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to East| ROUTE: Warsaw NC to Whiteville NC | DISTANCE: 72 Miles | WINDS: Kickin' tail all the way! 10-20 |
| WEATHER: Sunny, warm...low 68, high 82...low humidity | TERRAIN: Flat to flatter | TOTAL CLIMBING: < 300 |
DAY'S OVERVIEW: Three
weeks ago when Barb and I drove through here to check out the route, I rode the
first 30 miles of today's roads...I was so drained by the time she picked me up
I could hardly pedal...what a difference a little weather improvement makes.
When we came through, it was typical deep south heat...muggy, humid, hot.
I was hoping that by the time we got here in early September the humidity would
break and we wouldn't bake...got my wish. It's like this where I live in
Alabama...usually by Labor Day the humidity lets up and you can't beat the
weather for riding in the south in the fall and early winter. Plus, around
these parts, the wind usually blows from the north late in the summer and early
fall...loved it today. Everyone commented how pleasant it was riding out
of town in the early morning crisp temperatures and cruising along the roads
with a kicking tailwind...yes, they were also happy I was in the van.
Last
night we stayed right next to Interstate 40 and our route took us out into the
country between highways 701 and 421. At one point we had to get on
highway 701 into Elizabethtown where we meandered again down beautiful North
Carolina backroads almost all the way to our destination. To describe the
terrain around here one only needs to know one word...flat. There's barely
any slope to the road at all which, in my humble view, is harder to ride than
some hills...you have to pedal all the time to keep moving. But today that
wasn't a problem...if the wind had been in the opposite direction, however, I
think they all would have been praying for a hill or two to break the monotony.
Another nice thing about the day was it being Labor Day...the traffic was mostly non existent most of the time. Most everyone got in before the "going home from the beach" traffic started to pick up and I'm hoping that everyone has left North Myrtle Beach before we get there tomorrow. It would be nice to ride into a ghost town and have the beach all to ourselves...I'm a dreamer.
The
day went pretty much without a hitch except for Karen W. having a few too many
flat tires and the church where we planned to have our lunch SAG stop wouldn't
let us set up. So the staff had to exercise some flexibility and move the
SAG down the road. Not usually a problem except around here there aren't
too many places big enough to pull off the road, but Karen and Susan found a
nice spot between a corn field and a peanut field. The floral arrangement
Susan always puts on the table did a great job of drawing together the diverse
characteristics of the plant life and the standing corn provided adequate toilet
facilities. The lingering fear of fire ants did create a challenge to find
a place to sit down to eat, but all made do under the circumstances and enjoyed
watching the farmer shoot doves in a nearby field. Where else could you
get that kind of entertainment? Good job staff.
After
lunch it was but a quick pop to the motel where the riders were happy to see the
pool was clean and operational. We're staying in another small southern
town that so far hasn't died yet probably due to not having a Wal Mart close by.
Tomorrow we head to the beach for our final day off...hopefully we'll all get
there safely and the surf will be up. Check in and see how we do.
Bye for now.
PS: Just got a report on George P. who had the unfortunate incident in Phillipsburg. He's finally home now and starting his long road to recovery. He's going to be immobile for a few weeks before he can start moving around...says he wants to come out and ride with us on the fall foliage...that would be great if he's well enough by then. Please keep him in your thoughts as he mends. I'm sure he'd love to hear from anyone from the cycling community and especially from those who have ridden with him before on one of our rides or any other ride. If you'd like to send him a card and good wishes, please send to George Pierce, 275 Meadow Rd, Portsmouth NH 03801.
HEARD ON THE ROAD:
"The only thing wrong with this terrain is there's no downhills...sigh."
You can never please 'em.
"23 and talkin...now that's a nice day!"
"Thank you for being in the van today Mike...the tailwinds are great!" The thanks I get for them usually having headwinds when I ride.
"I just get lost in thought...and my brain is a big place." Jim our mechanic trying to explain why he missed a couple turns today.
"He's got the makin's of a bike tour leader." Tore commenting on the General in charge of the relief effort in New Orleans when the general basically told a reporter to go away and let him do his job.
DEEP THOUGHT OF THE DAY: "The slower I go, the longer it takes." A profound revelation uttered by one of our illustrious staff members. In context she was explaining how she wanted to make the day last a long time because the conditions were so perfect.
| PHOTOS OF THE DAY | |
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No argument from me.
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John was all set to ride this morning, but couldn't decide on a bike...he decided just to ride both of them so he could go twice as fast.
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A local landowner, Joshua, drove his four wheeler out to see what we were up to...we talked about everything from the weather to cotton harvest. He's on his way down in a few days to help out the people in New Orleans. When he heard what we were doing he said, "Y'all 've come a fur piece." Nice to finally talk to someone I can understand.
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Gene T. checks to see if the field corn moisture level is right for harvest...looks like a good crop to him...that settles it. |
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All Mary Jo could say was, "That was one great dill pickle!"
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 Wayne hasn't recovered from all the slopes we've been riding before getting to the flat country...he rode all day in a "list" to his left.
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