By this Author: brendagerber07

This is from the day when Karen and I were on time for a lunch break and the team just blew right past. At least we got a wave from Colleen.
Hoping to figure out the video thing.

Brenda

I was on my phone with my daughter, facetiming with my grand girls, when the riders got into the van after finishing their ride yesterday. My little Lexi took a look at Colleen and Dan in the back seat of the van and asked the question, who are those guys? I told her and her response was, " they sure are sweaty!" Insight from the 4 year old.

So at 7:30am we loaded up the van and dropped the riders off exactly where we picked them up yesterday back on GA -26. It was about 65 degrees and sunny. The route was suppose to end in Talbotton, GA for Day 3 but because of what they had banked, the riders actually arrived in Talbotton at noon just in time for lunch. Here are a few pics from the route that Karen and I secured.

Going through Peach county was a reminder of how much I liked the Peach frozen yogurt back in Vidalia. We took some pics along the road to show you what the countryside looked like.

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It was a beautiful route today down GA-90. The curvy road was filled with hills and you never knew what was around the bend. It may have been a country road, an old silo or shack. We saw a polka dot donkey but couldn't get a picture fast enough. We also saw a lot of semi's loaded with a bed of tree trunks, headed to the lumber yards.

We also rode past a quarry that was beautiful. Some of the truck drivers really barrel down the roads as our riders can vouch for. One was particularly close and had the riders a bit nervous as they rolled into Talbotton.

We have seen many churches along the way. Some are big beautiful buildings.

And others are small quaint places where you know there has been a lot of history. We ate lunch in Talbotton at one of these small churches.

Of course this little church had a belfry and Dan said he was glad we didn't have bats in our belfries. ( But I think there used to be bats in this belfry.)

So the riders got back on trail and rode to the intersection of 185 and Rt 315 just a few miles north of Columbus, GA. We picked them up after 88 miles of riding. They averaged 15.6 mph which was pretty darn good considering all the rolling hills. After lunch a small front moved in and the winds finally came out of the East. The sun went behind the clouds and it actually even misted the last few miles. Of course there was 0% chance of rain. The weatherman said it was because this cloud was just below the radar so it was not detectable...RIGHT!

Tonight we are staying in a Wyndham Hotel just north of Columbus. This will be our last night in Georgia, Lord willing. We have about 30 miles in the bank with the possibility of adding another 20 tomorrow depending on how everyone is feeling. Day three is in the books and we will be leaving the red clay of Georgia for the roads of Alabama.

So good night to all of you from the state of Georgia. I wonder what we will find in Alabama. As for now, it's time to head to the hot tub. By the way, gas prices are around 3.19 and our hotel room has been running between $90-110 a night.

Rolling west,
Brenda for the gang

Our fearless leader, DAN

Sweet COLLEEN

Winner WYNN

Sometimes the group does a flyby and blow off the SAG

Today the group wore OHIO GOBA gear and a Defiance shirt (for Bethany)

A typical "love note" from Evelyn

And I will leave you with a random pic of the unusual chandelier from the Vidalia House where we ate "make your own frozen yogurt creations"

I don't even like to drive in the rain, but at 7:40 am the three adventurous ones headed out the door into the rain. (Now it wasn't gale forces, or torrential downpours, but it was a steady rain and about 65 degrees) Karen and I stayed in the hotel, dozing in and out til 9:30 am. The old fellas down in the breakfast area were talking about the three crazy guys out on their bikes in the early morning hours. We spoke up and told them where we were heading and they said they thought we were doing a mighty fine job sagging for them from the comfort of the hotel. Ha! The rain lasted about three hours, but they rode on along Rt 280W. It was light traffic, being a Sunday morning, so the riders didn't get too splashed up by passing cars. There was one woman driver that I heard made Colleen mad...but you'll have to ask her about that I do have to tell one on Dan... Right out of the blocks this morning, Dan saw a road sign for 280E and promptly headed that way and Colleen caught him before the team headed back to Savannah. Of course the blame was placed on not having had enough coffee (uh huh) and of course we must tell one on Wynn too, who was looking everywhere for the bungee cords that were hanging around his neck. heehee.
The sag wagon passed the riders in Easton before stopping for lunch in Hawkinsville. As usual the riders filled up on sandwiches and even a cookie or two. The water was refilled, Gatorade too, and the Fizz added. All agreed to meet in 15 miles and then decide if they were done for the day. We pulled into Elco and found that we only had 6.4 miles to go to reach a 100 miles, known to cyclists as a Century. So Karen and I headed up Rt 26 for another 7 miles and waited in a red Georgia Clay pull off and waited for the team to complete their 100 miles. We headed up north 15 minutes on RT 75 to a little town called Perry. We stayed at another Quality Inn there. Colleen and Dan did laundry while Wynn and I met some of our good friends, Charlie and Susan (from the Atlanta area.) We were having a wonderful conversation at Applebee's when who should pull in, but the rest of the team, so we all had dinner there.

Being a Sunday, Wynn had a spiritual thought of the day. While riding along he saw a sign along the road that said, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13. What a wonderful verse to see when you are tired and need a little encouragement.
I have to say that the Lord gives us just what we need. Our friends drove two hours one way to see us this evening and encourage us to keep on keeping on. Dan has been getting daily notes from Evelyn tucked into his luggage and clothes. We all enjoy the encouraging words that you, our followers, take the time to post. One funny story that comes from Wynn's co-workers; they got him a cake the day we left and told the bakery to put, "May the wind be at your back", but they forgot the space between the words "be and at". So of course it read, " May the wind BEAT your back. The forecast is for Easterly winds for the next 6 days. Enough of the funny stuff. We need to get an early start. We will drive back to the exact spot where we stopped and the team is hoping to ride another century tomorrow. Lord willing, we will have 50 miles in the bank when I write tomorrow night.

Time to put up some pics...
Rolling along,
Brenda and the pony express

Boo Hiss! Internet is not strong enough to upload the pictures. I'll try to double up tomorrow.

Day 1 is officially in the books. Our riders are tired and recuperating, using the Hammer Recoverite, the Foam Roller and rehydration. . Starting breakfast at 7am, the team got riding at 8am. They made it to Reidsville by 12:45pm. Karen and I met up with them for lunch, eating in the shade of a church parking lot. They decided to ride an extra 20 miles and we are staying the night in the town of Vidalia,GA . Yes, they are known for their onions. We are staying at a Quality Inn right on the route.

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The riders started out riding on Hwy 204 when they went over a bridge that said "no biking" so Wynn led the group into the wind at 17.4 mph. Then things slowed down a bit and they were able to see some interesting sites along the way. (Alligator, armadillo, and a cotton field.) They averaged 16.4 mph for the 88 mile ride. They were in saddle only 5 hrs and 25 minutes. The last 20 miles were rolling and the temperatures were close to 90 degrees. The notable quote of the day came from Colleen. The team was discussing setting up a spread sheet to keep finances equal and fair. She said, "Good accounting makes for good friendships!

Meanwhile, Karen and Brenda were off on an adventure of their own. We walked for 3 hours on two different walking tours of Historic Savannah. We saw many of the squares and particularly fell in love with the huge fountain in Forsyth Park. We enjoyed the visitor's center and then headed to meet the team. We stopped to pick up a few things for supper and then made our way to Vidalia. Our notable quote came from a man in the park. We were discussing the directions on the map and he told us, " Don't go left or you will end up in The Hood!"


Tonight we are eating in, with chicken that Wynn had grilled, fresh salad, potato salad and ending, for at least some of us with a trip back to the Vidalia House for frozen yogurt. All of us are in one room with the bikes too. Plans are to be back on the road after breakfast at sunrise.

Thanks for following us along. I wonder what Day Two will hold for us. 70% chance for rain tomorrow, but hoping we get a good ride in anyways.

Rolling along,
Brenda ( for the team)