Columbus

For more pictures, check out my photo gallaries for BRAG and Savannah.

The ride started off at the Civic Center in in Columbus Georgia. Having gone to Auburn U, Columbus was a familiar site. In fact Chad and I had even attended a pro wrestling event there back in my college days where Rich Flair beat Jeff Jarrett and The Big Show took on half the NWO. A month later the Big Show stunningly turned his back on Lugar and Sting and actually joined the NWO. We never saw it coming.

Lauren and I had dinner in their historic district and then we took a walk down to the river. After she left I watched five girls, who were not nearly as beautiful as Lauren, sing karaoke for about 200 eager army guys at the Baseball Stadium. It was an interesting dynamic.



Columbus to Americus

Everyone was eager to start so people began waking at about 4:30. I tried to block them out but gave up around 5:15. I put on my Auburn jersey, packed my stuff and by 6:00 I was on the way.

Our trip started on the Chattahoochee Riverwalk Path. The Chattahoochee had a slight fog on top of the water and the Alabama side had a tall bank with old trees lining the top and abandoned mills scattered throughout. It turned out to be the most scenic part of our journey. Sadly there wasn't enough light to photograph it.

The first day's ride was 69 miles with the temperature and heat index reaching 94 and 98 respectively. By 1:00 or so it was painful to be out. I finished around 2. There was a hammer head option that took people to Jimmy Carter's home town but I passed it up.

The town of Buena Vista was especially memorable. They set up some gospel singers on the stairs of their courthouse to entertain the riders and gave everyone little American flags. Great hospitality!

Americus

Sunday afternoon in Americus is as action packed as watching the hair grow on my forearm. There were shuttles to take people to the fast food restaurants and walmart but no shuttle for downtown. Americus is the home of Habitat for Humanity. I was thinking they would have some tours for the riders to show off improvements they made to the community. I think they missed an opportunity here.

As dead as Americus was, Georgia South West College made up for it. It has a beautiful campus with a unique pool layout that you have to see to believe. That night they played 50s music by a lake house and served us beer. Fantastic! I ate a turkey sub that I had gotten from their cafeteria.

Americus to Cordele

The hot weather continued as we rode 62 miles on day two. The Andersonville historic museum was on the route. Andersonville was the site of a Civil War POW camp where one third of the prisoners died. The site was turned into a museum for all POWs. The museum is an excellent place to visit and was my favorite stop on the ride.

Our lunch stop was in down town Vienna. I wasn't turned on by the beans and rice so I found a little chinese place and had beef and vegetables while I sat in their town square. Very nice atmosphere there.

Cordele

Cordele is the "Watermelon Capital of the World" and sure enough free watermelon awaited us at Crisp County High School. Cordele is your basic highway town on I85. I tried to find somewhere to eat a steak but there were only chain restaurants available. I settled on a Mexican place instead and had steak ranchero and some Coronas. There was no entertainment so I spent the evening reading my book. That night things cooled off and rain started falling at about 1:00 AM.

Cordele to Douglas

I tried to wait out the storm but the equipment truck left at 8 and my tent needed to be on it so I packed my things begrudgingly and loaded my stuff on the truck with 20 minutes to spare.

The ride was 73 miles and it rained up until I pulled into Douglas around 2. I only stopped in a town called Fitzgerald to photograph the wild chickens that dominated the town. No realy, wild chickens. When I pulled into Douglas I found the city dry and warm. It seems that the storm had not blanketed Douglas with as much rain as it had the rest of South Georgia.

During this ride, the rolling hills of South West Georgia had melted into the dimensionless plains of South Central Georgia.

Douglas

Both the city of Douglas and South Georgia College were fantastic experiences. We were spending two nights in Douglas so that gave me time to do laundry and watch the NBA finals. On the second night the the city of Douglas held a Luau themed festival for us. The town also had a fantastic steak restaurant where I stuffed myself with black angus and a baked potato.

Century Ride

The second day of the Douglas stay was the 101 mile ride. Since about half of it was shake and bake roads it turned out to be a memerably painful painful ride. There were no hills but I took quite a beating from the road surfaces. The temperature was in the low 80s with no rain so that part of it couldn't have been any better.

Douglas to Baxley

This ride was called the "Coffee and Bacon ride" because we traveled through Coffee & Bacon Counties (more on this later). It was supposed to be 45 miles but I was feeling so good I tacked on an extra 22 for good measure with the hammer head option. At this point in the ride my body had adjusted to cycling so 45 miles represented about a three hour ride. Considering how exciting the overnight towns had been, I figured I'd better kill some time.

The terrain was flat and all the trees from now on had that hanging moss you see in the movies.

Baxley

Nice little city with a small down town. I found a local restaurant where I ate shrimp fettuccini and had a couple of beers. Its was pleasantly warm and dry that night. Appling County High School had a DJ that played for us during the day. I spent the evening watching BRAG riders compete in a talent show. BRAG's Got Talent!

Baxley to Hinesville

We had another good weather day as we rode the 58 miles to Hinesville. By this time the scenery had become monotonous. We passed through a military base where the road was perfectly straight and flat for five miles with forest on each side. I'd have to consider this part of the ride the most boring. The rest stop was in the military base and three soldiers were manning a portable water tank for us. Thank You Fort Stewart!

On this ride I also noticed that the water had taken on that sulfur taste you always get at the beach. I started drinking more bottled gatorade.

Hinesville

I set my tent up and unpacked. Those were then only things I got done before the sky opened up. It rained every other second I was in this town.

I'll always remember Hinesville though because the city couldn't find a shuttle bus for us and ended up renting a Lincoln Navigator Limo to take people to town. And people still complained about the shuttle! I ate at the Applebee's that afternoon simply because I wanted to ride in the limo.

That evening Elvis played for us. His opening act was Johnny Cash. Excellent show.

Hinesville to Savannah

Lauren was meeting me in Savannah so I had to kill some time on this ride. I slept in late, then shoved everything in my duffle bag. At this point I didn't care what was dirty or wet, I just wanted to get to Savannah. My riding gear was soaked because I washed it the night before and it had not dried due to the moisture in the air. I started my final day soaking wet and with a slight mist falling. The temperature was 70 degrees.

Now as uncomfortable as that was the weather warmed up rather quickly and I managed to dry by about 10:00. I wasted a lot of time milling around at the rest stops and took some photos along the way. I reached the finish 20 minutes before her. She was sad she didn't get the chance to cheer me across the finish but her sorrow was tempered by the beer I had waiting for her.

Final Impression

When I woke up on day five and saw that the day's ride was called the "Coffee and Bacon Ride" I instantly started craving some bacon and eggs. I mean that and some coffee is all a man needs to start his day. I rode off that morning hoping to find a nice little diner along the way were I could stop and load up on breakfast. Though I looked everywhere, I never found a diner -- any diner. It seems that the southern cooking that Georgia was once famous for has devolved into chain restaurants and fast food joints. If you don't eat that stuff, well too bad.

Throw in the Walmarts and Home Depots lining our course and its obvious that the Old South is gone. People here no longer resist modernization, they've been subjugated by Corporate America. Thankfully Iowa still has coffee and bacon.