Long Haul - Day 39 (9/24/21) Yemassee, SC to Richmond Hill GA - 77.3 miles.
Updated: Sep 24, 2021
Well today was a day. We had our sights set on Richmond Hill and it seemed like a reasonable goal. We met Bruce this morning at the motel. He too was riding south to Florida. He was from Iowa and has been doing sections every year figuring he will finish the route at some point.
We set out with a chilly 60 degrees and we were on a frontage road for a bit and then ended up on a country road. All seemed so good, so calm and so pleasant. We came to the end of that road and ahead of us was a dirt road but it looked pretty good so we continued on it, especially since we didn’t have any other choice. I told Dana it was 7 miles and the road was gravel, “let’s do it”. “It will be fine,” I said. I guess multiple days of heavy rain isn’t good for South Carolina dirt roads. After about a mile we started seeing puddles but we dodged them with little problem. However, about halfway through the 7 miles the puddles got bigger and we had to go through them, still no problem. With about two miles to go we came to a puddle that covered the width of the road, so I did what any sane cyclist would do, clip in and power through it. About halfway through, I hit a hole and I sunk in about half way to my knees. Instinctively, I unclipped and saved myself from falling into the less than tiny puddle. I pushed my bike through the rest of the puddle. Dana was behind me and saw it all. She restrained her urge to laugh and chose the shallowest and safest part of the puddle and carefully pushed her way through that darn mud puddle. So for the next nearly 60 miles I endured wet and sandy shoes. It could have been worse.
Finally, we finished that leg of the trip. According to google maps, we were to take a right and after several turns we would be back to a main road. Obediently I followed instructions, as is my nature. Soon we came to a sign that said “road closed”. I thought the road looked a bit rough but also figured it would clear up after a bit. We pushing our bikes through some soft dirt but got through it just to discover the “road” ended at a work site. I asked one of the workers if there was a road around here. He said “aint no road here, this is the end of any roads.“. So we pushed our bikes back through the dirt and took a different route back to the main road. We were finally back in civilization and heading south again. After a while, we found a convenient store and we desperately needed something to drink and something to eat. Dana went to get something and a man named James, sat on a box nearby and started chatting. After a bit he asked if I could give him some money for a bowl of soup. In an attempt to balance the day, I gave him $5 and bought him a breakfast sandwich. I have been scammed by panderers but today I didn’t care. It was worth the $8 just to try to put the world back into place.
We spent the next several hours fighting traffic and we did make decent time but the day up to then had taken some juice out of us. We finally arrived in Savannah and found a coffee shop. After iced mochas and a pumpkin cheese cake we decided we could tackle another 17 miles. It will be fine he said. we followed the route and within three blocks we came to a road that was closed but we were able to squeeze through the sidewalk successfully. It will be fine he said. After several more blocks the street had barricades across the road so we got onto the sidewalks and passed on through. It will be fine he said. After another half mile we arrived at a too familiar sign, “Road Closed”. You could tell there was some serious construction happening. We asked the worker sitting under an umbrella if we could get through. He nonchalantly said yeah but it’s got a slick bridge and big rocks but yeah you can. We pushed our bikes through the dirt and got to the edge of the construction only to see a chasm about 100 ft wide and 50 ft deep. We stood there wondering what the heck we were going to do. We heard several construction workers yelling at us from the other side of the world (it seemed). They were pointing to a lane on the side and below the construction. We pushed our bikes back and down the path, along more mud puddles, over a makeshift path of old railroad ties, onto the metal bridge, navigating the bikes over some big rocks, up some sandy hills. We were heading up the hill with Dana going first. We were part of the way up when one of the construction workers walked over and took Dana’s bike and finished taking it up to the upper level of the site. As he finished, the other workers clapped for the effort. I’m not sure if they were cheering our efforts or his kind deeds. Either way, I’ll take it.
We finished the day on a fairly busy road but we had a decent shoulder and a breeze on our backs. About a mile before arriving at our destination, we saw a car wash and decided to wash our bikes We took off all the bags and got ready to get them washed only to discover there were no functional washers. Par for the day! So we repacked the bikes and headed out again We arrived at the hotel checked in and we found a hose and cleaned up the bikes before taking them into the rooms.
Thus ends another day in the Saga of The Long Haul.
https://www.treesforgoshen.org/biking-for-bucks-expand-goshens-tree-canopy/
Today’s Ride Ratings
Weather 9 (comfortable temps)
Temperature 60 at start and 79 at finish
Scenery 3 (main roads) 8 (country roads) 0 (dirt road)
Riding Surface 2 (what more can I say)
Terrain 5
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