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Day 25
Ride Like The Wind...The Rain's A'Comin

YESTERDAY                  TOMORROW

ROUTE: Columbus to Perry GA DISTANCE: 97 measly miles WINDS: SW 5-10
WEATHER: Overcast, threatening thunderstorms chased us to town...but didn't catch us. TERRAIN: Large rollers at the beginning with tamer rollers to after the first SAG TOTAL CLIMBING: 3150 feet

DAILY REPORT:  Boy, I thought today would be a washout but we stayed ahead of the green stuff on the weather channel all day.  It started to sprinkle when I started riding at the first SAG then stopped as I rode east.  It also started to sprinkle as I left the lunch SAG but again it stopped after I got a couple miles eastward.  When I got to the motel, I looked at the weather channel and it seemed to be raining everyplace we'd been today...but we all stayed dry.  Just as I planned it.

Our route departed out of the motel straight to the River Walk Bike Path for a leisurely 11 mile ride to Fort Benning.  It was a beautiful departure along the Chattahoochee River in perfect conditions at departure, but we were concerned as to how long it would last before we got wet.  Jim and I were in the van and drove to the base to coordinate with the MPs so they would know we were coming...by the time the riders started filing through the checkpoint, the base patrols had been alerted and all was well.  Well, almost.  As we were checking on everyone's progress we seemed to be missing Pete, Russell, and Bill R.  AWOL when Jim swept through the base and I got on my bike to check the bike path...where could they be?  Seems they got lost on the bike path...LOST ON THE BIKE PATH???  HOW CAN YOU GET LOST ON THE BIKE PATH?    I don't know the answer to that question, but that's what appeared to have happened.  There's a major highway on the left and the river on the right...the only thing that runs between them was the bike path!  Did they fall in the river?  Did the infantry have them pinned down somewhere in a corner of the base?  It took awhile, but we finally found them.  Seems Russell and Pete had trouble finding the bike path in the first place and were just behind.  Bill had ridden to the end of the bike path and just got lost on the base (see boo boo of the day).   

The bike path led us right into the middle of the base which is home of the Army Ranger School, Sniper School, and Infantry Training Center.  The path cut off about 15 miles of busy urban traffic on our way out of town and allowed us to pass the Infantry Museum and several impressive monuments honoring fallen heroes.  We tell the group to exercise caution if they approached any troop movements or mechanized infantry maneuvers while riding on base.  An M1A1 Abrams tank operator might just like to try to see how flat he could squash a titanium bike if he got a chance.  I also told them that the new tanks could travel about 45 MPH and shoot a gnat off the butt of a cow at 3000 yards while bouncing on rough terrain.  With them wearing bright colored clothing, they'd be easy to sight in.  Scott volunteered...or rather he volunteered Christopher to ride across the firing range to draw fire so the rest of them could sneak through unscathed.  After hearing that, everyone was really looking forward to riding on the base...especially Christopher.

The terrain after the base was anything but flat.  It had large rollers that a rider referred to as large "stoppers" since they seemed to really slow him down...but the ride down the other side was great.  There were no really big climbs, but we kept having those 150 foot rollers one after the other and after the last couple days in Alabama (you remember, the flat state) we had some pretty tired legs.  After the first SAG at 40 miles, the terrain was pretty tame and with the lack of headwinds, everyone was moving pretty well.  The day surprisingly turned out to another perfect day to ride a bike...perfect temperatures and no worse than cross winds to contend with.  Plus, we didn't have a bridge out all day, no lightning, no tornadoes, no rain, and no headwinds...now I ask, what fun was that? 

 The scenery is starting to change a little, but we are still seeing lots of cotton and more dairy farms than Alabama and Mississippi.  We also started to see lots of pecan orchards and lots of peanut farms along the way.  We are in the land of boiled peanuts...which I'm not fond of, but many of our riders in the past have tried them for the first time and seem to like them OK.

Everyone got in by 4:30 so it was a relatively easy day...we needed it after the climbing into Tuscaloosa and Prattville. Tonight we had rap to discuss the final two days and logistics.  Time's running down, we only have 2 more days left on our long journey.  We are about ready for this to be over, but we hate to see it end.  We will miss everyone when we wake up on Sunday morning and head for home...but until then, we need to focus for 2 more days on getting to Savannah safely.  Thanks for following...see you tomorrow.  

 
HEARD ON THE ROAD TODAY:

"I didn't see a sniper all day."
"Yeah, they are good aren't they?"
"I don't know, I never saw one."
"My point exactly."

"The quicker I fall behind, the longer I'll have to catch up."

"We only have 2500 feet of climbing tomorrow?  That's not even worth getting my bike out for...Mike, can we just call it in?"

"When will we know when we get to the Mennonite school?"
"Maybe when you see the big sign that says "Mennonite School."
"Now that's experience talking."

"Maybe I need to pay more attention at Rap."  Frank after turning the wrong way out of the motel."

"We were testing to see if Conrad was really hard of hearing.  We hung a cow bell on the back of his seat and every time we'd go by him, we'd reach over and rattle the bell.  We rode all day and he never flinched."

 BICYCLE BRAIN BOO BOOS:

When I saw Bill R. on the bike path, he was second on the road and moving well.  By the time everyone got through the base, he was nowhere to be found.  After I had checked the bike path on my bike and Jim had driven around the base, we started looking for anything on the pavement that may look like a bike that had maybe been squashed by a tank...but no luck.  Jim and I finally found him after he'd negated his "second" place on the road and was now miiiiiles behind the entire group.  "Hey Bill, where've you been?" I asked.
"I've been riding around the base.  I got to 1st Division Rd and it looked right...so I went that way.  Unfortunately, my cue sheet said, 'Go left.'"  I was looking for Dixon and found Dixie...close enough I thought so I kept going.  I did have a nice conversation with a soldier who got me finally going in the correct direction," He said. 

We were glad to finally find him and was glad the soldier helped him find his way and didn't just think he had a live one and that the snipers were just itching for a different moving target than they'd been used to.

DAILY PHOTOS OF OUR ACTIVITY

Ugh, my feet are farther from me than they used to be.

Now is it just me or...Why didn't they just say it was a recycling center to start with?  Only the military would use a "PC" title and then have to explain it.

Calf condos!

There goes the neighborhood.

Army counseling is intense...requires a tank.

  

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