Savannah
By
Saturday, September 10, 2005
September 11, 2005
I decided to ride a bit harder today. The plan was to be able to spend some time in Savannah. The South Carolina roads are much better on Sunday mornings, when there are not very many cars to contend with.
We rode on just a few roads today, spending long distances on Route 17A and Route 17.
I've been collecting some of the questions we get asked along the way. Several other riders have contributed to this list.
#1 Where are you going?
Florida, or that nights town if I can remember where I'm going that day.
#2 Does your butt hurt?
No.
#3 Do your legs hurt?
Sometimes.
#4 Why?
This is my vacation.
#5 Is this for a charity?
No, we paid to do this.
#6 Where do you sleep?
Motels.
#7 Are you going on Interstate 95?
No, we spend time on country roads... although see the picture below.
#8 Where are you from?
I live near Chicago.
#9 How many of you are there?
52 plus 7 support staff.
#10 How much weight will you lose?
If I eat right, none.
Today we rode on a frontage road next to I-95 for nearly 12 miles. It sure seemed like we were riding on I-95.
We passed through the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge. http://www.fws.gov/savannah/ This refuge is largely in South Carolina but sits on the South Carolina and Georgia border.
So what is a Savannah. From Merriam-Websters I learned that: http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=savannah
Function: noun
Etymology: Spanish zavana, from Taino zabana
1 : a treeless plain especially in Florida
2 : a tropical or subtropical grassland containing scattered trees and drought-resistant undergrowth
I passed in Georgia - another state to add to my list.
There were lots of annoying insects flying around. We heard that they are called love bugs. A little reseach points out that these may not be actually love bugs but dark winged fungus gnats. How lovely!!! http://cricket.biol.sc.edu/luvbug.html
We also saw many dead grasshoppers.
We arrived in Savannah GA. As is common on ABB trips, there were 15 turns for the last 6 miles. Savannah is an old and beautiful city. Our route, however, was through the 'back door' and as I've become fond on saying, through the most rundown portions of the overnight town.
After arriving, I need to do laundy. That took far to long to accomplish. I had to wait for 45 minutes for a taxi to take me to the nearest laundy, spent about an hour doing my laundy, and then another 45 minute wait to get a taxi back to the motel. All-in-all the experience took about 3 hours. I now have enough clean cycling clothes to last the rest of the trip. I may have to do my non cycling clothes so I'll have something clean to wear home.
It seems like Ophelia will hit North Carolina in a couple of days. We're heading down the road, it seems we've dodged the storm.
