You are currently browsing the daily archive for December 23rd, 2007.
We “wake up” soaked–perhaps we were never in any quality state of sleep to begin with. Its been raining all night. I’m “sleeping” with my shoes on and my slumber is regularly interrupted with thoughts surrounding the word “trenchfoot”. This tent, which protected me perfectly last May has proven its failure to resist water. Its 0600, our agreed waking time, and the best we can do is drag our belongings to a neighboring industrial park where a small overhang provides us with a few brief moments of relief from the deluge.
Everything is wet and the rain isn’t stopping, either. Inversely, the sun appears to be late to work today, so we prepare breakfast and pack our gear to begin walking–its too dark to ride. Eventually the light makes its muted way through the overcast sky and we slowly pedal our way into Toccoa, GA where Currahee awaits us. The glowing sign of a coin laundry beacons us through the morning fog! And after a quick stop at a service station for coffee, we head over to dry out our lives.
So…did I mention everything is soaked? And we have a pile of quarters. I’m throwing everything in–sleeping bag, shoes, extra shirts, etc. and decide to get right down to it. Collecting no objections from the only other patrons, I slim down to my first layer of thermals. And this really annoys a woman who is working there! She serves me with disapproving looks, and as soon as my pants come out of the dryer, INSISTS I put them on. Tut tut!
By the time we get on the road the rain is diminished but we’ve decided that this not the time to see Currahee–that moving South and out of this weather is paramount–for both our physical comfort and our morale, which is still suffering (although this is more understood than discussed). I have to give Stephanie a lot of credit. In this very uncomfortable situation she stepped up and persisted where I think others might have faltered.
And so moving South from Toccoa on GA-184 a mere eleven miles we catch our first glimpse of our life-giving sun since we left Florida on Thursday! And our spirits rise as quickly as the fog while our hearts open as wide as the blue skies. I can’t help but whoop and call my thanks to the heavens for reinvigorating me.
Its the 23rd of December and people all over the country are in motion–moving from their own homes to those of their relatives and friends. And Stephanie and I are no exception as we continue our trek back to Gainesville.
Yesterday’s terrain was easier than Friday’s, and today’s is easier than yesterday’s. These North Georgia rolling countrysides are a pleasure to bicycle–sure, some hills are steep, but more often than not our downhill momentum carries us a fair distance up the next slope. My mantra for the day is “cadence, that perfect cadence” and I say this to myself as I ascend each incline and descend each decline, manipulating my gears to keep my legs pumping at that optimal pace–not to get there sooner, but to keep things running smoothly. We settle into a fantastic pace as the sun pursues its transit noonward and soon these layers that have kept us warm the last few days are peeling like the skin off a banana.
Lazy cows all over this grass-blanketed countryside spend their days holding down damp clumps of green and show an unimpressed interest in us as we roll by. Dogs, on the other hand, who couldn’t seem to care less about cars, chase us down the road! At Stephanie’s suggestion, we “bark” back and this stops most of them in their tracks, but a few follow us for up to one-half mile!
In Commerce, GA, Stephanie suggests an alternate route to Athens that eliminates most of this treacherous stretch of US-441 ahead of us. GA-334 proves to be a beautiful road, and except for the chicken factory-farm (which Stephanie questions, “Should we burn it down…?” heh heh) the countryside is calming and peaceful.
We roll into Athens completely beat and head to the Transmetropolitan for vegan calzones which taste like heaven, paired with a local brew that complements dinner perfectly. Tonight we’ll stay with Danny–a friend of Enoch’s who is a friend of Andrew Williams who we met at ArtHaus Hostel in Asheville the morning we set out. I am thankful for the kindness of these “strangers” and hope I can reciprocate when they have a need. Tomorrow will start late after tube patching and co-op perusing, and hopefully brunch at The Grit. With all there is to experience, I could stay in Athens for a month! Tomorrow…Macon!
About 58 miles today…
