Day 30 + 1 Savannah

I'm sitting at Savannah airport having just said goodbye to some very close friends. It's interesting how I have only known the crew and riders from Pac Tour for a month but I feel like I have known them for many years now.

Last night, we had a team banquet which also included a slide show of hundreds of photos and everyone was presented with a finishers plaque. We all gave a speech too. It's amazing how close we all became over the month. So, while I am excited to head back home to see all my Portland friends, see my cat and sleep in my own bed, I am filled with a sense of loss too. I'm not sure I'm ready to return to real life just yet. Work tomorrow morning... ugh.

The slide show brought back many memories that I feel like I had already forgotten. Sometimes when you are in the middle of something, you don't realize how big it is as you are constantly living for the current moment. It also made me realize that it will probably take me some time to process the enormity of what I've achieved.

I would like to say thank you to all the Pac Tour crew for making it possible for my dream to come true. I would also like to extend a warm hug to all my new close friends I've enjoyed spending the last month with. I know we will see each other again. Take care young and old Greg's, Dan and Brian, Jeanine and Lori, Russell, Jay, Jason, Eleonore, Walt, Susan, Jonathon, Melissa, John, Katie, Neil, Bob and Tom.

Day 30 - Metter to Tybee Island

I'm not sure where to start about today. We woke up at 6am like usual. The room smelled of wet bike shoes. If you're not sure what that smells like, good for you.

The request was that everyone wear their Pac Tour jersey today. It looked really cool at breakfast to see us all look like we were a team. You could tell that we were all excited about being on the last day. No aches and pains, no saddle sores, no complaining. We all just wanted to get to the coast an celebrate.

I started off with the fast group today, older Greg, Jeanine, the ever speedy Hofstra's and Aussie Jonathon. We went through the first two checkpoints faster than normal. At that rest stop, Dan got his final flat. Between him and his son Brian, they now hold the record of having had 21 flats. The rest of the ride was pancake flat. Well, apart from the bridges over the river channels.

As we got closer to the coast, I got more and more nervous. Normally I am happy riding in traffic but I was worried about not being able to finish. The quote I've heard from many riders is "EFI". "Every F**king Inch". I just wanted to make sure I got to do the whole thing.

We all regrouped at mile 82. That left us 5 miles to ride in together as a group in a double paceline. Looking around, everyone was catching flies with their massive smiles. Approaching the hotel, we heard cowbells and cheering. We even had a proper toilet paper tape finish line. Awesome.

We rode over the boardwalk and right down onto the beach. I tossed my gloves and socks straight into the first available trash bin. The jury is out on my shoes at the moment. From there, most of us jumped straight into the ocean. It was definitely warmer than the Pacific in Oregon. After that, back to the hotel car park to break down the bikes for the trip home and for some beers. Literally 5 seconds after I got up to my room a storm rolled in and Tybee Island got hit with thunder and lightning. Finally we lucked out and didn't get drowned on the bike. Yay!

At the moment, I'm sitting in my hotel room, listening and watching the storm. I'm feeling quietly contented with myself. I've ridden my bike a lot and run many marathons before but I've never done anything so intense for so long. Practically every week on this tour has been the most miles I have ever ridden in a week.

We are having a big banquet at 6pm so I might update more details later. At the moment, I'm just going to take it easy for a wee bit.

Tomorrow, I fly back to Portland late in the afternoon. The plan is to go back into Savannah first thing in the morning and do some sightseeing... by foot.

Photos are here

Day 29 - Perry to Metter

It might have been the time zone change or general fatigue or just mentally wanting to be done but, today was a tough day. Tougher than it should have been. I felt tired and lethargic all day and it was all the first time I felt like I just wanted to be done. Maybe tomorrow will be different, like the end of a school year but today just dragged.

Today's route took us on a tour of the British Isles. On one 20 mile section, we passed Montrose (Scotland), Dudley (England) and Dublin (Ireland). I half expected to see Cardiff next. I'd have been more excited if it had been Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch which is the Welsh town with the longest name in the world. Google it if you don't believe me.

We managed to avoid the rain in the morning but literally rode into it in the afternoon. We also bumped into a massive turtle crossing the road. Jeanine said it weighed about 10 pounds. It crossed from left to right and then started to go back again. Having seen so much road kill recently, we decided he was pushing his luck so she picked him up and put him well off of the road. That's 3 turtles saved now. Her new nickname is Florence Turtlegale. Pictures are here

The rain went off after maybe half an hour so we considered ourselves lucky.. until we got to the last rest stop. That's when everything got all dark and the lightning started way off in the distance. Our aim was to get into town before it dumped down. We did make a valiant effort but got caught like the typical Tour de France breakaway with 1km before the city limits. What made it worse was that the hotel was on the other side of town. Riding through the city center we saw a massive bolt of lightning. Before I even got to say 'one', there was a massive peel of thunder... The last two miles to the hotel could possibly have been swum quicker than ridden. I think I was riding through 4 inches of rain as it bounced off the road. Now, 2 hours later, you wouldn't even know that it had been raining.

Tomorrow is the last day. Everyone is feeling a bit beat down and is ready to be done. Funny how a couple of days can make a difference eh? I'm expecting we'll all be excited tomorrow and that there will be some partying in the evening. At the moment, we're all trying to work out the best way to ship our bikes home and how to shuttle from Tybee Island back to Savannah airport.

The forecast is for 40% chance of rain tomorrow. I'm hoping it doesn't literally rain on our parade. I guess it might make a good bookend to the trip though. I never got to see the Pacific because of the fog in Cannon Beach. Maybe the Atlantic will be rained in?

Until then, time to try and dry out my wet things from today.

Day 28 - Eufaula to Perry, GA

Today was a great day. Partly because Melissa got back on her bike. After 3 enforced rest days because of a potential broken hip, she decided that it was only bruised and got back on her bike and rode the last 2/3's of today's ride. Talk about true grit.

This was also the first day in about 5 that we have had no rain. We had plenty of gray rainy type clouds in the morning but, the rain gods smiled on us for once. I'm happy as this means I get the chance to air out my bike shoes finally. They stink like a wet labrador.

Just after breakfast, we crossed into Georgia. On one side of the road we all took our customary state sign pictures. Then we all crossed back over to take pictures of the Alabama sign as there wasn't one when we entered the state.

The first thirty miles were anything but flat. Plenty of roller coaster hills to keep it "exciting". Yeah, it is exciting to go from 50 mph to 5mph in the space of a heartbeat...

Lunch was at the Civil War site in Andersonville, GA. This was a Confederate POW camp for their Northern foes. Over the life of the war, 13000 inmates died. If you get the chance to go, it is pretty impressive. The museum has great displays about American POW's throughout history from the war of Independence all the way up to Iraq. For a history buff like me, I was in hog heaven.

What a nice segue. Last night before dinner, I walked over to Piggly Wiggly ( a southern grocery store). Highly illuminating. I bet you can't get pickled pigs feet in New Seasons in Portland?

We had a couple of comedy moments today. John Lloyd must have been asleep on his bike for a while as he managed to miss the Andersonville prison national memorial and ended up trying to get lunch at the Macon state penitentiary instead. I think he noticed his mistake when he saw that there wasn't a picnic area next to the visitors center.

Later on in the day, as we are heading towards the hotel, a big dog decided to chase us down. Eleonore, who a lovely mild mannered lady from Toronto and probably weighs no more than 100 pounds soaking wet had the best put down for the dog. She said, and I quote: "Go home, you wretched animal". I bet the dog has low self esteem now. Personally, I had a hard time not falling off my bike laughing.

2 days to go now. I'm exited about coming home to get some real coffee but sad about leaving some good friends... and having to come back to reality. Oh well, I'm sure it will all work out well.

70% chance of rain tomorrow :(

Pictures are here.

Day 27 - Greenville to Eufaula

You know it isn't a good sign when you get woken up not by your alarm clock but by the rain battering on your door and window. Day 4 of riding in the rain. My poor bike shoes are beginning to protest as they are beginning to smell like a wet labrador these days.

To be absolutely correct, I didn't get rained on today. A monster storm passed through during breakfast and stopped just as we got going. It did mean that my shoes and bum got soaked pretty quickly too. Mental note to throw away my old shorts soon as they are getting a bit transparent, especially in the rain these days.

My little group also managed to miss the rain on the run in to lunch. I did a little rain dance to deflect its force for a while so we only have to deal with more wet shoes and bums instead of a total soaking. This was payback for yesterday when I went through a very isolated storm and almost everyone else stayed dry.

On the run in to the last aid station today, the clouds started to look a lot more ominous and I could see the lightning. I told Jeanine that if she wanted to get in while it was dry we'd need to hustle. Hustle we did. For the last 17 miles, it was full on time trial mode. We hit 35mph several times and then rolled into the hotel parking lot with about 5 minutes to spare before the heavens opened..

We only have 3 days left. I can practically spit on Georgia (if I so wished) as Eufaula is practically on the state line. Some people have started to eat a bit less as they want to be ready to return to 'real life' portions. I'm happy to keep up my sea food diet. You know the old joke right?

Today's ride was pretty lumpy. Lots of rollers on country roads. Chip seal roads suck but smooth tarmac rocks. Alabama has definitely had some of the best road surfaces on this trip. Thank you.

Tomorrow we cross into our last state Georgia. I need to remember to take pictures of both the Alabama and Georgia signs as we missed the AL one at the other end. We also finally hit Eastern timezone tomorrow. I had a look at the map when I finished tonight. I know we have only been biting off a small piece each day but it looks pretty damn impressive now. Almost done.

OK, my roomie is almost done with the shower. Time to get cleaned up and laundered before I eat like a horse again.

Pictures are here

Day 26 - Livingston to Greenville

It rained for the third day in a row today. This time it came as a welcome break. We managed to avoid it for the first 95 miles and then 3 or 4 miles before the next rest stop, it got really dark, really windy and then really wet. Apart from getting wet socks and shoes (again) it felt really good to cool off as it had been really humid. The only sucky thing was that it meant I would have to clean my bike again tonight. Oh well.

This morning started out nice and mellow. Jeanine has relatives that lived in Livingston and work in a pastry shop. As soon as she told me this, I was up for an impromptu stop. It surprised me that no one else wanted to come with us. That was their loss. So we stopped at the pastry shop and looking at the size of the pastries, decided to split a cinnamon roll. This thing was the size of a baby and it was only a dollar. Good times. The only bad thing about it was that we spent most of the day chasing to catch up to everyone else. It was definitely worth it though.

Apart from the food excitement... burritos for lunch, it was a pretty quiet day. Hot and humid but probably still better than Portland. Dinner is delayed tonight as another storm rolled in and it got really dark just before the heavens opened. I have no desire to get drowned on my way to dinner.

So instead of talking about the rest of the ride, here's a list of the small pleasures that make us happy on our trip. Older hotels (or motels) are better than newer ones. Most motels have the rooms facing right onto the parking lot. This is great for when you wash your bike clothes in the shower or sink as you can leave them outside to dry. Well, maybe not tonight as it's pissing down.

Warm food for lunch on a wet day is fantastic. I almost cried two days ago in Mississippi when I got to lunch (dirty and drenched) and we were getting Mac and cheese.

On a hot day, which seems like every day, a cold beer at the end of the ride is perfection. Who needs recovery drinks when you can have a cold beer instead?

I've also given up using Heed or Clif bars or Power gels at the rest stops. I'm fueling my cross country trip with Salt n Vinegar Pringles and shortbread. Don't knock it until you've tried it. Just the right mix of salt, sugar and butter. Yum.

Ok, enough for now. I'm going to risk the thunderstrom and go for dinner.

Pictures are here

Day 25 - Kosciusko to Livingston, AL

Another day of rain in the morning. Another new state, Alabama, and one more flat tire. That makes 4 now.

You could tell we were moving away from the Mississippi river as the roads today were constantly rolling as opposed to the flatness of the last two days.

The last couple of days have been pretty similar. With the rain, I've been trying to rush through the day to get to the hotel. At the same time, I don't want this trip to end. Obviously I can't quite reconcile the two things.

Despite having to get up early in the morning, ride in the rain or heat or humidity, I am getting sadder about the tour winding down. We have built a good camaraderie between the riders and the crew. There are only 20 riders and 10 support crew. We eat breakfast together, ride parts of the day with each other and then eat dinner together. Over the last 25 days I've had the chance to ride (or drink beer or eat dinner) with everyone. It's been great to hear all the different life stories, the different reasons for doing this tour and to get to know everyone. I think I have made some good friends that will be in my life for a long time.

It's going to be tough to roll back into 'normal' life again. The current norm says it's normal to eat your oatmeal in a hotel parking lot just after sunrise. It's also normal to wash your bike clothes in the shower at the same time as you clean yourself. Going to bed at 9pm is normal. I never thought I'd see myself doing that. It's normal to ride 100 miles and not sure where you are or where you are going. It's also normal to drink a beer as soon as you get off your bike for the day.

Pictures are here

Forecast is for more rain tomorrow. Can I swap some of Portland's 100+ degree weather for some of the South's rain please?