My Trip
Home-Table Rock
I left this
morning
My safety was the one
thing everyone kept worrying about once they knew I was going solo. I had over a half a dozen friends offer to
lend me a handgun to take with me. Now,
I don't have anything against guns, but I believe if I would have had one on
the long hill from 276 up hwy 11 I would have tossed it because of the
weight. Everyone kept talking about that
one crazy person out there, but I’m pretty sure in this case I am the one crazy
person out there. But none of those were
the biggest fear I had. My biggest fear
was this trip would not be fun. Yeah, I was afraid I wouldn't like it. What if this is a kid’s dream trip, and not
one I really wanted to do. Oh well. Time will tell. Those are the things you think about when the
rain is pouring down on you.
As soon as I crossed
Wade Hampton I put on my rain gear. I no
sooner put it on and the rain started. A
few minutes later the thunder started.
For the next two hours I rode through the rain. I called Susan at the hwy 25 and hwy 11
intersections. I forgot my rain booties
and she offered to bring then to me. The only biking shoes I brought with me
were my riding sandals. Not only were my
feet wet, but they were also cold. About
an hour later on the longest climb of the day she passed me and waited at the
top of the hill. By then the rain had
stopped and the sun was out, but I was glad to have them because the weather
doesn't look good for the next few days.
A few miles later at
The ride the first half
was not too bad, but hwy 11 was up one hill and down another for twenty
miles. I had thought of going on to
After resting up I took
my “unloaded” bike for a tour around the park.
It was much nicer, but still too hilly for a lot of pleasure
riding. I did ride to the ranger
headquarters and pay my $17.50 for the night.
After arriving back at camp I had some Ramon noodles and canned chicken
for supper. Oh yeah, that was good after
a hard days rideL. (The park restaurant was closed for historic
upgrades??? What the hell does that mean??)
It was during the fixing of my supper I realized I had not brought a
drinking cup of any kind with me. I
washed out the chicken can and used that for a cup of tea. Earl Grey tea with chicken fat just does not
hit the spot like a proper English Tea.
As dark moved in I turned on my radio and climbed into the tent for what
was to be the best night of the trip.
Total miles today 45.7 dr. to dr.
Average biking MPH 10.1
Total time
Total miles to date 52
Table Rock to
My plan was to be on the
road by
After eating, while I
was getting ready to leave, a guy walked up to see where I was headed. He was a biker and he told me the rest of the
way was just rolling stuff with one, maybe two, good hills. I had not met a good hill all day so I was
looking forward to that. He was
right. The worst was behind me, but the
rolling was still tough enough. Just as
I pulled into the campsite the rain started.
I was able to get my tarp up
before the heavy stuff hit. That was
good, because without it I would not have been able to leave the tent. I fired up the stove and had a hearty meal of
Cajun riceJ. I have a new cup that I made
out of a Gatorade bottle. It works
pretty well and I had a cup of hot tea after supper. It has rained off and on since I setup. I hope it's not raining when I get up
tomorrow. I don't know what it will be
like taking everything down in the rain.
Quote of the day
I ate at a Mexican
restaurant in
Total miles today 52.9 dr. to dr.
Average biking MPH 9.7
Total time
Total miles to date 105
Hartwell to
It poured last
night. Sometimes it was so loud I
couldn't hear my radio. I packed around
I had two choices for a
route this morning. I had to cross the
river, so I needed a bridge. I could
back track four miles back up hwy 11, and hills, or take a 1.5 mile route using
I-85 and no hwy 11. I decided to cross
the river by getting on I-85 (yeah, like that was a tough choice). It was a little scary as I pedaled past the
sign that said NO BICYCLES ALLOWED. I
crossed the bridge with no problems, and was glad to exit away from the high
speed traffic and spraying rain. In the
town of
As I came into
Today started with rain
but the road was not too bad. It
certainly was better than hwy 11. My map
showed the topo lines represented 120' on hwy 11 the
past two days. Today they represented
only 60'. It was rolling but not too
bad. Now the wind was another
matter. It was brutal. Even with the easier road my mph was only
9.9. It was also cold. That was something I am not prepared
for. I saw my breath all day long. Tomorrow is more rain and colder.
Total miles today 53.4 dr. to dr.
Average biking MPH 9.9
Total time
Total miles to date 162
