Day 26 – Perry GA to Vidalia GA

Today is the next to last day of the ride. We are now almost at the end of our journey. We have crossed the high mountains of the west, the great plains of the mid-west and the hills of the southern states. The landscape is now flat with a few small rolling hills. Today’s ride of 100 miles has less than 2000 feet of climbing. I would be hard pressed to find any route of that distance and that little climbing in the Bay Area. We finally have gotten some heat in the last few days with afternoon temperatures neat 80, but morning temperatures have been no more than 60. Today it was warm at dawn and all day. We also got our first real taste of southern humidity today. My clothes were drenched with sweet within an hour. It did rain for a bit today, a five minuet downpour that I was able to avoid by getting under someone’s carport. But all things considered we have had rain on no more than 1% of the total distance of this trip. I think that is quite remarkable.

Today’s ride went through several small Georgia towns most with no more than 5000 people and a lot with far less. In general, we rode on lightly traveled highways, but for a considerable time we were on parallel county roads. Most of the time this was OK and the rural scenery and the lack of auto traffic made up for the slightly longer route. However one road was SO BAD. The thought of the extra 5 miles we rode from the main highway to get to and from this road, and the bone shattering vibrations of riding on this road for 6 miles will make me wish I had missed this ‘detour’ until the day I die. It was a tradeoff when the route was designed, longer quiet roads vs shorter busier roads. In general America by Bicycle has done a good job in making these choices, but in this case they made a big time mistake. Even Mike admitted that it was a bad choice.

While in general Southern hospitality has been very good and we have had few problems with any drivers during the entire trip, today was an exception. Let me change that a bit. There were two or three non-hospitable people along today’s route. The thousand or so other people we encountered today were all friendly and or hospitable. However, one car full of boys were responsible for two of our riders being hit by water balloons as the entered Vidalia. Just what someone wants after 100 miles. Fortunately no one was hurt.

Tonight I have visions of getting to the Atlantic tomorrow afternoon. I remember all the joy we felt last year. I am not so sure we will feel that way tomorrow. Yes we will be happy, but we will also remember those who started the ride but are not with us at the end. Reports on the four injured riders who left the ride indicate that they should all recover, although Jack who suffered a concussion on day three may have a longer road to travel. Unfortunately, Darryl can never recover. His death will always be a reminder of the fleeting nature of life. We all hope that Karen can recover from both the injuries she suffered in her fall and the even greater injury she suffered with the death of her husband Darryl. I have had a black ribbon on my bicycle since Darryl’s death. I intend to cut it off tomorrow at the beach and release it into the Atlantic. In this way I hope to help Darryl complete his journey.