Epilogue and Finale

I have been home for over a week and I am at a loss as how to end the story of Fast America South 2008. The ride has to be broken down into individual stories and the group story. Some of the individual stories I really don't know. They are woven into the group story. Then there is my story which you have read. The thing about my story is it colored by my perspective. Everyday I wrote about the day from my point of view. From my point of view the ride was about how I rode, what I saw and a little about how I felt. The whole story is about all the people on the ride and our collective experience. The days when we would leave Rap together and go to dinner as a group of twenty or more. Some of the time that would be my only interaction with some of the others. Except to say "hello" and "on your left" as I would pass them. The thing which you feel and can't convey is how quickly we became one unit and that every joy and horror that happened to one of us happened to all of us. We all had our individual motives for wanting to ride across America. We all said things that Mike got to record in heard on the road today. I'm sure many of us said things that were not fit to put down in print. Towards the end of the ride there were a few times when I was just ready for the ride to be over. I am proud to say that I rode "every fantastic inch". In Ft Smith I saw a helmet mounted camera, now I wish I had that little gem when the tour started. Having everyone's photos from the tour kind of makes up for not being with them. Some have asked me if I would do a tour like this again and the answer is yes and no. While I liked the over all experience, being away from all the things that are so familiar and taken for granted everyday but are so missed when they aren't part the fabric of life. To all the blog junkies I'm sorry you went through withdrawal at the end of the trip. All your kind words were as important to me as I would check twice a day to see what others comments would be. It is also amazing to me how many people think that I have writing talent. My impression of my writing is it's just a rambling narrative. Some times it just seemed to meander all over the place. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Next time I do something that needs blogging I will bring a laptop. I spent hours every evening thumbing the blog on my blackberry. I never looked at it like a chore but I sure think I could have made quicker work of it with a real keyboard. So to close all I have to say is thank you for following my story.

Wheels In The Atlantic

Vidalia to Savannah GA. 106 miles 900' climbing. Temp at load 56f. We have been on a routine for weeks. Today is the last day and we are breaking the routine almost at the start. Of course there is breakfast in the motel. At load things start to change. Our bags have been limited to 35 pounds for the duration. Today with all my spares and tools and a large Endurox in my bag it is 50 pounds. The Endurox comes from Eric and Kirstin M along with an invite to Hawaii. The load will be by going to the hotel or being picked up at the beach. Sign in is still the same. Every one still must be accounted for. The early loaders have left. We are not supposed to load today until 6:50 every one is out and pumping tires and last minute checks with Jim well before. So at 7:00 we are released to ride. It looks like we will immediately fall into the usual groups. Exiting the parking lot James says nice and steady boys. Minutes later James, Pat and Eric K are disappearing down the road. Frank, Tom, Conrad and I are going to keep a much more reasonable 20 mph. We are really enjoying the ride going at a speed that even in a single file pace line we can still all talk. Except Conrad whose hearing is worse than mine. One day some one put a cow bell on his seat bag. This drove us crazy while on the chip seal, Conrad didn't even hear it. We get to the first SAG the fast boys are already gone. We have a timetable to meet today as we will go to Ft Pulaski before Tybee Island and ride to the beach as a group. Everyone is well ahead of schedule. Today the winds are light. We are hitting a lot of small towns. We roll up on some slower riders and encourage them to get in with us. Eric M says we to fast and I tell him we are going easy and I'm sure he and Dr Scott can keep up. The original four are keeping the pace. The others are sitting in the back. I pull off one time and Eric says I want to take a pull. Then all of us are taking a turn. On the last day some are still finding out what they are capable of. We are still early and stop with about 8 of us to eat again. We all assemble at the entrance to the fort. James has used his British accent to charm free admission to the fort for Pat, Eric and himself. Now of course we are there and they are sightseeing. We gather for a picture. The staff each have 5 or 6 of our cameras to take our personal photos. As we roll down to the beach for one last time Will and Sandra go the wrong way and this time take me with them. The beach at last. We are all down at the water and the celebration begins. This is a fun time and yet there is a moment for Darrell. Mike takes one of the black ribbons we have had on the bikes and puts it in the water. Sandra has been given the honor of pouring the bottle of Pacific Ocean water into the Atlantic. The ride is over but we are not quite finished. We still have to ride back to the vans for transport to either a bike shop or to the hotel. The hotel is in the heart of old Savannah on Bay St. It is where all the history of this very old port city can be found. Again there is not enough time to explore. By the time I pack the bike and shower it is almost time for the banquet. The staff all get up to talk to us and we then all get to make a statement. Paul has written "A Typical Day On The Tour". It takes as long to read as it did to ride. Everyone got barbed. I got mine for writing in my time on the sign in sheet. I am honored. I played What A Wonderful World. My statement was about how our ride mirrored life but was compressed into our time frame. We raised nearly a $1000 for bikes for kids for Darrell's bike club. In the next few weeks I have the state time trial and I am doing The Assault On Mount Mitchell. So to my fans you can check back. Plus I think I need to wait a few days to write an afterward to the ride. Those of you who wrote comments I must say they really lifted me up. Everyday I would check for comments before I would write the new blog. I must say a special THANK YOU to Amy for all her support and encouragement.

Welcome To The Onion

Perry to Vidalia GA. Temp at load 68f. 104 miles and 2500' climbing. I realized leaving the motel this morning today is the second day that I didn't have to wear arm and knee warmers or more. Today again we will luck out with the weather. The forecast for our last day is good too. So for the whole trip it rained on us for 1% of the distance. The usual morning routine. Breakfast, early loaders off and then the rest of us about 25 minutes later. Today it is the gang of six as Eric is taking it easy. We just roll along through the GA country side. At the first break we have a treat(punishment) RC cola and moonpies. Mike tells us that he is going to outlaw the pace line because we are not seeing anything but each others backsides. I say there is plenty of time to look around. Dr Scott is determined to stay in front of us today and leaves break just as we get there. Shortly after break Conrad must make an emergency pit stop. We blame this on moonpies. Then about 5 miles down the road Conrad gets a flat. We blame this on moonpies. We get to a spot where we are to turn off the state road on to a county road. Mike is there and says if we stay on the state road we will beat Scott to lunch. This turns out to be a double blessing. One we get to have a bit of fun with Scott. Two we will learn later that we traded some extra climbing for some really bad chip seal road. I'll take that any day. The only negative of the day came near the end of the ride. Some neanderthal threw water balloons at us. I guess even jerks can drive caddys. No one was hurt but it's not southern hospitality either. We arrive at the motel and there is no place to get post ride recovery chocolate milk and snickers. We opt for Ruby Tuesday and we are happy campers. I got a email from Andrew and read it to the group at rap. I can cry much better than Hillary. We went over a lot of the details for tomorrow. I addition to riding over 100 miles. We have a ceremony at the beach. A banquet. Packing bikes for return home. After the meeting some went back to RT for dinner. This might have been the best meal of the trip. On the first day way back in Apr at the beach as a joke I played The Star Spangled Banner. So I was trying to figure out a song to play at the beach tomorrow. Of course I turned to my music expert Amy. She recommended a song. I don't have the version she said to use. I do have a version with Tony Bennett and K D Lang. I hope I get to play it, for What A Wonderful World it is.

Navigationaly Challenged

Columbus to Perry GA. 97 miles and 3550' of climbing. We have breakfast at the motel. Nothing to write home about. Rap at 7:45 and load at 8:00. The first navigation error is both in the instruction and the interpretation. The second is in the correction. By not going back far enough to over come the first error some of the riders end up back in Alabama. No, not I. I have other mistakes to make. I will end up covering 107 on a 97 mile day. Then we are going to ride on a bike trail along the river. I can't find the beginning of the bike path. This is great. I ride on the road that parallels the river till I can see the path down close to the river. I finally find a ramp down to where I am supposed to be. This is a truly beautiful ride. There is always a catch. I come to a place where repairs are being made and it is fenced off. As I get there workmen are taking down a section of fence on the far side of the missing path. I find a place on my side where I can skirt the fence and walk across the muck to the other side. Riding again Pat catches up and we cross onto the bike path on Ft Benning. Looking for 1st Division Rd we end up on 10th Division Rd. Not the same. Back up try again. We finally get on the right road. All along this road are sections dedicated to Congressional Medal of Honor winners. We go past the Ranger Training School and the Sniper School. At least we are finished with the questionable navigation. In order to leave post we have to lift our bikes over a barricade and get on a road parallel to the one we were on. The road from here to the SAG is one big roller after another. When we leave the break we are back to the gang of 7. About half way between the first break and lunch James' rear wheel bearings die. We call Jim in the mechanics van and wait for him to bring James a spare wheel. After lunch we only have 22 not as hilly miles to the motel. The thunder storms we were supposed to have never arrive. Must be the payback for riding around in circles. I get to spend 20 minutes in the luke warm spa before rap. Small pleasures. Cracker Barrel is the only choice for dinner. Two riding days left.

Eight States Down

Prattville to Columbus GA. The route today is officially listed at 115 miles and 2300' of climbing. I'll end with 118 miles and just shy of 3600'. Just a minor discrepancy. Breakfast is open in the motel at 6 but there is no need to hurry. We are having rap at 7:45 and load at 8:00. We will lose an hour when we cross the state line. Most have brought their bags and bikes out to rap. I am last to load and then go back to the room for my bike. When I come back out I am the only one left. I stop at the mechanics van Mike is there with Kirstin who is vanning to some point up the road because of a knee issue. We talk for a few minutes and I finally leave. The cue sheet today is 4 full columns and 60 turns. One way to look at it is there is a turn about every 2 miles all day. The chip seal roads are many and make riding the road in the Everglades NP look smooth. I have a dry skin crack in my thumb that I'm treating aggressively but everyday on the rough roads it opens up again. So I am riding and turning towards GA. First the mechanics van and then the lunch/luggage van passes. Now I am truly last on the road. I've never been last in almost 4 weeks, something new. By the time I get to the first break I am no longer at the back. I don't spend much time there a few apple slices, a banana into my jersey pocket and I am off. Yesterday when I thought I was signing the lunch register I was actually signing today's break one. So every one thought that I had already been there. Soon after the break I catch up to Tom, Eric, Frank and Conrad. "What are you doing behind us we thought you were up the road". A few miles later we catch James and Pat. "We thought you snuck off without us". At 53 miles we stop for refills at a store. Lunch won't be till another 25 miles. We pass through Tuskegee. Home of Booker T Washington and the Tuskegee airmen of WW11 fame. At lunch there are some ABB alums with pecan pie and fruit popsicles. What a treat. By the time we get in we are ready for chocolate milk. We have to settle for milk shakes at McD instead. We are near old downtown Columbus and there are some great places to eat. We go to a micro brewery called Cannons. Good food 2 nights in a row. We are living large. Onward to the sea. Three riding days left.

We Don't Love Chip Seal

Tuscaloosa to Prattville AL. Temp low 50's at load. 118 miles and 6000' of climbing Breakfast at the motel. After putting two slices of toaster french toast through the toaster twice and have it come out just like it went in. I ate it the way it was, almost warm. Then it was on to cereal. I'm trying to remember the last time I bought honey nut Cheereos. Yeah now I remember, never. We load at 6:45 am. The cue sheet is once again looking like a navigational nightmare. It is 3 1/2 columns of instructions. Plus we find out that a new road has been put in so just follow the painted arrows in the road put down last night. I lead the way out motel lot and stay at the front of the group until almost 13 miles, to the bottom of the first column of instructions. At 15 miles we turn and the next turn is in 0.3 miles. All of a sudden I realize we have been going to long and haven't turned. So I say something about going to far and we all u-turn and march back up the hill and turn the right way. Our next road segment is fairly long for today any way. There is a nice downhill with a few hard cranks I open a gap. Next thing I am sailing down the road by myself. I start passing the slower riders who have left early. I catch Steve on the recumbent bike at the top of a climb. Near the bottom of the next downhill he comes around me. As we start up again I have to go around him for the second time. Next I pass Barbara and I know that there should be no other riders in front of me. The SAG is setup at 42 miles. I pull in and sign the sheet and the one for lunch. I tell Karen what I'm doing and she says OK then we won't worry about you. See you at the motel. At about 57 miles there is a small grocery I stop and get enough supplies to last me all the way in. Now we have been having chip seal road off and on. Chip seal is made by laying down tar and putting crushed rock on top of it. It is bone jarring to ride on. As I leave the small store I turn on to a county road. Very soon I am into where they are resurfacing the chip seal with new chip seal. Not only is it rough it feels unstable. Luckily there is less than six miles of this. Most of the ride is in second growth pine forrest. The area is dotted with homes. Every once in a while a dog will chase me. I usually try to discourage this with a sharp no. At one house two little terrier cross types come after me. I let them chase me as they are not getting to close. I want to see how far they will go before turning back. The answer is not very far. Comming through old downtown Prattville I see a restaurant I would like to try. Usually this wouldn't be possible but members of Mike's cycling club are comming to ferry us around. I arrive at the motel at 1:50 pm. When I sign in I put the time down. Later some one will change this to 4:50 pm. Oh well. Next I go to McD for some eats and a shake. Then into the motel office for some popcorn. Some riders come in and it's back to McD for another shake. By the time the luggage arrives there are plenty of riders in and the unloading only takes a few minutes. John from the bike club takes two to do laundry and four to dinner. Another member bringing in four more. The food is quite good and a welcome change from fast food and chain restaurant food. Every body is now in countdown mode. Four riding days left.

Seven States Down

Aberdeen to Tuscaloosa AL. 110 miles and 5300' of climbing. Mid 50's at load. We had breakfast at the motel and nobody was impressed with it. The day will be spent going up and down. The navigation will be intense as there are 3 1/2 columns of instructions. We never go more than 10.8 miles without a turn. For the most part the segments are much shorter. As an added bonus there are a few mistakes on the cue sheet at the end. At the AL state line Mike has made his own welcome sign. We have a rather large group rolling down the road today. The pace is fairly easy and for me that is a welcome change. The rural roads are just beautiful. Lots of trees and everything is green. There are a lot of loose dogs about and all want to play chase the new thing. After the first SAG the group is down to 7 and we will ride together till Northport just before the river into Tuscaloosa. A few need to go to the bike shop and some are looking for a milk shake. When we determine that there are no milk shakes in Northport we cross the river and go by the campus of U of AL. Others will stop later and determine that the football stadium is the most interesting building on campus. Back out on the road Will has broken his chain. Sandra comes in with grease up to her elbows and Will is clean as a whistle. With all that Mike still had to replace Will's chain on the road. Sandra's dad and aunt have come to meet her. The dinner situation is better tonight there is a Chiles in walking distance. Tomorrow is going to be a lot like today except we end in Mike and Barbara's home town.