You are currently browsing the daily archive for December 28th, 2007.
We wake in front of the Boy Scout’s building in Baxley, GA, and I feel well rested. This third day of our tour across the underbelly of confederate Georgia begins with flax-and-oatmeal breakfast and a stop in the same Huddle House where we found such gracious help last night!
One slumber-y cup of coffee later we’re packing up and setting out across fresh asphalt (US-23 is being widened into Baxley, and we are riding on the new part, not yet open to traffic, so we’re watching out for officials). With the beep of his horn a man pulls over and flags us down–he is the brother of Judy who made those calls last night. With all smiles he asked us how our stay was and wishes us well. Stephanie and I joke about how famous we feel!
This ride out of Baxley pours us into a slight decline and so for the first thirty miles or so we are rolling relatively easily, keeping a steady pace and enjoying the cool–but warming–morning air. More and more our luggage is containing winter clothing that we’re not wearing any more. But this easy morning takes a turn, literally and figuratively, at the junction to US-341 that will take us into Brunswick. As we make our way into this leg the conditions around us change, and I slip into a debilitating mental fatigue.
Our path now inclines while a headwind thwarts my best pedaling efforts, and I can’t find a tolerable position on my saddle as my seat burns a fantastic ache…my knee…! For miles, and miles, and miles(!) we are on US-341, seeing nothing but a corridor of asphalt and pine trees. Once or twice we stop for a short break on and on one I exclaim “I need a change of scenery!” At one point I stop by a mailbox just into the first town we’ve seen in a long time and donate the Boy Scout popcorn to a family whose last name begins with C. And this helps because I think I have reduced my load by about 10 pounds, but I am still feeling like I just can’t move as fast as before. I can recognize that my predicament is primarily mental–but that because I am suffering mentally, my physical fatigues and environmental obstacles become mountainous.
But I have conquered mountains already on this trip! On our last stop before Brunswick we eat some carrots, and I drink apple juice while talking out how this mental fallout is making me feel. And somehow this flips a switch. Getting back on my bicycle, my seat still hurts, but I consciously decide “Its not going to get any better than this” so I just pick a position and sit on it. And making the decision to mentally ignore this allows me to put my energy back where it belongs. For the remainder of the ride into Brunswick, I am back on Stephanie’s heels and feeling renewed!
The Hostel in the Forest greets us with open arms. For as frustrating as today was for me, this mecca of peace and tranquility, bountiful with fresh air and a community with nature, lulls me into a relaxation both mental and physical. We check in and are oriented to the hostel, which is run communally. We are shown the composting toilets and the showers that feed a greywater system. There is a labyrinth, a meditation room, a lake with canoes and the healthiest chickens and ducks you’ve ever seen. The lake and its canoes beacon to me and so Stephanie and I take separate paths until dinner. I have enough time to casually spin around the lake a few times in a canoe–it feels good to use my upper body for a while.
I see Stephanie again around the fire just before dinner. All of the other guests and myself join hands in a circle around this flickering attraction and, introducing ourselves, say our thanks. I am thankful for tubes which stay inflated, wide shoulders, tailwinds, and good company on the road.
Following this offering we are treated to an amazing vegan dinner where we talk with Paul and Amy who are here from North Carolina. Both of them work in early childhood education, and we enjoy sharing our respective travel stories. After dinner we help clean up the kitchen and take some time to chat with other guests and read before Paul treats me to a piece of peanut butter-spackled toast as I make tea. I realize I’ve been craving a fresh piece of bread–his offer is more than welcome!
Eventually I am stumbling through the dark to my bunk and a night of peaceful rest peppered with cricket-song.
About 76 miles today…
