Author: jeffjinn

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Well, the party is over. Like it or not…now it is time to get home and re-enter society. My flight left at 7:40pm, so I had the day to pack and get ready. My first task was to find a big duffle bag that would fit all my gear as on my American Airlines flight I can check two pieces of luggage – one being my bike, at no cost. I had stopped at a Walmart on my way back from Tybee Island, but no luck. This morning I got up early and rode over to Target as online it showed that they had what I needed. Unfortunately, the reality was different and they didn’t have anything either. I was starting to stress about it when I had an epiphany and went to the Home Depot next to Target. They had just put out all their holiday stuff – and I found that a Christmas tree storage bag makes an excellent big item travel duffle! Whew.

I made it back to the hotel in time to enjoy breakfast and then packed all my gear up and put it back on my bike as I had to go to the bike shop to get the bike box and prepare for travel. Brian was going to meet me around 4pm, so when I checked out of the hotel just after 11am I felt like I had plenty of time. I had ridden by this BBQ place on my way out of town the day before and had made a mental note to try and stop by as it looked and smelled like the real deal – Randy’s BBQ. I pulled in at 11:30 and there was already a sizable line of about 10 people – although my fellow BBQ aficionados told me that we were lucky as the line would grow to 30-40 at lunch time. The menu was: Ribs. They usually have chicken too, but at 11:30 they were already sold out -?

The guy in front of me ordered a “Medium Rib” which was $8. Not wanting to seem like a rookie, I also confidently ordered a “Medium Rib”. I strapped the box onto my bike and continued on to the Trek store a few miles away. There I sat on the curb in front of the store and enjoyed my box of ribs dripping with mustard bbq sauce and a couple of slices of white bread. Wow. If you are in Savannah, go to Randy’s….and get there early with cash in hand. Once I washed the sauce off my hands and face it was time to start packing up my bike – or so I thought! Turns out that the box they had saved for me was not tall enough to fit my bike. Crap. I didn’t have time to waste, so I got on the phone and found a shop on the other side of town, Quality Bikes, where the mechanic was just unboxing a full-sized E-bike and I could have the box. So I put my bike back together and put all my gear back on it and headed on down the road. I also texted Brian and told him about the change of location. Luckily I was still good on time and when I got to Quality Bikes the guys there were very friendly and helpful and together we were able to get my bike broken down and boxed. Brian arrived just before I taped the box closed. We loaded my bike and gear into his truck and since we still had some time he took me on a tour of the waterfront residential area of Savannah, which was incredibly beautiful. Then we headed off to the airport. Evidently Brian and I had met 30-35 years before, but neither of us remembered so we had a nice conversation getting to know each other. Always good to talk to other restaurateurs and hear their story. Brian has 4 restaurants and is in the process of opening his fifth. I wish him the best in all his ventures and am appreciative of him taking the time to help me out! We arrived at the airport with time to spare, which was good since my bike box was overweight and I had to do the “luggage shuffle” – moving stuff around to make it work out. And then – that was it. My flights were on time, my daughter Suzi picked me up, and now I am sitting at our dining table, sorting through mail and writing this last post. The past two months seem like a blur. I was gone for 64 days – two days traveling, two days off to come home for our dog, three days off for the football game and 57 days of biking. I am not sure what the exact mileage of the trip was, but a good estimate is 3,400 miles. Interestingly, I averaged almost exactly 61 miles per day. I was physically and mentally challenged, but never considered quitting…even on those tough mountain passes!! Overall the trip was a blast and I enjoyed it tremendously – it was all I could have hoped for. I saw so many amazing sights and met great people all across the country. I will remember it forever. I am very appreciative of all my co-workers who pulled extra weight while I was away, grateful for my family as they supported this crazy “bucket list” goal, and thankful for all of you – who cheered me on, read my blog, and gave me the motivation to continue when times on the road got tough. Through today there have been 1,897 visitors to my site who have viewed my blog 16,019 times. I never would have imagined that in my wildest dreams. You are the best!

Now get out there and have adventures of your own!

Much Love,

Jeff

While I was “chomping at the bit” to get to Tybee Island – first I had to make sure I had a bike box set up for me tomorrow. The bikes shops all opened at 10am, so I slept in a little and enjoyed the decent breakfast at the hotel before heading over to the closest shop – the Trek Store. The owner was friendly and assured me that he would have a box waiting for me tomorrow. With that task accomplished, I headed towards the coast, about 20 miles away. It was a nice, flat ride through the marshes and coastal communities – there were four bridges to cross that had narrow shoulders, but traffic was light and it was stress-free.

As I got closer to Tybee and was stopped at a red light, a driver hailed to me and asked where I had been and where I was going. When I told him, he exclaimed that he had always wanted to do a long tour too. (This will have significance in a minute). Soon I crossed the last bridge and suddenly it became real!

I wasn’t at the beach yet, but I had hit the island! A few minutes later I saw a cyclist on the side of the road who was waving to me and called out “I am here to escort you into Tybee Island!”. At first I was confused, and then realized that it was the driver I had spoken to earlier. He had gone home, gotten on his bike and ridden to the highway to meet me and ride through Tybee Island with me! Is that southern hospitality or what?! Mike was retired and had lived on Tybee Island for well over a decade – we chatted as we rode along and he suggested that we go to the beach down by the pier. I said, “heck yeah – let’s go” – so we rode through the touristy part of Tybee and then over the wooden boardwalk where the the Atlantic Ocean view appeared in front of me:

I had made it!!! I am having a hard time describing the emotions I felt as I walked my bike through the sand towards the water – I will have to say I felt relief, happiness, a sense of peace…….and then anger at all the beach-walkers and sun-bathers who didn’t stand up and cheer and shower me with accolades (just kidding). Mike took over as chief photographer and captured the moments perfectly as I rolled my bike into the surf.

Mike and I shook hands and he headed home, leaving me to stare into the ocean and revel in the moment. Then I walked by bike onto the pier for more photos, where the fishermen and tourists gave me congratulations and took their own photos of the moment. It was a lot of fun.

Then, as there was a bar on the pier, I ordered a local IPA and enjoyed the view as I texted away to announce that the journey was complete. The day was so beautiful and the setting so perfect that I could have sat there all day.

I almost forgot that I had to ride 20 miles back to Savannah! I got a quick fish po-boy sandwich and bought a Tybee Island sweatshirt and then headed back. I had waited a little too late as the sun had set by the time I got back, but it wasn’t dark yet…..so the day ended well. I took a shower and then went out for a celebratory dinner. My friend Mike in Tennessee has a friend in Savannah, Brian Husky, who owns several restaurant and bars….and had volunteered to take me to the airport tomorrow. I wanted to check out some of his places. In another weird coincidence, if you walked out of my hotel and turned left, his bar, Abe’s on Lincoln was right across the street – and if you turned right, his restaurant, B. Matthews, was right next to the hotel. I went to Abe’s first, which is a dive bar with the odd tradition that people draw their own interpretation of Abraham Lincoln and post them on the walls and ceilings – there are hundreds if not thousands of them. Some are incredibly good – and some….well, not so.

Anyway, a fun place. Then I went to B. Matthews for dinner, where the shrimp and grits and peach cobbler were excellent as was the service. After all that food and a few beers I walked around the historic district of Savannah for a bit before heading back to the hotel. Tomorrow will bring it’s own challenges as travel awaits, but for now all is well.

In some ways it seems like I have been riding forever, and in others I can’t believe that the trip is coming to an end so soon. I guess it will just take some time to process it. Today was a long day of cycling, but it was a lot of fun – mostly flat riding with some low rolling hills, a beautiful sunny and cool day and the goal of reaching Savannah on my mind. The 93 miles went by in a flash. I decided to let Ride with GPS route me today, as Google seemed obsessed with dirt roads yesterday……and the first turn put me on – a dirt road! It was a long one too, with some stretches of loose sand that I had to walk through.

Once I got through it though, I was on lightly traveled country roads and state highways that meandered through cotton fields and piney woods on the way to the coast.

I kept the pace up, and before I knew it I was getting close!

The closer I got to Savannah, the more traffic I encountered. The last 20 miles or so were loaded with cars and lots of big trucks. Savannah is a very busy freight port, so truck traffic in and out is very heavy. The sun was starting to set as I hit the city line, and I got to my hotel right as it disappeared. My timing was perfect.

Max arrived from his day at the beach right after I checked in, so I cleaned up and we found a good little restaurant cleverly named “Treylor Park” to have some dinner and toast the end of our trips. I still have one small leg to complete tomorrow, but Max is done and heading to Chicago via Washington DC by train. I am still shaking my head at the extraordinary coincidence that brought us both to Savannah only a day apart.

I woke up early and put Savannah in my sights. To get there tomorrow I am going to have to put in a couple of pretty long days. I have a little extra motivation because I just found out that Max also ended up riding to Savannah and will arrive this afternoon. Remember Max? I met him and Zach way back at Middlegate in Nevada, then saw them again the next day in Austin and then ran into Max when I was down and out in Utah (he and Zach had finished their gravel bike tour and Max subsequently decided to finish a coast to coast tour in Savannah). When we had met up earlier I was going to finish in Myrtle Beach, we had not talked about Savannah, and it is just a weird coincidence that we both ended up going there. He is leaving by train on Tuesday, and we are planning to meet for a beer before he leaves. So, I rode 85 miles today and have another 90 to go tomorrow. I think I could have ridden farther today if not for two things – daylight savings time ended, so it is getting darker earlier and Google continued to route me on dirt roads all day today which caused me to ride slower. It seemed like the paved highways were running to the southwest while I wanted to ride to the southeast, and the only connectors were unpaved – or started paved and then became unpaved. These signs became the bane of my existence!

My bike is heavy and has fairly skinny tires – so it doesn’t do well in sand and rocks, which were plentiful. On the positive side it was very scenic and there was almost no traffic.

Since I was off the beaten track, it was the first time that I didn’t go through towns all day. I did, however, get chased by lots of dogs – I always take it as a challenge to outrun them rather than a threat, and I haven’t been caught yet! When I finally did go through the little town of Harrison, I happily stopped at the convenience store there for a snack, as an ice cream bar and some chocolate milk were calling my name. It was there that I ran into Gwen and her mom, who stopped in after church. Gwen was fascinated by my bike and gear and had questions galore about my trip – and fortunately, I love to talk about it! At one point she said “I wish I would have met you earlier – I would have invited you to church and fed you.” The fact that I missed out on that ( both the service and the food!) will be one of my trip regrets. I had planned to attend a church service at whatever church I passed by, wherever I was riding every Sunday, but it was a good intention that never came to fruition. My loss, and two more friendly and interesting people I was fortunate to meet along my journey.

Around dusk I came into Swainsboro, and although I was planning to camp….it was getting dark and I was tired, so I am happily relaxing at the Rodeway Inn.

By the time I finished blogging and charging electronics this morning at Bread and Butter it was after 10am, so I got kind of a late start. What a nice day though! Temps in the mid to upper 60’s, sunny, a light breeze, and less traffic than usual – I guess because it was Saturday. Google maps did a good job of directing me down little country roads until it sent me down an 8 mile dirt road through a wildlife area that was much more suited for a mountain bike. I struggled through half of it, but when it crossed a road I bailed on Google and found my way back to the highway. Luckily no flat tires or other mechanical failure. I did see lots of deer though. I got to the town of Eatonton (that’s right, not Eaton, but Eatonton) around 2 and was in the mood for a BBQ sandwich. The town was holding a car show and a lot of people were there – downtown Eatonton was happening! I asked a couple of guys who were selling nuts if there was a BBQ place in town….but sadly there wasn’t – however, they told me that one of their competing vendors across the way happened to be selling BBQ – oh happy day! Sadly though, when I got there they had just closed up for the day – no BBQ for you! ……but happily one of the guys recognized that I was a hungry cyclist and hooked me up with a nice big sandwich -Gratis! Things were looking up! I perused the lines of custom cars and even though there were ‘67 Camaros, which I like, and Mustang convertibles, which I like, I had no trouble picking out my favorite:

Ain’t she a beauty! Later on, as I was riding, the car passed me and the owner gave me a honking salute. Probably to recognize the 59-3 whipping that Tennessee put on UConn today. Can I get a “GO VOLS!” I rode on in to Milledgeville and got a room at the two star Heritage Inn. Not much, but I am calling it home for the night. Planning on getting an early start in the morning – I can almost smell the salty air of Savannah.

Bob treated me to breakfast at First Watch this morning and then dropped me off at the edge of Atlanta, avoiding the dangerous rush hour traffic. But no matter where you are in Georgia, at least this part of Georgia, you will find a lot of traffic. Things are booming here – every small town within a reasonable driving distance to Atlanta has become a suburb of sorts as the city becomes more and more expensive. Plus all kinds of logistical centers and factories are operating or being built in or near the smaller towns. All day long I encountered contractor vehicles and a never-ending stream of SUV’s, minivans and luxury vehicles. It was the opposite of many small towns in Eastern Colorado, Kansas and Western Missouri, where businesses were shuttered and populations were shrinking. It is pretty stressful riding, but luckily the drivers around here are used to cyclists on the road and give you wide berth (for the most part). Around 4:30 I came into the town of Covington and had the first camping rejection experience of the trip. I went to the city hall to ask for permission to camp in a park and both the city administration and police denied me. So much for southern hospitality! Contrast that to what happened next. The next town down the road about 10 miles was Social Circle (love the name) – I called the police station there and the chief of police answered. When I explained who I was and what I needed, he was genuinely perplexed as on his watch no cyclist had ever been through town requesting a camping spot. But he was ready to help! He was not keen on me camping in the city park because it was right in the middle of town and he was worried about concerned citizens calling all night – so he just had me camp right at the police station! Problem solving and hospitality – that’s more like it! Plus, what safer spot can there be to pitch a tent? The police station is right off of Main Street where I found an excellent restaurant called the Tin Cup where I had a burger and a beer for dinner and a cool and friendly breakfast place called Bread & Butter where I am enjoying a scone and quiche and writing this blog. All is well that ends well!

Cheers to the Social Circle Police and Chief Jason!

I was up early, had a quick breakfast at the hotel and was on the road just after nine – it was chilly, but my friend Bob and I were meeting 30+ miles down the road in Emerson, so I just had to tough it out. The gloves I bought the day before really helped. There was also a bit of a headwind blowing today, so it’s a good thing I left early. My timing was good as I pulled up to Dougs Place in Emerson right after Bob and his wife Lynn had arrived. Lynn was working, so she dropped Bob and his bike off and had to head back. We locked the bikes up and went in to Dougs for lunch – it is a massive country cooking restaurant pretty much in the middle of nowhere, but it was packed with people coming and going. And there was no question that you were in the Deep South:

Anyway, the food and service was good and Bob and I were able to catch up. We were fraternity brothers and close friends in college and afterwards, when I lived in Atlanta back in the late 80’s, we would ride together and also ran in the Atlanta Hash running/drinking club. We even worked together briefly. It was a lot of fun. Then I moved away and we had only seen each other sporadically over the years. Bob has recently retired from a career in sales and is starting a second career as a flight instructor! He even recently bought his own plane. Sounds like fun.

After a few hours we realized that our bikes weren’t going to ride themselves the 30+ miles to his home in Marrieta…..so we got going.

I felt like a heavy, slow freighter being led by a nimble tugboat as Bob patiently waited for me at the top of every hill. But he was a good guide and we survived the crazy Atlanta traffic to make it to his home around 5 or so. We took a quick shower and then headed out to an Irish pub where we met another college friend, Chip Reid, for dinner and a beer. It was a real treat to see Chip, as we hadn’t crossed paths since college graduation.

We re-hashed old stories and told new ones until late in the evening and I was able to get caught up on what a bunch of my old frat brothers were up to. When Bob and I got back to his place, Lynn was still up and the three of us stayed up late talking about life. I had previously only met Lynn briefly when we were in Knoxville for a football game, so it was really nice to get to know her better. I think I was able to talk her and Bob into coming out to New Mexico for a visit next year. I sure hope so.

A new month! Time is flying by so quickly…..today I crossed the border into my tenth and final state – Georgia. However, Just like my crossing into Missouri – there was NO SIGN welcoming me. I had this feeling that I had crossed the border, so I asked Siri where I was and she confirmed it. Oh well. It was tough to get going this morning as it was cold – below freezing when I first woke up at 6. As you can imagine, I was not very motivated to crawl out of my warm sleeping bag and tent. I had a work conference call at 10, so I waited until 9 or so to get up and moving, made a quick breakfast and coffee and packed things up. We finished the call around 11 and to my dismay it was still in the low 40’s. I had all my layers on and my hands were numb as I headed out of Chattanooga with my sights set on Calhoun, GA. It was more than 60 miles, so with my late start I didn’t have much spare time, and stopping meant getting cold – so I just kept pedaling. I rode through Ringgold, GA around 1:30, and since my tummy was rumbling I stopped at Aunt Eppies Country Cooking for a meat and three lunch. That is a traditional southern lunch where you pick your meat dish (I picked chicken and dumplings) , then then you pick three sides ( white beans, turnip greens, fried okra) and finally chose your bread (cornbread). Wash it all down with some sweet tea and you can ride your bike all day!

I made one other quick stop at a Dollar General to buy some gloves in preparation for tomorrow morning. But except for potty and water stops I just kept pedaling. I cut it close, but right at sunset I pulled into my resting place – The Quality Inn at North Calhoun. No camping tonight and a hot shower never felt so good! Tomorrow I will ride to my friend Bob Pierson’s home in Atlanta. It is a 60 mile ride and Bob is meeting me halfway through so we can ride together to his home. It is going to be a fun day!

It was cold today, but no rain! By the afternoon the skies were blue again – a welcome sight. Today I would ride about 70 miles to Chattanooga. In a fortunate turn of events, I would meet up with an old college friend, Bruce Novkov, for dinner and a chance to catch up after many years. My riding continued to take me down beautiful wooded lanes and through picturesque farms. You know you are in Gods Country when people have signs like this in their yard:

If you don’t know who John Ward was – only the best radio football personality that ever sat in front of a microphone! Of course a couple of miles down the road from this sign was a home with a big confederate flag flying…..so it’s not all perfect in the hills of Tennessee! In Tracy, TN I stopped at a nice little bakery and picked up some freshly baked cookies – in fact I am eating one right now. Then I rode through Jasper and out along the Tennessee River to Raccoon Mountain, where I camped at a nice campground. I set up and took a quick shower before Bruce picked me up. He took me to a new downtown brewery, Oddstory Brewing Co., where we got a pint and caught up on each others lives. I was glad to hear that Bruce has had a very successful career as an entrepreneur – buying, starting and selling several businesses along the way and has a wonderful family with two grown daughters and three grandkids. He has always been a upbeat guy, but you could literally feel the energy as he described his business ventures and talked about his family. From the brewery we headed over to one of his favorite restaurants, Clydes. Since it was Halloween night things were pretty quiet, but there was this one big chicken wandering the streets!

At Clydes we enjoyed brisket nachos and jerk chicken along with a few more beers as our conversations continued.

Soon it was almost 10pm and past my bedtime, so we reluctantly wrapped it up and headed back to the campground. We said goodbye with the promise to stay in better touch.