Thursday (June 9th) was day five of the 2011 Bicycle Ride Across Georgia (BRAG). After yesterday’s break, it was time to get back in the saddle for the longest ride of the week: 73 miles of more rolling hills.
Woke up to the smell of smoke and figured it was Rip and Bullet Bob leaving early and burning up the road. Must have been a small fire nearby but the smell was gone by the time we started pedaling at 6:10. Started the morning riding with Diesel Doug Lane, Bullet Bob and Bullet’s son Buck and the 13 miles to the first rest stop was a nice ride with one good climb just before the stop.
The next 12 miles had about a half dozen climbs before we pulled into Jim Bob’s in Glenwood, GA. Another banana with peanut butter and I was ready for the next 14 miles which consisted of rolling hills that continued to roll uphill. Saw most of the team at this stop as either we arrived or as we were leaving and it gave Larkin’s a chance to continue his banter with Doug about the big race tomorrow with Lee (Rip’s wife). Lee was not riding today because it was her turn to drive their vehicle to the next town.
Crossed over the Oconee River at the Treutlen County line just after the stop. As mentioned earlier, these next 14 miles were rolling hills but overall uphill. Maybe it was the day off but I was tired when we rolled into Zaidee’s Corner Store outside of Soperton. I was tempted to eat a couple of hot dogs but thought better of it and settled for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a handful of Fig Newtons. 40 miles down and another 33 to go.
Six of us left Zaidee’s together but I lost my drafting partners somewhere along GA 298. I crossed the Emanuel County line and Ohoopee River before coming up on Interstate 16 for the second time. I thought I might be delirious and riding in circles but the next rest stop was just past the I16 interchange at a convenience store outside Twin City, GA. Four of the other five riders were in various stages of refreshing and I knew another banana or peanut butter sandwich or fig newton wasn’t going to cut it but Bullet Bob took one look at me and had the answer: a cold Mountain Dew. Several things you need to know. Mountain Dew has been my favorite soft drink since I was a little kid. My Grandpa used to take me to Purvis’s store and buy me a Mountain Dew and Three Musketeer bar and all was right with the world. However, I had not drunk a Mountain Dew or any soft drink (other than a few cokes when I went to the movies and ate popcorn) in the past nine-months as I was preparing for this ride. Though not a bottle from the ice chest I remember from my youth, this Dew was so cold and so good that I chugged it down and almost got a second one. After “doing the dew” and once that 46 grams of sugar and 54 milligrams of caffeine kicked in, those last 17 miles were a breeze.
Lee met us at the last stop having driven their vehicle to Metter and back tracked to find us so the seven of us cruised down GA 57, entered Candler County and crossed the Canoochee River before rolling into downtown Metter. I’m not sure if everything is better in Metter but I can tell you the folks of Metter rolled out the red carpet for the BRAG participants. There were people along the way sitting on the side of the road waving and
saying welcome to Metter and they had a festival going in the town square. We rode past all the well-wishers, crossed I16 again and finished at Metter High School, which looked like something out of an army movie as BRAG tent city was being setup with all those brown tents as we entered the school.
We loaded up the bikes and headed back downtown to find a place to eat. We saw the other half of the team ride by as we settled on Edenfield’s, a country buffet with fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and all kinds of vegetables. I ate too much and began feeling the crash coming on from being temporarily jacked up on Mountain Dew earlier. We walked around the festival where I was hoping to find a funnel cake but no such luck. We made our way back to the cars and headed for Statesboro for the night where we stayed at a Holiday Inn.
After dinner at Millhouse Steakhouse, we went back to the hotel where I started reloading the car for the next day. I got back on the elevator with a couple with three kids, the oldest was maybe eight. They exited on the same floor and I had one of those feeling like I used to get on airplanes when I had an empty seat next to me. I would size up the people walking up the isle and think I hope that person doesn’t have that seat. I know, terrible, but it is what it is. Anyway, I just knew this young family would have the room right next to us and I was going to try to go to sleep early as we had about a 25-minute ride back to Metter in the morning. Sure enough, right next door and for about an hour and a half it sounded like the circus was in the next room. Eventually things quieted down and I went to sleep dreaming of some type of liquid backpack that would keep Mountain Dew cold on five-hour bike rides in 90+-degree heat.
I know this was a long blog but today was a long ride. Tomorrow we head south to Hinesville and flat country.