Long Haul - Day 41 (9/26/21) Brunswick, GA to Jacksonville, FL - 72.2 miles.

So there is basically one way to ride bike from Brunswick to Jacksonville Florida. Fortunately it is was a relatively easy ride and for the most part it wasn’t too busy. We were pretty tired yesterday so we had a bail out spot just short of 60 miles but we were feeling good so we plowed ahead and finished the day at just over 72 miles.

As I said for the most part the route was not all that busy. We were on a section of the road that was quite empty and we hadn’t seen a vehicle for quite a while. When a vehicle came up from behind they usually gave us a lot of room as they passed. We heard a vehicle approaching from behind and assumed there was a good church going Christian driving. Before we knew it the driver approached at probably 50 mph about 2 ft to our left. As he was directly on our left he honked a god-awful loud horn and gunned his noisy 4-wheel big boy truck. In that millisecond three things happened 1. I said a naughty word that would have earned a mouth washing with ivory soap from my mom, 2. I called him a naughty word that would have earned a second mouth washing. And 3. I had to consciously control all body fluids from an unwilling escape through their designated orifices. I have concluded that big boys with big trucks that feel the need to scare the bejesus out of a pair of old farts like us, must have really small hands.

Shortly after that we stopped at a convenient store for a drink and potty break. Dana took the first turn inside and I noticed an older women sitting by herself in a less than impressive pickup truck. She rolled down her window and motioned to me, so I went over to her and she said what a beautiful day to be outside. She told me her husband died 4 years ago and her son went inside to get something. After a bit he came out and I told him to take good care of his mom while he still can. She looked at me and said oh, young man he takes real good care of me. I concluded, that based on her kindness and sweetness, and the goodness of her son, they both must have big hands and bigger hearts. Human kindness is priceless. We were just about finished for the day and we passed a group of about 10 people who looked like they might be homeless. They were sitting along a fence and as we were passing someone yelled “oh yeah we love you, you go“ others whooped and cheered us on and others kept yelling “we love you”. I raised a “rock on” fist and got more whoops and “We love you” Human kindness is free and priceless. More people with big hands in my opinion.

We have entered our last state. Early on we used to say that we at least have to make it to Florida. In someways it feels like this was a big milestone for us.

@treesforgoshen

https://www.treesforgoshen.org/biking-for-bucks-expand-goshens-tree-canopy/

Today’s Ride Ratings

Weather 9 (comfortable temps)

Temperature 59 at start and 81 at finish

Scenery 7

Riding Surface 10

Terrain 10

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