Today we entered our last state...Georgia.  We only barely got into the state, but we got in far enough to enter the eastern time zone.  It's all down hill from here...well, not quite yet, but we're closing in on some tamer terrain.  I think I said yesterday that the hardest thing about this morning was the fact that we had to ride out of town this morning...I was thinking I'd give them the next 4 days of route sheets and send them on their way...nah, I guess that's not a good idea.  But it did cross my mind...more than once.

Our roads today were a bit fickle to say the least.  The riders were either shaking and rattling on chip seal roads or they were on smooth as silk pavement.  They had more smooth, but they might not think so.  That's the nature of Alabama backroads...either way it's better than mixing it up with traffic.

We had a rather late departure this morning.  After yesterday's tough climbing day, everyone's legs were a little on the tired side to say the least.  Plus, the mayor of Prattville, The Honorable Bill Gillespie, came by to say hi to everyone, welcome them to Alabama and Prattville, and wish us well on the remainder of our journey.  It was a nice touch to our visit to the south...thank you Mr Mayor.

At the first SAG several said they thought I told them today was easier than yesterday.  On paper it is, but when you have the climbing we've had the last couple days, just getting on the bike today was a chore to some.  All told, we had half the climbing as yesterday and not nearly the steepness even when we did climb.

Our route today took us through Wetumpka AL where they filmed Big Fish.  Except for a 3 mile stretch on Hwy 14, we were pretty much in the back country the rest of the day.  After Wetumpka, we cycled through Tuskegee and Tuskegee University.  From there we stayed south of Auburn crisscrossing hwy 80 arriving in the south part of Columbus.  I think it's only about 80 miles if we rode direct, but the backroads usually meander back and forth...safer but longer for sure.

I was in the van all morning trying to coordinate tomorrow’s trip through Ft Benning, but I got to ride from Tuskegee to the motel.  Karen held back to wait for me so we pretty much cruised...my legs are tired too.  We caught up with Greg who was standing on the side of the road with his second flat of the day.  I pulled a quarter inch wire out of his tire that was hidden in the tread, but about 6 miles down the road, he had another one...time for a new tire Grego.  We rode behind him the last 20 miles or so just in case he had more trouble...he made it without further tire trouble.  I really noticed he’s getting much stronger for sure...as are most everyone.  They are tired, but in the long scheme of things, they are kicking out the miles routinely now...what are they going to do this weekend after this ride is over?  Go for a bike ride?

All in all it was a pretty quiet day.  Everyone was moving along well and I think everyone is seeing the end of the ride looming before them.  It's a shame the ride is almost over, but I think a couple of them are about ready to embrace a day without pedaling.  I told them they wouldn't know what to do with themselves on Saturday and not to call us for a Rap.

Tomorrow we ride through Fort Benning and right by the Army Sniper School.  I hear they are pretty good at moving targets...tune in and see if we sneak by unscathed.