Home again, home again

Day 17: Dublin, GA to Tybee Island, GA

140.7 miles / 8:51 hours moving, 57 min stopped / 5313' climbing, 5618' descent

15.9 mph avg, 28.8 mph max / 5832 calories spent

I FINISHED ! ! ! !

2,702.6 miles

154 hours on the saddle (ouch)

17.55 mph avg.

124,032' climbing

125,104 calories spent

I pretty much collapsed when I finished so it's taken me a bit to write this last post. Lori and Nicole where waiting and screaming for me when I rode in and was almost choking with emotion. I'm sore all over and I lost 10 pounds but I'm recovering quickly with good food and good care from Lori. I'm very happy that I did this crazy ride and I'm very happy it is over. I'm also very proud to be able to say that I officially qualified for the Race Across America, but fear not, I will not attempt that.

Last early morning ride.

According to Lori this looks better than the hotel.

Some assembly required.

They are very informative in Georgia, I just though that with a bit of sense of humor they should have said "Speed detected by detection devices"

There are many abandoned gas stations too, the weird thing is, is that many are really in the middle of nowhere.

Almost there.

The official route. Every day they would paint the route and add the little yellow marker.

My sweet Lori cheering me on as always. Couldn't have done this without her.

Nicole holding me before I collapse.

A very happy guy.

With a weird tan.

The whole group.

Susan, one of the owners of PACTours, she took care of us all the way. Got to love her.

Soaked, again.

Day 16: Eufaula, AL to Dublin, GA
157.6 miles / 9:05 hours moving, 1:21 stopped / 7893' climbing, 7868' descent
17.3 mph avg, 40.0 mph max / 6156 calories spent

Breakfast: McDonalds Large Big Breakfast (1150 cal), small strawberry shake with cream, bowl of yogurt with bananas, chocolate milk.
SAG 1: Banana with Nutella.
SAG 2: Banana.
SAG 3: Banana, Rice Krispies Treat.
Lunch: Grilled cheese sandwich, potato salad, green salad, carrots, peaches, cole.
SAG 4: Banana, watermelon, Rice Krispies Treat.
SAG 5: Banana.
SAG 6: Coke.
Dinner: Big salad. pasta Alfredo with chicken, coke, large strawberry shake with cream.

The day started with what I'd call 200% humidity, but the some of the guys that know better say it was about 80%, in any case, I was dripping at 7am. By 10am it dried out a bit and it was actually pleasant, that is unless you stopped, at which point you'd feel the full force of the heat and the gnats (or who knows what else that flies and bugs you). A pee break could be a hazardous event since any exposed skin is fair game for those devils.

It is clear that there is more money in Georgia than in the previous two states (Mississippi and Alabama, in case you forgot), the roads are much better, lots of large houses with way larger manicured lawns and big new high schools (well, at least one quite impressive and seemingly in the middle of nowhere, sorry no photo). I guess it is because of Memorial Day weekend, but for the last couple of days we've seen a lot of people mowing their huge lawns with powerful turbocharged lawn mowers, the kind you could race if you wanted to.

Big anticipation today as tomorrow is the last day. It was kind of Lon to choose easy days for the end and to set the SAG stops at comfortable 20 or 30 mile intervals. We are all tired and sore and can use the extra pampering. 

Dinner last night. Junk food fest.

This is how they pimp their ride around here, this is a very mild case, I wasn't fast enough to capture some of the better ones.

Crossing into Georgia early this morning. That is Scott, another nice guy and very strong rider.

Good morning Georgia. That is Lake Eufaula.

Prime real estate for Carter.

Lots of it.

This is for my mom, couldn't help it.

The Grand Hotel in the rather large town of Americus. I rode most of the day with Tony from NJ .

Bargain price on this one since the landscaping needs some work.

Hidden charms. By appointment only.

Minor repairs will make this last for another century.

There is definitely more money in Georgia, the cemeteries are better kept, and the roads are smoother, oh yeah. 

My first confederate flags. I tried joining "The Sons of Confederate Veterans", but my accent and my spandex gave me away. They were nice enough not to shoot at me.

A few more road hazards.

Commercial license available.

Vacation cottage with a view and easy access.

Single family dwelling in a 5 acre plot, what else could you possibly want?

Private parking garage for your off road or your pimped car, in short, privacy.

Rolling hills of Alabama

Day 15: Camden, AL to Eufaula, AL
151.3 miles / 9:21 hours moving, 1:21 stopped / 9613' climbing, 9547' descent
16.2 mph avg, 36.9 mph max / 6258 calories spent

Breakfast: Oatmeal with bananas, yogurt with granola, cereal and bananas, OJ.
SAG 1: Banana with Nutella.
SAG 2: 4 oreos, coke.
SAG 3: Banana.
Lunch: Hot dog with guacamole, tortellini salad, caprese salad, tuna salad, peaches, coke.
SAG 4: Banana with Nutella, rice Krispies treat.
SAG 5: 4 oreos, watermelon.
SAG 6: Coke.

Pre-dinner snack: Large strawberry shake with cream, 4 chicken nuggets, small fries.
Dinner: Double bacon cheeseburger, 2 small shakes (oreo and strawberry), fries.

Lush green rolling hills all day, humidity is picking up but temperature was ok. This is really beautiful country, full of forests, rivers and lakes. Sure, is full of mosquitoes (I have swallowed a few) and snakes which I have only seen as road kill as well as the occasional armadillo and opossum. The scary part is that all day for the last couple of days, as I ride by, I hear something scurrying in the bush. I have never caught a glimpse of what it is, but somehow it feels that it is something more menacing than deer (which I haven't sen either). And it's not dogs, those are not that discreet or timid, they bark and run after us, for some reason they seem attracted to spandex.

The left leg started to act up, but the miracle of Ibuprofen saved the day and I finished with a strong push the last 25 miles. I'm happy I had scheduled a full hour massage for tonight, 30 min per leg.

Two days to go and life has become extremely simple, survive the ride, shower, eat, prepare for the next day and try to sleep. This is of course fantasy land, one guy was trying to say that he did it for the kids, meaning he is raising money for some kids, but I contended that that is just an excuse, he could have given the money and effort directly to his cause, save the pain and probably he would have gotten more money. We are doing this ride for purely selfish reasons. As Amanda pointed it out, most midlife crisis involve an Italian sport car and a 25 year old woman. I already got the car, a Fiat 500 Abarth, and don't feel I need the young woman, Lori is all I crave, besides, this biking stuff is really time consuming, it may be time for a different hobby.

Many cemeteries, most are not by the road, some more kept ones, like this one are. I think the more interesting ones are the hidden ones where there is just a small sign and a dirt road into the jungle.

Lots of abandoned buildings.

In this case they mowed the lawn around it, go figure. Maybe they still use it? Didn't seem that way, even though the windows and the door are clearly newer than the rest.

Abandoned factory.

More.

Old gas station.

The one jutting out into the road is actually some sort of souvenir store, too bad it's too far to make out, it was wild.

Not much left.

A gigantic Walmart distribution center. Not much left either.

I kept seeing these signs and I can't help but wonder what they mean. Is it that before the sign, police as no jurisdiction? It's a lawless country out here?

Lake Eufala is huge and beautiful.

My private lake. Good for cooling down and stretching after a long day.

Pain and suffering

Day 14: Kosciusko, MS to Camden, AL
191.2 miles / 11:30 hours moving, 1:25 stopped / 10134' climbing, 10357' descent
16.6 mph avg, 38.5 mph max / 7586 calories spent

Breakfast: Oatmeal with bananas and strawberries, yogurt with granola and cereal, slice of pizza, chocolate milk.
SAG 1: Banana with Nutella.
SAG 2: 4 oreos, coke.
SAG 3: Banana.
Lunch: Sloppy Joe's (see photo), tortellini salad, cole slaw, peaches, coke.
SAG 4: Banana with Nutella.
SAG 5: 4 oreos, watermelon.
SAG 6: Banana.
Dinner: Mozarella breaded cheese sticks, salad with grilled chicken, cheeseburger.

Very long day with knee pain for 130 miles, not fun, a lot of Zen crap about not adding suffering to the pain and mind over body kind of thinking. I'll pay for that, but not yet. Lots of ice and Ibuprofen tonight. Dinner at the local place took forever to come and then it was not quite the right stuff. We are so removed from mainstream America that the closest pizza delivery is in another county, not even a McDonalds! What kind of place is this?

Too tired for more commentary so here are some photos:

The crew cooking lunch (earlier in the day).

My first Sloppy Joe's.

Lunch stop at an abandoned gas station in some nondescript little town.

The older abandoned gas station, right next to ours. I guess it was easier to just leave it tere and build a new one. 

The very old gas pump; price is in cents, not dollars.

More sad houses.

At least this one had trimmed gras around it, who knows, it may not be abandoned after all.

Abandoned mansion?

Old store by the road.

A little more than an outhouse.

Certainly not abandoned, but it could have been, given the disrepair.