Day 6 - Brunswick to Savannah, GA - 70 miles, 722 feet ascent
“I am following the river down the highway through the cradle of the Civil War” ~ Graceland, Paul Simon
BIG NEWS TODAY: G2G surpassed $100,000 in donations. Thank you to everyone who has generously supported our charities.
We shoved off on time with two documentary crews shadowing our riders across the flat Georgia coastal region. We had light traffic, mostly favorable roads, and for the first time in six days of riding we had winds….at our backs. Actual tailwinds!
We made our first stop in Darien, Georgia’s second oldest town (Savannah is older), at Fort King George Park. Normally closed on Mondays, the park superintendent unlocked the gates graciously allowing us to use the facilities. He answered all our questions then asked plenty of his own. He was fascinated by our group and our cause. We had our first flat tire for the ride.
You see the world as a different place from a bicycle. In a car, towns fly by around 55 miles per hour or more. On a bicycle at our speeds, small towns seem a little larger and the scenery lasts a little longer. You can take in the details you might miss from a speeding car. Imagine sprawling oak trees with limbs like outstretched arms draped in Spanish moss, sullen clouds hovering over a steel gray sea, or bright green swamps and marshes with the real possibility of something reptilian watching you ride past. Children wave from car seats; we throw a nod or a thankful wave to the patient driver waiting at the intersection allowing us time to pass. Baptist Churches are too numerous to count. Fried food smells amazing when you are hungry. Paper mills smell awful all times. Southern hospitality is still very much alive and well.
It is universally agreed that today was the best 65-mile ride of the trip thus far. The problem is that the ride was 70 miles long. The rain set in after our final stop and battered us for a solid ten miles. This portion of the ride was equal parts pedaling and chewing grit. Everyone and everything was soaked. High density traffic during the last three miles added to challenge at end of a long day.
Bicycles are at once simple and complicated. What you see is what you get. The drive train is on full display, but simplicity also means susceptible to the same grit and grime covering us by ride’s end. Today we did a major clean-up on six of the bikes, tomorrow we will finish the rest to keep chains moving smoothly and gears free of crud. A cold beer at the end of the ride is a worthy prize for a hard ride, almost as divine as the hot shower that follows.
Tomorrow: a well deserved day off and then back in the saddle on our way to Annapolis. Go Navy!