The travels of the Rambling Roses: Bicycling from Statesboro, GA to Savannah, GA. (Nov. 29)

49.18 miles in 4:15....(379.22)....I got off to a slow start in two different ways. One, I spent 45 minutes cruising around the Georgia Southern University, which was 4 minutes from the campground, and two, it was 38 degrees when I started and my legs had a little hangover from the ride yesterday. As a matter of fact, I've finished up just about every ride lately, stronger than I've started, if you consider miles per hour and indicator of strength.

I rode around a beautiful campus, with brick trails leading everywhere, and a long stretch, similar to the horseshoe at South Carolina. I looked around for the football stadium, the Pike House, and anything else interesting, but found nothing. There were no students because it's Thanksgiving break, so it was a little weird, for that reason. I then plugged my GPS in to get on my way, and GPS girl was really confused, so it took a little longer to get going than I wanted. I finally got going in the right direction, which was the S & S Trail, which was the old Statesboro to Savannah Railroad bed. It went for 3-4 miles, before putting me out on roads which led to US 80/GA26, on which I spent most of the trip. The shoulder was great, except for the rumble strips, which rendered them basically useless to me. Traffic wasn't bad, so I spent a lot of time in the road, which worked out well. There were no real towns, but there were several 'communities,' which seem to me like unincorporated towns up our way. The scenery consisted of cotton field after cotton field, with some brown corn fields, and a few cattle and horse farms. Things were really pretty flat now, and the wind was not a factor. The temps got up to about 59, but I didn't shed layers at all. It felt good to sweat.

My excitement for the day was a little black and white dog who raced along side me for about a quarter of a mile. Most dogs are exhausted after sprinting 200 yards, so this guy earned my respect for going twice that far. Even though he might have nipped at me if we weren't going so fast(15-20 mph), I respected his effort, and I kept my bear spray in its holster.

As I neared Savannah, GPS girl took me through a private development with no trespassing signs and gates, but fortunately I didn't pay them any mind. Nice roads took me about two miles ( I was a little worried about them turning to sand, or Georgia clay, but they didn't. At the other end of the development, I was on GA 204, which was heavier with traffic, continued useless shoulders, and a 55 mph speed limit. That road took me right to Savannah Oaks Campground, where we actually stayed on our last trip. I remembered very little, but Pam remembered more. Charlie and Susan Watson, friends from Rodanthe, NC, are meeting us there for a couple of days, then they are off to the Keys, where we will meet up with them again. The weather was downright nice at this point, which I'm ready for. I watched the second half of the WVU game ( they beat Iowa State), then the four of us went to a Texas Steak House for supper.