2021 Southern Transcon Day 27: Tybee Island GA

Sunrise in Metter GA

We enjoyed our last parking lot breakfast at 6:45 this morning. World famous PacTour oatmeal and all the fixin's washed down with coffee and OJ. We threw our bags in the trailer at 7:15 and hit the road. Again, we had heavy 'rush hour' traffic leaving Metter GA.

Nice field behind the first SAG

Route 46 had heavy morning traffic and a tiny shoulder. After all the days of riding in wide open country, we were a little out of practice riding in traffic. We pushed through and made the first SAG in about an hour and a half.

Just out of the SAG we were back on a county road for about 15 miles. Nice riding on a quiet road, until we joined route 80.

Traffic stacked up on Route 80

The second SAG at 42 miles was also on Route 80, at least at mile 55 the highway expanded to four lanes. Still a tiny shoulder, but at least the traffic was a little more spread out.

Tom Triplet Community Park for Lunch SAG

Bikes parked at the lunch SAG

We had deli sandwiches and were eager to get off Route 80, so Jeff and I made it a quick stop and rolled out at the front of the group.

30 minutes at this RR crossing

It was only 5 miles on Route 80 and soon we were in an industrial area moving along nicely. Then we hit a traffic back up do to a train crossing. It took 30 minutes to clear. We got through before the crossing opened to traffic so at least we didn't have to deal with frustrated drivers! Mikael and Carl joined us as we picked our way through Savanna.

Downtown Savanna

Nice riding in the old section of Savanna

Wilmington River

With heavy traffic and the will to get this done, we dialed up the pace until we got the the regroup point at the Welcome to Tybee Island with Mikael and Carl still on our wheels.

At the regroup point

The traditional wheel dip in the Atlantic!

After the regroup photo, we continued as a group to the Hotel Tybee and the beach. We all dipped our wheels in the ocean and took the final group photo on the beach. We had a group dinner and enjoyed a slide show of the photos that the crew had taken during the trip.

Thanks for following along!

It has been quite a month. The days on the tour seemed to run together, some days you felt like the hammer, some days like the nail! Some days were memorable for the good or the bad, others were days  were just 'get across' days to get to the next town that fade into a blur. I saw many things and made some great new friends. Having you follow my journey via these updates gave me motivation and encouragement to press on.

Thank you and I hope you enjoyed 'riding along' on this adventure!

Steve

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Done!

2021 Southern Transcon Day 26: Metter GA

Dawn in Cordele GA

Today's ride is 126 miles with 4,200 feet of climbing. Again the climbing will be of the short roller variety we have seen the last few days. Today will also be the last long ride of the tour. Tomorrow will be under 90 miles with only a few rollers out of the start at Metter, then pancake flat as we approach the Atlantic.

Jeff's fiance (Lori) and Wes' wife (Elizabeth) will be at the finish line so we have some incentive to get this one done. We have been riding at a conservative pace for the whole tour, so today we decided to dial it up.

Jeff and Wes take a pull

We rolled out at our normal conservative warm-up pace and attracted quite the train as we left town. After 30 minutes we slowly dialed it up and soon it was just 4. Doug L. was riding 4th wheel with us and was doing great. He has ridden many PacTours, but had double knee replacements earlier this year. He normally rode alone, but we were happy to have him join the party.

Wilcox County Courthouse

We rolled in together to the first SAG at 22 miles at a sports complex just as the crew was setting up. We reloaded quickly and were leaving as other riders rolled in. Soon we arrived in Abbyville and stopped for a courthouse photo!

Morning train, Jeff, Wes, and Doug L.

Our group stayed together for the first 50 miles. A few miles from the second SAG, the rollers got steeper and longer and Doug wisely dropped off to ride at his own pace.

Second SAG near some abandoned buildings

Again, we arrived just as the SAG was setting up. Jeff's fiance Lori was there waiting for us to cheer us on. We again did a quick reload and got right back on the road. The temperature was cool and we were eager to get as miles in as possible before it started to get hot!

Open roads toward the Lunch SAG

Hog dog? Yes Please

We arrived at the lunch SAG just as the first dogs came off the grill. We again chowed down, reloaded and got on with the ride.

New pines growing

It was pretty much a head-down day to get this one in the books, as evidenced by the dearth of photos in the camera at the end of the ride!

Heading for Metter

The last SAG was 15 miles from Metter. Again we popped in and out quickly as the staff was setting up.

Nice shade for much of the afternoon

That horse has been workin'

It really didn't get as hot as we expected, with some cloud cover and shade from the tall pines along the  way, so we continued to work hard together until we got about 5 miles from town. Dropping back as we cooled down, I noticed all the salt stains on Jeff's jersey!

Candler County Courthouse, Metter GA

Another residential approach to the hotel

We again rolled past a county courthouse and routed through a nice residential area as we closed in on the finish. We rolled in at 8 hours and 11 minutes for 126 miles. With 4,200 feet of climbing, that was not nothin'!

87 miles left to go!

Yes, Mexican food again!

Wes, Doug L, Steve A, Steve P, Lori, Jeff, John, Tim, Elizabeth

We put this tour in the books tomorrow, breakfast at 6:45, load/depart at 7:15; double check your alarm!

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2021 Southern Transcon Day 25: Cordele GA

 

Wild flowers and pine trees

We may have stayed in Alabama overnight, but Georgia was only a few miles away! The final state we will cross as we close in on Tybee Island and the Atlantic Ocean! We will 'lose' an hour today as well when we leave Central Daylight Time and go to Eastern Daylight Time. Of course on the PacTour, time changes don't happen until we arrive in the destination parking lot, so we'll worry about that when we get there!

3.2 miles into the ride!

We roll out of the motel and of course my Garmin locks up. I am pretty sure we are on the right course and we soft pedal through Eufaula while it reboots. Presto, it fires back up as we lead a small group out of town and to the Chattahooche River/Lake Eufaula. I was a bit surprised that the state line was on the Alabama bank of the river.

On the causeway crossing the river/lake

No worries, we all stopped and took the requisite photos and pressed on into Georgia! We settled into a reasonable warm up pace as we climbed out of the river basin, hopped a ridge, and then had 10 miles of relatively flat farm land riding.

First SAG at Providence Canyon State Park

The road tilted up for the second named climb of the day that would lead us to the first SAG at the Providence Canyon State park. Not to sound like an Arizona Grand Canyon snob, but the canyon was little more than a red clay ditch (from the photos other riders took, yours truly was more interested in loading up and heading out!)

Read the BBQ sign: Our Butts Smell Good

Courthouse in Lumpkin GA

First city after the stop is Lumpkin. It had an interesting BBQ joint, too bad it was so early! The town was set up with a traditional town square and was nice to ride through.

More pine trees and farms

Our group for most of the day; Jeff and Wes

Red Truck SAG at Weston GA

The Caravan, reloading with V-8 juice

We rolled into the second SAG at 54 miles and went right to the cooler. They were out of V-8 Juice at the first Caravan SAG, and I really needed the V-8 fix. Jeff and I had been splitting 12 oz cans at each stop. We both grabbed full cans and tossed them down. Soothing to the stomach and loaded with sodium, it has become a staple for us at the SAGs. We loaded the bottles and filled our pockets with crunchy sugar (cookies, candy, etc) and were on our way.

Great pavement for most of the day!

Pecan Groves were plentiful on the ride

We were rolling through one of many Pecan Groves when a white pickup truck coming from the other direction slowed down and the driver rolled down his window and leans out. I'm thinking here it comes, he is going to complain about us being on his road. 

I was totally wrong; he yells out, "Hey are y'all on the ride across Georgia?" I reply; "No we are riding across the US!" He slams has hand on the outside of his door and yells out; " HAIL-YYEES!

That plus the hunger in our stomachs was all the motivation we needed to dial up the pace and get to lunch.

Lunch!

There is chicken under the rice, beans, guacamole, tomatoes, salsa, and cheese. It may not be much to look at, but it was a great meal. The SAG was set up in a city park, and we enjoyed lunch on picnic tables in the shade!

Cool houses in Americus GA

We still have 35 miles to go, so we are about to push out but my front tire is flat. I make a quick change and we are back on the road in 10 minutes. Later I would determine the valve had failed, glad it happened in the parking lot!

Add soybeans to the crop list

We stop for a natural break outside of town in a farmer's field and catch this photo of soybeans, that stretch nearly to the horizon!

Luis joins the party

We encounter some headwinds as we make our way to the last SAG just as we catch Luis. He joins our group as we pull together for about 10 miles through open and breezy fields. Nice to have friends in windy conditions!

We hit the SAG and reload quickly. After savoring another full V-8, we are back on the road for the last 13 miles to Cordele.

Lake Blackshear

Lake Blackshear is only a few miles out of Cordele, and we were moving at a brisk pace headed toward the barn, so I squeezed off a shot on the fly as we put our heads down to put this one in the books. Just under 9 hours, 116 miles, and 4,475 feet of climbing.

Getting closer!

Tomorrow is another long one, 126 miles, so better get some sleep! With the time change, we start 30 minutes later, see you in the parking lot at 7:30!

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2021 Southern Transcon Day 24: Eufaula AL

Eufaula Lake, AL

What a difference a day makes, no rain in the forecast. At 7:25 the sun was streaming into the room as I did my final check to make sure everything was packed. We threw the bags in the trailer and hit the road at 7:30.

A bit of fog on a perfect morning

We started off at an easy warm-up pace for the first 30 minutes of the ride. Jeff and I both had legs that were not that interested in cooperating, so we extended the warm-up for a full hour! Lots of big rollers at the start of the ride did not help the cause. Tim was back on the bike and itching to go so he headed up the road with another group.

Tranquil cabin on a pond

The route would climb up a ridge and then over a plateau before diving down and repeating. There were great farms and ranches all along the way. The Magoo Ranch had a cabin set on a pond, it was well worth the stop to grab a photo.

First SAG near Bulldozer under tree!

The first SAG came at 28 miles in the town of White Oak. John set up the SAG at rusting bulldozer that has been there for years. A local hound was interested in the goings on and stopped by looking for snacks. There was toilet paper on the dozer. At the time, I just thought it must have been a prank. Later in the day Jeff let me in on the local tradition (read on).

We stopped for this cool display

My steed added to the display

After the SAG we continued on and noted various decorations on the driveway entrances of the farms and ranches. We had to stop at this particularly interesting truck display. Then we saw the bike display and had to add my machine (temporarily) to the action!

Ok time to get back on the road!

Enough screwing around we have nearly 200km to ride today, so we get back on the bikes and press on!

A rare flat stretch

While the GPS recorded 5,800 feet of climbing today, no one climb was longer that 1.5 miles. It was just roller after roller. I think the photo above may have been the only flat section of the day!

Lon and Susan waiting for the pilot car

After the second SAG, we encountered a construction section where traffic was restricted to one lane controlled by a pilot car. When we arrived Lon, Susan, and Doug L. had been waiting for at least 10 minutes. Finally the pilot car came and we followed through after all the waiting cars/trucks had passed. No wonder it took so long, it was a couple of miles before we hit the actual construction, and another mile before we got to the other end of the controlled zone!

Lots of livestock along the road today

Nice roadside wild flowers

Huge Walmart distribution center in Brundidge AL

Great views of wild flowers, farms, and ranches were suddenly interrupted by a HUGE Walmart distribution center. It would have taken the panorama feature to capture the whole building in a single frame! With lunch just up the road we squeezed off a picture on the fly and continued on.

Grilled cheese with bacon and tomato

Oh yes, grilled cheese, tomato, and today's added ingredient: Bacon! Add some potato salad, hummus, and guacamole and you have a true feast. The SAG was set up in an old school yard with plenty of shade trees. We both thought this would be a great way to end the day, but we had 35 miles to go, so we loaded the bikes and rolled on.

More cotton

The topography was still rolling, but the rollers were less steep and further apart and we started to get bigger views. The fields were also larger and we saw many cotton fields.

Big ranch with chicken houses

Also the number of chicken houses seemed to increase. We were rolling along and noticed the signature smell of said operations, but didn't see any. We come around and up a roller and we see this huge ranch with an array of chicken houses that confirmed our suspicion.

There were lots of trucks because of the Walmart center a few miles away, but there were also many chicken haulers (both full and empty) heading to and from processing plants. They too have that distinctive odor!

Choctawhatchee River

We crossed the Choctawhatchee River twice today. We missed it the first time, so we stopped at the second to grab a photo!

Auburn Fan?

The last few miles into town again route through a nice neighborhood as Lon tries to avoid as much city traffic as possible. We stopped at this house because it had the best toilet paper display. Jeff said it is a tradition when Auburn wins a big game, they throw toilet paper. This looked about a week old. It makes sense, they beat Georgia State last Saturday!

A few more twists and turns and we rolled over the Eufaula Lake bridge and into town. Another Mexican dinner and this day is in the books! 110 miles, 5,800 feet of climbing in just over 9 hours.

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