Day One Hundred Eleven, Date Friday, June 19, 2009
Time in Saddle: 6:28
Distance for the Day: 61.2 miles From Baxley, GA To Blackville, GA
Accumulated Trip Distance: 5237.23 miles
Altitudes: Starting/Ending 137’/205’, Highest: 305’ Accumulated: 1427’
Speeds: Avg: 9.4 mph, Max: 27.7 mph
Weather: 72° and humid, little cooler and hazy, no clouds, warming into the 90s
Expenditures: $17
Time in Saddle: 6:28
Distance for the Day: 61.2 miles From Baxley, GA To Blackville, GA
Accumulated Trip Distance: 5237.23 miles
Altitudes: Starting/Ending 137’/205’, Highest: 305’ Accumulated: 1427’
Speeds: Avg: 9.4 mph, Max: 27.7 mph
Weather: 72° and humid, little cooler and hazy, no clouds, warming into the 90s
Expenditures: $17
Woke up at 5:30am, broke camp and ready to roll before sunrise at 6:16am. I went into the town of Baxley and went to their hospital to find an outside outlet where I could recharge my computer while I checked the map for upcoming road changes. Continuing on, I got food and drink at a few places along the way ($8) throughout the morning. A few comments on GA roads: the moment I entered GA the shoulder, which wasn’t quite wide enough for my trike, was covered from side-to-side with buzz strip grooves (yaugh!); the buzz strips were from an earlier road design, and when new pave
ment came, there was a narrow shoulder, but still not quite wide enough for my trike. There are LOTS of bugs around here – the moment you stop, if you’re near grass or trees, they’re on you; if you’re near any bodies of stagnant water, the mosquitoes are also almost instantaneous, so there’s no long stops in most of the areas along the roads of southern Georgia. By 10:51am it got a little nicer, with cooler shade from trees and a bit of a breeze, I stopped off in Vidalia to blog at the library from 11:00 – 3:25pm. When I got there, I signed up for a two-hour free wi-fi stint, but I worked on the text of the blog, mostly, and didn’t do much online during those two hours. I
went back to the desk to sign up for another two hours, but that’s all they give you per day! Seems a little chintzy on the wi-fi, but they’re a small town, and I guess they must pay by the minute, or something :-/ Continued on down the road, hopefully past the hottest part of the day. I stopped at 3:45pm to eat the other half of my Subway sandwich, drink a soda ($1.50), and read my book. At 4:34pm I continued heading to Vidalia via Hwy 15. Replenished liquids ($4.75) and also got a Dairy Queen choco malt ($3). Got to and through Soperton by 7pm, and began to look for a campsite for the night. I almost passed the Blackville Church of God, but thought I’d give it a try. There were a handful of somewhat nice looking cars in the parking lot, and I thought they must be having a small event of some kind. I went inside, knocked on a door, and opened it to see some women in small groups doing something with their nails – a social night. I gave my usual story (traveling cyclist; just need spot to set up tent in back of parking lot; will leave without a trace before sunrise). There wasn’t anyone there with authority, so they called the pastor, who had one of his parishioners whose judgment he trusted (and who lived next door) to come out and take a look. We had a nice chat, and he said, ‘no problem,’ so I was okay to overnight (N32 29.022’ W82 35.841’). While waiting for the pastor’s proxy to arrive, I chatted with his wife, and found out that there are still some fireflies in Georgia, but due to all the anti-mosquito measures, they were becoming fewer and further between. What a shame. I set up my tent behind my cloaked trike, and had a nice sleep, despite the warmth and humidity of the night.
ment came, there was a narrow shoulder, but still not quite wide enough for my trike. There are LOTS of bugs around here – the moment you stop, if you’re near grass or trees, they’re on you; if you’re near any bodies of stagnant water, the mosquitoes are also almost instantaneous, so there’s no long stops in most of the areas along the roads of southern Georgia. By 10:51am it got a little nicer, with cooler shade from trees and a bit of a breeze, I stopped off in Vidalia to blog at the library from 11:00 – 3:25pm. When I got there, I signed up for a two-hour free wi-fi stint, but I worked on the text of the blog, mostly, and didn’t do much online during those two hours. I
went back to the desk to sign up for another two hours, but that’s all they give you per day! Seems a little chintzy on the wi-fi, but they’re a small town, and I guess they must pay by the minute, or something :-/ Continued on down the road, hopefully past the hottest part of the day. I stopped at 3:45pm to eat the other half of my Subway sandwich, drink a soda ($1.50), and read my book. At 4:34pm I continued heading to Vidalia via Hwy 15. Replenished liquids ($4.75) and also got a Dairy Queen choco malt ($3). Got to and through Soperton by 7pm, and began to look for a campsite for the night. I almost passed the Blackville Church of God, but thought I’d give it a try. There were a handful of somewhat nice looking cars in the parking lot, and I thought they must be having a small event of some kind. I went inside, knocked on a door, and opened it to see some women in small groups doing something with their nails – a social night. I gave my usual story (traveling cyclist; just need spot to set up tent in back of parking lot; will leave without a trace before sunrise). There wasn’t anyone there with authority, so they called the pastor, who had one of his parishioners whose judgment he trusted (and who lived next door) to come out and take a look. We had a nice chat, and he said, ‘no problem,’ so I was okay to overnight (N32 29.022’ W82 35.841’). While waiting for the pastor’s proxy to arrive, I chatted with his wife, and found out that there are still some fireflies in Georgia, but due to all the anti-mosquito measures, they were becoming fewer and further between. What a shame. I set up my tent behind my cloaked trike, and had a nice sleep, despite the warmth and humidity of the night.
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