
About 6 miles out of Millen, we saw that SR 21 was under construction ahead. Our side was closed, and eastbound traffic was diverted onto a single lane on the westbound side. There was little shoulder to speak of. The closed side, however, was beautifully paved as far as we could see. So we took it, figuring we could cross back over to the traffic side if we had to. We then rode for nearly 8 miles on a nicely paved, closed road. We had two lanes of smooth blacktop all to ourselves. Heavenly.
Of course, that came to an end near Sylvania, and we had a few close situations because much of the traffic down heah in these parts is big ol' TRUCKS, ya know. MANLY trucks with big LOGS and stuff. We are accustomed to riding in traffic and this was not outside our comfort level, but it was still stressful. As we neared the town itself, we passed by the Screven County-Sylvania Recreation Complex, and we decided to stop and ask the nice men with weed-whackers where we could camp near town. Nice guys in attractive orange jumpsuits, which I realized as we were taking our leave said "State Prisoners" on the back. Nancy didn't realize it until just now. They gave us pretty good directions, but it was way far out of our way and down 301, which is a not-so-quiet four-lane divided highway. We ended up going for the known quantity, a Days Inn right in the heart of Sylvania, near the public library and plenty of food options.
The weather seems to be threatening tonight, and it may rain overnight. That will make for a cool ride tomorrow, as we leave my makeshift Georgia route and join the Atlantic Coast Route, already in progress. Nancy has uploaded a bunch of pictures for your enjoyment. Keep the comments coming -- we love to hear from you! If you'd like to send us an e-mail, send it to nancy.matthew@gmail.com.
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Kaolin and the South Georgia heat
Today we set out from Milledgeville, after a good night's sleep and a breakfast of oatmeal. It was cool this morning and it felt good to be out in it; we attached the trailers in front of our room as the bemused Indian innkeeper looked on.
The road out of Milledgeville kept rising and falling, a maddening pattern after yesterday's labors; but I remind myself that any day on this trip is better than not taking it. I have learned to enjoy the scented breeze that follows the passing garbage truck on otherwise windless days.
We paused briefly on the porch of the Deepstep City Hall/Library, where a pair of swallows was busy building a nest in a roof eave. We spooked them at first, and they would just circle, coming in close and then flying away. Eventually they decided it was OK to build their nest while we sat unobtrusively nearby.
Near Deepstep, GA, is a major kaolin mining facility. Kaolin is a type of clay that is used in absorbent things, like kitty litter, spill absorbents, and, perhaps not surprisingly, Kaopectate. Hm.
We stopped for lunch in Sandersville, and decided to eat at Puebla's, a mexican place. We were ably served by Katie, a Michigan transplant, who was at first perplexed by the amount of water we were consuming - until she saw me dumping a glassful into my water bottle. She filled that and our Camelbacks for us. She is from Battle Creek, the Cereal City, but said that the cereal companies had outsourced the jobs that were there to Mexico; she said it without a hint of irony that she was working in a Mexican restaurant. I wanted to say that Mexico was outsourcing their food to the US. :-)
After Sandersville, the hills gradually became less onerous, and we made it to Davisboro in about an hour (about 12 miles). It took a bit longer to get to Louisville, our destination, but the terrain was flat. We started to see more pecan trees, indicators of the south Georgia environment. That was nice.
The weather forecasts are calling for rain tomorrow, and we may elect to stay here another day. We'll see!
Day 3: Hard Labor to Milledgeville
We started the day's ride late (10am) because the campsite was so nice. Even if you don't play golf, this is a nice state park. (you do have to watch for horseback riders crossing with abandon, tho).
As we finally got on our way, the day was already warming up. This is just a test--it got really hot just a short time later.
We thought today's trip could be somewhere between 45 and 55 miles--wrong again! We ended the day at 62.5 miles, with no campsite in sight. We were thrilled to find that pizza could be delivered to the New Milledgeville Motel, so we checked in and ordered one.
The day's ride was long, hot, and very hilly. Matthew composed the following "Hilly Haiku":
Some hills are too steep
To ride a bicycle up
Instead, one must walk.
I've given him until Wednesday to flatten things out a bit . . .
Tuesday's ride will take us on roads that we've never ridden.
Love the comments--keep 'em coming!
Monday, April 24, 2006
Day 2 (Part 2)
Turns out that our ride today was only about 33 miles, not 40, so we were within 10 miles of the park by noon. As we came into Bostwick (home of the cotton gin festival), we thought we should stop to buy food for the nights dinner. Seeing that most of thr buildings in the "historic district" were boarded up, I started to wonder. Then I remembered that we were in a small town in Georgia on a Sunday, and started to wonder if anything would be open. We came on thje "Oh Taste and See" cafe right in downtown -- and it was definitely open for business. Good southern downhome food hit the spot. And, we took an extra plate of roast beef to have for dinner in camp.
The last 10 miles of the day had a few challenging hills, and we ended up at Hard Labor Creek State Park trading post around 2pm. Unlike last night, we had our pick of campsites. We sat on the porch of the post until Holly arrived to collect Tim, and then said our goodbyes. Tim -- thanks again for hanging with us. We'll see both you and Holly soon.
It still doesn't seem quite real -- we have to keep reminding each other of what we're doing. A big milestone for Matthew will be the day we leave off using his route sheets, and start to rely on the Adventure Cycling maps. I'm not sure when it will start to feel real to me. Maybe when it's all over?
Day 2: The Dream Continues
After a fabulous send-off by friends, and a fairly restful night in Winder, we set off around 9:30am for the second leg of our trip. We're thinking we have about 40 miles to cover today, which will put us at Hard Labor Creek State Park near Rutledge, GA.
We had (cleverly, we thought) avoided the church traffic by leaving somewhat later in the morning. And to be fair, the traffic was fairly light. Those folks that were out on the roads, though, were late for church--and driving like the proverbial bats out of hell.
Today's route was certainly much flatter than yesterday's, and we spent the first hour on gently rolling hills. As we got closer to creeks, we'd have long, fabulous downhills--followed by long, less-fabulous uphills. Because we're each carrying a trailer with 30-35 lbs. of gear, we can get up some speed on the downhills (and leave Tim trailing in our dust). On the uphills, though, gravity is not our friend--and Tim zips by us with enough time for a store stop before we catch up. Serves him right thast he was nearly eaten alive by fire ants while waiting for us at one corner . . .
But the weather was sunny and there wass just enough of a breeze to keep us cool. The secondary roads that we traveled took us through horse country -- and a couple of them even raced with us for a while. It's really beautiful countryside -- everything is greening up and bursting into bloom.
Every now and again I'd catch the scent of honeysuckle or wisteria, and when I'd see the wild blackberry bushes at the side of the road, I'd start to dream about fresh berries at the end of a days ride,
Saturday, April 22, 2006
Escape to Winder
I suppose I was kidding myself when I said we would get going around 10 this morning. First it was raining, then we went to have breakfast at the Frasiers house, then we waited for a Fedex that never came, and we had to make one last run to the storage unit. After all that, we finally got going around 2. Everyone stood in the driveway to see us off, and we got lots of pictures, to be posted later.
I started having issues with my chain, and found that one of the links was bent. Fortunately, Appalachee Cycles was on our route, so we stopped there and Bruce Ray fixed it for me. Then he noted that my crank was warped; so I had him replace it. We were at the shop for about an hour and a half, during which time we got a call from our friend Demetrios, who was at the Fort Yargo campground (our intended destination) and reported that it was full. Kind of surprising, given the heavy storms we had last night. A quick check of the Earthcomber maps Nancy had downloaded revealed some hotel options we could use if necessary.
On the way out of Dacula, I hit a hole in the road and got a flat. Tim, who is riding with us for the first two days and who was right behind me, almsot hit it too. I found a nice shady spot where I changed the tire, while Tim took pictures. Thanks, Tim.
After all that, we decided to just go ahead with a hotel, and everyone came out to Winder to have dinner with us at Ruby Tuesday. It was just great, seeing all our friends again after the few hours we had been away . One of our servers, it turned out, is from Portland. Jennifer said we should see her parents, who still live there (after their 10-year sailing expedition!). We exchanged information, and promised we would make contact when we got there.
The goodbyes at the end of dinner were long and emotional, since this was really the last time we would see them for some time. MaryBeth & Kevin, Dan & Andrea, Pam, Becky, you are our dearest friends and we are fortunate to be your friends. Thanks for all your support and kind words.
More tomorrow!
Friday, April 21, 2006
Day before Departure?
It is as far as I know now; Nancy is out with her friends tonight and it seems like there are a few things that might delay our leaving. One is that one of our sleeping pads sprung a leak and had to be replaced. The provider is FedExing one to us for delivery tomorrow morning. Looks like we won't be pushing off at the crack of dawn; probably more like 11:00-ish. Good for a short day, anyway.
Another is a few things that still need to go to storage. Looks like we'll have time in the morning.
No, REI is not officially sponsoring our trip, although to look at our gear you might think they had. They do wish us well, and the Buford store will probably see a precipitous dropoff in their annual sales after we leave. Sorry about that. If you have never seen REI, or have never gone to one of their stores, I recommend you check it out (www.rei.com). The staff are friendly and, what's really important, they know what they are talking about. Cat and Drew, thanks for all your help in getting us ready to go. Augie, maybe we'll see you in Kansas!
For everyone who knows the real reason for our selecting April 22 as our departure day, it might not be apparent that it is also Earth Day. Sheer coincidence. The real reason was so that I could go to Macon to take the PE exam, which I did today. I feel very good about it; in particular, I feel like the preparatory class I took at Georgia Tech was instrumental (see http://www.pe.gatech.edu/conted/servlet/CEHome). Chris Franklin, you have little to worry about.
Greg Noah and Chris Palmer loaned me their books for use during the exam, for which I am grateful; I will send someone by the office Monday to return them to you. Thank you.
Adam Smith, Kurt Mueller, Chad Oelstrom, Jenni Olivo, and Debbie Young, thanks for your advice on how to approach the test. It worked very well. I'll let you know if it worked well enough in 10-12 weeks.
The reason we haven't blogged lately is because we've been dealing with deep issues, like the clogged sewer lateral from our house (now NOT our house). That lovely circumstance presented itself late Sunday night when the downstairs . . . ahem . . . COMMODE wouldn't flush very fast. On a hunch, I looked outside at the cleanout (which, from experience, I had learned not to cap very tightly); sure enough, it was overflowing there. Better there than inside.
Investigation revealed roots. Same as 2002, when the roots were removed but the line was not repaired. The line got repaired this time, but not before there was a backhoe and a large heap of dirt on the driveway next to the yawning hole where the sewer line goes. All just two days before closing.
To their credit, the new homeowners (who shall remain anonymous for their privacy) handled this news with remarkable calm. I'm glad that we could resolve it for them before we left; they are a very nice couple and I would have felt awful if this had happened AFTER we had left. Fortunately, this time, the problem was corrected at its root (pardon the pun) - the pipe was excavated and repaired. It should not recur.
OK, now, this should mark the first in a long line of daily blog entries. IF, that is, technology is on our side. We'll see tomorrow night, from lovely Fort Yargo State Park, near Winder, GA. DAY ONE IS HERE!
Another is a few things that still need to go to storage. Looks like we'll have time in the morning.
No, REI is not officially sponsoring our trip, although to look at our gear you might think they had. They do wish us well, and the Buford store will probably see a precipitous dropoff in their annual sales after we leave. Sorry about that. If you have never seen REI, or have never gone to one of their stores, I recommend you check it out (www.rei.com). The staff are friendly and, what's really important, they know what they are talking about. Cat and Drew, thanks for all your help in getting us ready to go. Augie, maybe we'll see you in Kansas!
For everyone who knows the real reason for our selecting April 22 as our departure day, it might not be apparent that it is also Earth Day. Sheer coincidence. The real reason was so that I could go to Macon to take the PE exam, which I did today. I feel very good about it; in particular, I feel like the preparatory class I took at Georgia Tech was instrumental (see http://www.pe.gatech.edu/conted/servlet/CEHome). Chris Franklin, you have little to worry about.
Greg Noah and Chris Palmer loaned me their books for use during the exam, for which I am grateful; I will send someone by the office Monday to return them to you. Thank you.
Adam Smith, Kurt Mueller, Chad Oelstrom, Jenni Olivo, and Debbie Young, thanks for your advice on how to approach the test. It worked very well. I'll let you know if it worked well enough in 10-12 weeks.
The reason we haven't blogged lately is because we've been dealing with deep issues, like the clogged sewer lateral from our house (now NOT our house). That lovely circumstance presented itself late Sunday night when the downstairs . . . ahem . . . COMMODE wouldn't flush very fast. On a hunch, I looked outside at the cleanout (which, from experience, I had learned not to cap very tightly); sure enough, it was overflowing there. Better there than inside.
Investigation revealed roots. Same as 2002, when the roots were removed but the line was not repaired. The line got repaired this time, but not before there was a backhoe and a large heap of dirt on the driveway next to the yawning hole where the sewer line goes. All just two days before closing.
To their credit, the new homeowners (who shall remain anonymous for their privacy) handled this news with remarkable calm. I'm glad that we could resolve it for them before we left; they are a very nice couple and I would have felt awful if this had happened AFTER we had left. Fortunately, this time, the problem was corrected at its root (pardon the pun) - the pipe was excavated and repaired. It should not recur.
OK, now, this should mark the first in a long line of daily blog entries. IF, that is, technology is on our side. We'll see tomorrow night, from lovely Fort Yargo State Park, near Winder, GA. DAY ONE IS HERE!
Sunday, April 16, 2006
T-minus 6 days
This is our last Sunday in the house we have occupied since January 1994; we have pared down our possessions though a combination of donations, sales (both eBay and garage sales), and outright disposal. The stuff we are keeping we mostly loaded on a truck yesterday morning and transported to a storage facility right here in Suwanee, GA, for safe-keeping. The few exceptions include an air mattress, our Bose Wave radio (see www.bose.com, and if you happen to be in the Woodburn, OR, area, go see my Dad at the Bose outlet!), and assorted other stuff (like the books I will need for the PE exam Friday before we leave).
The house echoes now; most of the rooms are completely empty.
Last night I cooked dinner, consisting of grilled cheese sandwiches and some soup, using our camp cookware (but not the camp stove -- I used the regular stove). In an effort to deplete our already-meager wine selection, we selected a nice Habersham Wineries Merlot we thought might go nicely with the grilled cheese (wine goes with EVERYTHING, we're not snobs). However, we realized that the CORKSCREW had been packed away, so Nancy went off across the street to Mary Beth for help. About a half-hour later, when she had not yet returned, I went over there myself because I thought maybe she'd gotten a better dinner offer (leaving her soup and sandwich on the counter, of course). There they were, just chatting away. They'll never change, thankfully.
We are about to leave for a Gwinnett Gladiators hockey game; the Gladiators finished the season with the best record in the league, and they won last night 5-3 over the South Carolina Stingrays to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-5 series. Today is game 2. This is the third season in Gwinnett for the Gladiators, and they have made the ECHL playoffs each year, establishing a good local tradition. I regret that we will have to move away from such a great organization, but we'll pick up the WHL's Portland Winterhawks when we get there.
I'm afraid I don't have much of a voice left after yesterday's Thrashers home finale, though; they beat the Boston Bruins 4-3 in one of the most thrilling games I can recall at the Phil. With 89 points and two games remaining, they still have hopes to make the playoffs. If they win both remaining games and either Tampa Bay or Montreal lose on Tuesday night, they will make the playoffs for the first time in their short history. I regret that we'll have to leave THIS team, too, especially at the point when they might be making their first playoff appearance. I believe they will; all they have to do is win Monday night against Washington and Tuesday night against Florida. We'll listen to them in the playoffs on XM!
Tomorrow: what is Monday like when you can sleep in?
The house echoes now; most of the rooms are completely empty.
Last night I cooked dinner, consisting of grilled cheese sandwiches and some soup, using our camp cookware (but not the camp stove -- I used the regular stove). In an effort to deplete our already-meager wine selection, we selected a nice Habersham Wineries Merlot we thought might go nicely with the grilled cheese (wine goes with EVERYTHING, we're not snobs). However, we realized that the CORKSCREW had been packed away, so Nancy went off across the street to Mary Beth for help. About a half-hour later, when she had not yet returned, I went over there myself because I thought maybe she'd gotten a better dinner offer (leaving her soup and sandwich on the counter, of course). There they were, just chatting away. They'll never change, thankfully.
We are about to leave for a Gwinnett Gladiators hockey game; the Gladiators finished the season with the best record in the league, and they won last night 5-3 over the South Carolina Stingrays to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-5 series. Today is game 2. This is the third season in Gwinnett for the Gladiators, and they have made the ECHL playoffs each year, establishing a good local tradition. I regret that we will have to move away from such a great organization, but we'll pick up the WHL's Portland Winterhawks when we get there.
I'm afraid I don't have much of a voice left after yesterday's Thrashers home finale, though; they beat the Boston Bruins 4-3 in one of the most thrilling games I can recall at the Phil. With 89 points and two games remaining, they still have hopes to make the playoffs. If they win both remaining games and either Tampa Bay or Montreal lose on Tuesday night, they will make the playoffs for the first time in their short history. I regret that we'll have to leave THIS team, too, especially at the point when they might be making their first playoff appearance. I believe they will; all they have to do is win Monday night against Washington and Tuesday night against Florida. We'll listen to them in the playoffs on XM!
Tomorrow: what is Monday like when you can sleep in?
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
"The Route"
Here's our current, approximate ride route, and the zip codes of the Post Offices on the route. We plan to ride 6 days out of 7--barring interesting side trips or unexpected weather delays. As we go, we'll be able to update the route and add actual dates.
| Ride Day | Start | End | Miles | Gen.Del. Zip |
| 1 | Lawrenceville, GA | Ft. Yargo State Park | 30 | |
| 2 | Ft. Yargo State Park | Hard Labor Creek State Park | 45 | |
| 3 | Hard Labor Creek State Park | Milledgeville, GA | 55 | |
| 4 | Milledgeville, GA | Louisville, GA | 55 | |
| 5 | Louisville, GA | Sylvania, GA | 55 | |
| 6 | Sylvania, GA | Garnett/Robertville, SC | 45 | 29922 |
| 7 | Garnett/Robertville, SC | Walterboro, SC | 48 | |
| 8 | Walterboro, SC | Charleston, SC | 60 | |
| 9 | Charleston, SC | Moncks Corner, SC | 60 | |
| 10 | Moncks Corner, SC | Rhems, SC | 55 | |
| 11 | Rhems, SC | Calabash, SC | 75 | |
| 12 | Calabash, SC | Carolina Beach, NC | 55 | 28428 |
| 13 | Carolina Beach, NC | near Surf City, NC | 55 | |
| 14 | near Surf City, NC | near Bogue Sound, NC | 55 | |
| 15 | near Bogue Sound, NC | Cedar Island or Ocracoke, NC | 53 | |
| 16 | Cedar Island or Ocracoke, NC | Rodanthe, NC | 51 | |
| 17 | Rodanthe, NC | near Powells Point, NC | 51 | |
| 18 | near Powells Point, NC | Morgans Corner, NC | 55 | South Mills 27976 |
| 19 | Morgans Corner, NC | near Isle of Wight, VA | 55 | |
| 20 | near Isle of Wight, VA | near Hopewell, VA | 60 | |
| 21 | near Hopewell, VA | Ashland, VA | 43 | |
| 22 | Ashland, VA | Fredericksburg, VA | 60 | |
| 23 | Fredericksburg, VA | Lorton, VA | 60 | |
| 24 | Lorton, VA | near Gaithersburg, MD | 55 | Brookville 20833 |
| 25 | near Gaithersburg, MD | Butler, MD | 56 | |
| 26 | Butler, MD | Wrightsville, PA | 64 | |
| 27 | Wrightsville, PA | near Geigertown, PA | 60 | |
| 28 | near Geigertown, PA | Norristown, PA | 60 | |
| 29 | Norristown, PA | Frenchtown, NJ | 55 | |
| 30 | Frenchtown, NJ | near Delaware Water Gap, NJ | 55 | |
| 31 | near Delaware Water Gap, NJ | Otisville, NY | 60 | 10963 |
| 32 | Otisville, NY | New Paltz, NY | 55 | |
| 33 | New Paltz, NY | Pine Plains, NY | 52 | |
| 34 | Pine Plains, NY | Granby, CT | 54 | |
| 35 | Granby, CT | Dudley, MA | 60 | |
| 36 | Dudley, MA | near Littleton, MA | 55 | |
| 37 | near Littleton, MA | Kingston, NH | 60 | |
| 38 | Kingston, NH | Kennebunk, ME | 57 | 04043 |
| 39 | Kennebunk, ME | Pownal Center, ME | 61 | |
| 40 | Pownal Center, ME | Newcastle, ME | 42 | |
| 41 | Newcastle, ME | near Turner, ME | 60 | |
| 42 | near Turner, ME | Conway, NH | 55 | |
| 43 | Conway, NH | North Woodstock, NH | 36 | |
| 44 | North Woodstock, NH | East Thetford, VT | 44 | 05043 |
| 45 | East Thetford, VT | Hancock, VT | 51 | |
| 46 | Hancock, VT | North Hudson, NY | 63 | |
| 47 | North Hudson, NY | near Raquette Lake, NY | 58 | |
| 48 | near Raquette Lake, NY | Boonville, NY | 53 | |
| 49 | Boonville, NY | Port Ontario, NY | 51 | |
| 50 | Port Ontario, NY | Sodus Point, NY | 63 | |
| 51 | Sodus Point, NY | Brockport, NY | 61 | 14420 |
| 52 | Brockport, NY | Niagara Falls, ON, CANADA | 70 | |
| 53 | Niagara Falls, ON, CANADA | Silver Creek, NY | 57 | |
| 54 | Silver Creek, NY | Erie, PA | 60 | |
| 55 | Erie, PA | Geneva-on-the-Lake, OH | 49 | |
| 56 | Geneva-on-the-Lake, OH | Cleveland, OH | 55 | |
| 57 | Cleveland, OH | Huron, OH | 54 | |
| 58 | Huron, OH | Bowling Green, OH | 68 | 43420 |
| 59 | Bowling Green, OH | Defiance, OH | 54 | |
| 60 | Defiance, OH | Monroeville, IN | 42 | |
| 61 | Monroeville, IN | near Lagro, IN | 58 | |
| 62 | near Lagro, IN | Logansport, IN | 55 | |
| 63 | Logansport, IN | Rensselaer, IN | 56 | |
| 64 | Rensselaer, IN | Ashkum, IL | 53 | 60911 |
| 65 | Ashkum, IL | near Cornell, IL | 53 | |
| 66 | near Cornell, IL | Henry, IL | 41 | |
| 67 | Henry, IL | Kewanee, IL | 39 | |
| 68 | Kewanee, IL | Muscatine, IA | 73 | |
| 69 | Muscatine, IA | near Gladstone, IL | 47 | |
| 70 | near Gladstone, IL | Hamilton, IL | 50 | |
| 71 | Hamilton, IL | Hannibal, MO | 62 | 63401 |
| 72 | Hannibal, MO | Eolia, MO | 48 | |
| 73 | Eolia, MO | Washington, MO | 63 | |
| 74 | Washington, MO | Potosi, MO | 75 | |
| 75 | Potosi, MO | Centerville, MO | 58 | |
| 76 | Centerville, MO | Summersville, MO | 60 | |
| 77 | Summersville, MO | Hartville, MO | 60 | |
| 78 | Hartville, MO | Fairgrove, MO | 41 | 65648 |
| 79 | Fairgrove, MO | Golden City, MO | 64 | |
| 80 | Golden City, MO | Girard, KS | 48 | |
| 81 | Girard, KS | Chanute, KS | 48 | |
| 82 | Chanute, KS | Eureka, KS | 63 | |
| 83 | Eureka, KS | Newton, KS | 73 | |
| 84 | Newton, KS | Nickerson, KS | 50 | |
| 85 | Nickerson, KS | Larned, KS | 59 | 67550 |
| 86 | Larned, KS | Ness City, KS | 66 | |
| 87 | Ness City, KS | Scott City, KS | 56 | |
| 88 | Scott City, KS | Tribune, KS | 47 | |
| 89 | Tribune, KS | Eads, CO | 58 | |
| 90 | Eads, CO | Ordway, CO | 63 | |
| 91 | Ordway, CO | Pueblo, CO | 52 | 81003 |
| 92 | Pueblo, CO | Canõn City, CO | 50 | |
| 93 | Canõn City, CO | Hartsel, CO | 56 | |
| 94 | Hartsel, CO | Silverthorne, CO | 57 | |
| 95 | Silverthorne, CO | Hot Sulphur Springs, CO | 54 | |
| 96 | Hot Sulphur Springs, CO | Walden, CO | 61 | |
| 97 | Walden, CO | Saratoga, WY | 68 | |
| 98 | Saratoga, WY | Rawlins, WY | 42 | 82301 |
| 99 | Rawlins, WY | Jeffrey City, WY | 66 | |
| 100 | Jeffrey City, WY | near Lander, WY | 68 | |
| 101 | near Lander, WY | Dubois, WY | 61 | |
| 102 | Dubois, WY | near Moran Junction, WY | 52 | |
| 103 | near Moran Junction, WY | Grant Village, WY | 53 | |
| 104 | Grant Village, WY | West Yellowstone, MT | 52 | 59758 |
| 105 | West Yellowstone, MT | Cameron, MT | 63 | |
| 106 | Cameron, MT | Twin Bridges, MT | 55 | |
| 107 | Twin Bridges, MT | near Dillon, MT | 33 | |
| 108 | near Dillon, MT | Wisdom, MT | 61 | |
| 109 | Wisdom, MT | Darby, MT | 58 | |
| 110 | Darby, MT | Lolo, MT | 59 | Missoula 59801 |
| 111 | Lolo, MT | Powell, ID | 46 | Lolo 59847 |
| 112 | Powell, ID | Lowell, ID | 67 | |
| 113 | Lowell, ID | Kamiah, ID | 31 | |
| 114 | Kamiah, ID | Winchester, ID | 43 | |
| 115 | Winchester, ID | Lewiston, ID/Clarkston, WA | 45 | |
| 116 | Lewiston, ID/Clarkston, WA | Dayton, WA | 66 | |
| 117 | Dayton, WA | near Touchet, WA | 55 | |
| 118 | near Touchet, WA | Crow Butte State Park, WA | 62 | 98648 |
| 119 | Crow Butte State Park, WA | Biggs, OR | 51 | |
| 120 | Biggs, OR | Stevenson, WA | 62 | 98648 |
| 121 | Stevenson, WA | Portland, OR | 51 | |
| 122 | Portland, OR | Clatskanie, OR | 58 | |
| 123 | Clatskanie, OR | Seaside, OR | 56 | |
| 124 | Seaside, OR | Tillamook, OR | 52 | |
| 125 | Tillamook, OR | Lincoln City, OR | 60 | |
| Total Trip Miles | 6908 | |||
| Average Daily Miles | 55.3 |
Friday, April 07, 2006
Pre-Trip Rationale
You might say that this trip started nearly 40 years ago. That's when Matthew was born, and ultimately, this whole trip was his idea. (At least, that's what I'm telling friends who ask "why?")
The idea came to him during our first "organized" (and I use the term loosely) bicycle ride in February of 1994. We had recently purchased new Cannondales, and I thought that this ride named "Stella's Gap" would be a great way to start cycling in Atlanta. That ride is a whole other story, but according to Matthew, that ride got him thinking about doing a long bike ride.
Fast forward to early spring 2004. Matthew's proposal to me is to move (back) to the Pacific Northwest. Both of us have family there, and we spend two weeks there at Christmas every year. In my mind, I knew that we'd end up living there one day, but I had so far been able to postpone leaving my friends in Atlanta.
Matthew's rationale is that he will be able to take his Professional Engineering exam in 2006, and that designation will make him more marketable, wherever we live. I work in technology; you can pretty much do that anywhere. If we're going to move, that would be a good time to make the break.
So, as long as we're going, let's go in style. And for both of us, that means "go by bicycle". At that point in time, the plan for THE BIG TOUR is hatched.
It's now just a couple of weeks before our planned departure from Lawrenceville on April 22. The house is under contract, our employers have been notified, and the storage unit has been rented. The garage sale is set for tomorrow, and the moving boxes have arrived. We've collected our gear, weighed it, and are sorting it into the two B.O.B trailers that we'll pull behind our bicycles. We know the route we'll be taking each day, where we'll stop each night, and how many miles we'll cover each day.
It's almost all over except for the cryin'. Friends are planning a farewell party, one is flying in from Colorado for the event. Another is planning to ride the first two days with us. I'm hoping that there'll be a Boy Scout or two who can give us some tips on camp cooking (maybe there's an potential Eagle Scout looking for his service project). It's all very exciting, and these last few weeks have found us pulling together the details of this long-planned trip. I've also taken to hoarding kleenex.
It has taken these past two years to get everything organized, but mostly it's been a mental exercise. Voluntarily exchanging friends that have become our family, our cushy commute, and our very comfortable house for five months of meeting strangers every day, cycling 50+ miles, and tent-living is one thing. The drop-off on the other end of the trip added to our mental machinations. At first we didn't know where we'd end up, but by the end of 2005 we'd found a place to drop anchor in downtown Portland, OR. Living downtown in a city that is celebrated for it's embrace of alternative transportation will be quite a change from Gwinnett County, Georgia. But there's a lot more adventure in between now and then!
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