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DAY 23

Another beautiful day in the south

DAY'S OVERVIEW: We have over 25 alumni riders on this ride and they are all sure I didn't lay out this route...it's not hilly enough.  Many of them think that I'm the only person on the face of the earth that could find a hill in this area.  As a matter of fact, and I've been saying this for several days now, we haven't had a hill in so long we've forgotten what it was like to climb one.  The only heavy breathing we've encountered is an occasional overpass...and not many of them either.

Today's route took us down highway 17 to Brunswick.  It was flat highway riding mostly with a narrow shoulder to accommodate bike route 95 south.  The early miles getting out of Savannah were a bit sporty at times, but everyone managed themselves well and safely negotiated a couple construction and narrow areas. 

I was in the van today and spent the morning monitoring the departure with Silver and Gold vans...just another boring day in the van.  The only interruptions I had were a couple flat tires that, as luck would have it, all sprang up at about the same time.  I was sitting along side the road at about 15 miles when I got a call from Barb that Chuck was fixing a tire on the side of the road...I was off.  Just as I was finishing up his problem, my phone rang...got another broken wheel up the road another 5 miles...it was Dick J. who had run over an allen wrench which went clear through his tire from the side wall to the tread.  Now how a dull allen could do that much damage is beyond me, but I'm not surprised about anything anymore.  It put a pretty good nick in the side of his wheel too which required a little filing to smooth a couple burrs on the braking surface.  Of course his tire was ruined and he had a large touring tire...but alas, he had a spare...bad news...it was in his luggage in the bottom of the luggage truck.  Luckily, Barb wasn't far from our location so I called her to respond.  After digging out his beg...of course he was one of the first to load so his was in the front on the bottom...we put on his new tire and he was on his way.  Another problem fixed...all is well.

We passed a couple of interesting places on the route today.  At one point we passed what claimed to be the smallest church in the US.  It was a tiny little church complete with a stand alone bell tower that was almost as big as the church itself.  Inside there were 4 rows of chairs with columns of 2 on each side of the isle and a small podium...beautiful little active non-denominational church on highway 17 south nestled in a shady grove of live oak trees.  Right across a thicket of thistle and underbrush was a large Methodist church that looked like it had a membership in the thousands...quite a contrast within 300 yards of each other.

We also passed through the small town of Midway which is brimming with history and interesting sights scattered around the area.  This area was rich in plantations in the 1700s and 1800s.  Churches have been on site for over 300 years and the grave yards hold the remains of people who were instrumental in the signing of the Declaration of Independence.  One cemetery boasted it had a special place for lawyers...hmmmm.  I won't touch that one.

Another successful day...all are in safely and starting to sense the ride is almost over.  We've covered a lot of country in the last few days...lots of hills, busy urban areas, and now, flat marsh swamp land.  Soon we will start seeing the ocean...I think we are about ready to see something besides pine trees and swamp land.  It's all part of this diverse country we ride across every year.  Tomorrow we cruise into a beach area...fun in the sun now that Ophelia has decided to go north.  We're looking forward to another sunny, warm day...just couldn't be better.  See you tomorrow.

HEARD ON THE ROAD:  "You sure did a good job with the weather Mikie."  Yep, I told that storm to get out of our way.  Hey, I might as well take credit because I'm sure I'd have gotten blamed if the weather had been crummy.

"I can't tell my friends that I had tailwinds all the way from DC."  "Well, don't.  Just tell them that there was a tropical storm just off the coast and that the winds were strong every day...just don't tell them they were on your butt everyday." 

"I've been feeling a bit puny lately...haven't been to a DQ for a couple of days.  Isn't that one of the main ingredients of a multi vitamin?" 

DUH! OF THE DAY:  We had a mini rap at the van this morning where basically I handed out the route sheets and told them how to get to breakfast a mere block and a half away.  Only problem, I told them to turn a half block short.  Not to worry though since food was involved.  They just followed their nose...food can never hide from this bunch.

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