The travels of the Rambling Roses: Bicycling from Augusta, Georgia, to Statesboro, Georgia. (Nov. 28)

71.5 miles in 6:09.... (330.04)....I have now ridden from Statesville, North Carolina to Statesboro, Georgia ....It would be tough to get in a much longer ride, at this type of year, because of the cold weather in the mornings, and the early setting sun. At least for me. I waited until ten o'clock to leave, because the temp rose to about forty degrees, from a start of 28. By 4:15, the sun was very low in the sky, creating bad visibility and glare, for not only me, but people driving vehicles to see me. The temps touched about 53, at about 2:30, so it was terribly cold once we broke through the frost in the morning. By quitting time, it was back down to 42. The wind was inconsequential, which was a good thing. I was pretty bundled up, too. I'm ready for another above average day, somewhere along the line. We've had a lot of cold down here!

Note: today is Black Friday, but I was never near a mall or shopping area, so there were no crazed women on the roads. Traffic was very sparse for the entire day, which was good. I followed US 25 for the entire length of the trip. It was four lane, sometimes with median, sometimes not, for the entire length, except for a business route that I took through downtown Waynesboro, which was about 20 miles from our starting point. The only other town I passed through, Millen, split the trip into thirds. I pretty much missed all of Statesboro, because the campground, Parkwood RV and cottages, is on the bypass on the outskirts.

The trip was pretty boring, more rolling at the beginning than the end, and the shoulders of the road had those 'wake up- your off the road!' bumps, or rumble strips for the entire trip. I spent most of my time making sure that I stayed off the bumps so I didn't rattle my teeth out. The entire trip consisted of forested areas, fields with bales of hay or cotton in them, or fields with cotton, waiting to be harvested. I did see a live armadillo, and lots of dead ones, some spanish moss on the trees that were in the swampy creeks and the Ogeechee river, and also wild palmettos in the wooded areas, so I can tell that I'm not in Kansas any more! I climbed about 1800 feet, but it took me over 70 miles to do it. To put that in perspective, I climb 1800 feet in a 17 mile bike ride between Houston and Claysville, at home. I am now on the coastal plains, and totally out of the foothills abs rolling bumps.