While I’m riding, I’m mentally writing the blog entry for that day’s ride. ?I take a lot of pictures on the road. ?Those pictures remind me what to write about when I sit down to blog.
Many of them I just toss at the end of the day. ?A sign that struck me funny initially leaves me saying, “Meh,” a few hours later. ?I’m trying to find things that are interesting for the two people who’re reading the thing. ?(There were three people reading it, but one died waiting for me to say something interesting.)
The nearly 70 miles I rode today were all “Meh.” ?It was 70 miles of this:
Don’t get me wrong. ?Blue skies. ?No rain. ?Better than average road. ?I’m not looking for excitement:
Well, all right, not looking for?this?kind of excitement:
It was a rather bland kind of day with nothing to look at. ?The only thing that marred it was the goddamned wind.
Why no mr. Owens. You can't ride 70 miles without a 20 mph headwind. Thanks for asking. pic.twitter.com/QtX44d69mG
— ca2sc (@ca2scbybike) October 18, 2015
15MPH to 20MPH?in my face for the entire duration of the day. ?I’m betting the wind added two more hours to my trip today. ?I haven’t encountered wind like that since the day I left ABQ almost exactly a month ago:
Faced with a 12 mile climb AND 20 mph head wind. Joy. pic.twitter.com/d2Mc1DYZNx
— ca2sc (@ca2scbybike) September 19, 2015
As expected there were about 40 miles of hills. ?Since I expected them, I just handled them in “assembly line” fashion. Take ’em as they came, ride ’em, and go on to the next one. ?What else could I do, right?
The day started out?cool. ?It was 45 degrees. ?With the wind, I needed both socks and gloves. ?They stayed on for 15 miles. ?And even then, I could have probably been comfortable wearing them a little further.
I’d gone to Subway for lunch. ?For some reason they had their air conditioning really cranked up. ?It was a little chilly in there. ?I was looking forward to getting back out in the sun.
But the wind kept stealing the sun’s warmth. ?The temperatures never got much beyond low to mid 60s today. ?With the wind, it felt a lot cooler.
Stuff
For the most part I stayed on Georgia 26. ?When I first turned on it, the mapping programs said, “Stay on East 26 for 50 miles.”
I was tickled when I saw little mile markers for a state highway:
I figured I’d just keep an eye on those mile markers. When I reached “50” I’d be where I was headed.
Except at one point I glanced at a mile marker that I expected to say around “20” or so . . . and it said, “2.” ?What the hell? ?Did I miss a turn? ?How would that even be possible? ?I checked the maps diligently. ?It was a straight shot on 26 to get where I was going.
I stopped, checked the maps. ?I was still on 26, still headed in the right direction. ?What I finally figured out was the mile markers reset to 0 when you entered a new?county. ?Well, hell, what good does that do you if you have to call someone and you have no idea what county you’re in?
Obviously Georgia is borrowing from Hawaii’s naming conventions
The only interesting town I went through was Ellaville:
Not sure why their fountain had pink / purple water:
Got a kick out of a “fuck you” to Yankees with a statue to the Confederate States of America:
As I was passing through the Fort Benning area again this morning, I saw this sign:
Ya know, I’d pay to see?ballroom boxing.
You never want to see this combination of things when you pull up at a hotel where you’ve paid for a reservation:
A real estate sign saying the property is available?and?not a single car in the parking lot:
Especially when you’ve ridden a bicycle 70 miles to reach that destination. ?(And knowing the?next?nearest hotel is?40 miles?away.)
It turned out well. ?I do have a room. ?But I’m pretty much it as far as I can tell. ?(Or, I was when I checked in.)
According to Google Maps, there’s just a shade over 200 miles to the finish line. ?Whoa!