Today ended up being the hardest day yet. Not only was navigating the route to Jacksonville a nightmare but I had to fight through wind, rain, and fatigue on this 87 mile adventure. There are several bike friendly ways to get to Atlantic Beach and they were all closed. Namely, St Johns Ferry is dry docked for repairs for the month of December and the US17 bridge to cross the St Mary’s river is closed for the entire year. This meant that I had to either take a 40 mile detour west making today a 120 mile ride or ride down I95 for a 4 mile stretch. It also meant I had to go all the way into shitty stinky Jacksonville and come back out the other side. In addition, the wind was blowing 10-15 mph directly in my face the entire way and I was biking at about my 5k running pace for about 40 miles. Needless to say this was miserable.

I scarfed my Econo Lodge breakfast down and set on my way. I knocked out the first 30 miles and stopped at an Exxon for a healthy hot dog and taquito lunch and then set off to cross the Florida border via I95. It honestly wasn’t that bad because the shoulder was so wide and I was even able to stop and get a picture of my bike by the sign. Woohoo!

I got back on US17 and it had a shoulder the entire way. US17 and I have reconciled after I crossed the Georgia border and I no longer hate it. It’s been great for the last 4 days or so. I didn’t stop much to take pictures today because I was so fucking pissed off at the wind which was relentless. I did stop a few times to take a breather though and here’s a few shots.

I eventually made it through Yulee and into Jacksonville after many long, frustrating pedals and went past this awesome karaoke spot.

I also ended up at the Landing and I guess this is what it looks like sober? My memory of it was so much better… Hrm

Finally I got over the St Johns River and headed east to Atlantic Beach where Shelby is. It started raining again at that point but I just started laughing. As long as the wind wasn’t in my face I didn’t care. I made it to her place and now we are going out to some Mexican place where I will eat $20-30 in food.

Tomorrow is a rest day… Maybe go to the Jags game?!? Not sure if we can get tickets but we will see!

Today was a difficult 82 miler where I had to fight through winds, dogs, incorrect guidance from Google maps, and boredom. I was chased probably 5 times by dogs, most of them of the rat dog variety, which was very annoying. One time, a beagle looking dog started chasing me in the middle of school traffic in Brunswick. The owner was there and gasped “THERE YOU GO AGAIN! ONE OF THESE DAYS YOU’RE GOING TO GET HIT BY A CAR AND IM GOING TO LAUGH” after which the dog chased me for about half a mile in the road with cars honking at it. Un-be-lievable! I felt so bad for the dog because it’s owner was a piece of shit. Similarly, Google Maps sent me down some neighborhood road that dead ended after two miles. Before I realized it was a dead end I ran into 3 dogs that barked and chased me for a bit. Once I realized it was a dead end, I had to turn around and go through the little bastards again. One of them (the rat dog in the group) started barking at me like crazy and stood in the road right in my path barking at me. Now I’m not one to back down from a rat dog challenge so I went right at him full speed. The coward jumped out of the way at the last second and then chased me down the block as I had my mace pointed right at his face from about 1 foot away. I decided against doing it because it’s not the dog’s fault his owners are negligent pieces of shit living in some mobile home in Georgia somewhere. But god damn I wanted to… Ughhhhh

Anyways, enough ranting about dogs. The ride was very long and tedious and I am physically and mentally drained right now. I can’t wait to get to Jacksonville tomorrow to hang out with Shelby and to not have to bike on Sunday. The weather was nice and it was relatively flat with low wind but my heart wasn’t into it today — I just wanted to be a sloth but instead was biking for 7 hours. I fought through and though and I’m glad I did because I’m only about 35 miles from the Florida border!

The day started out by learning that Adam Kendall has a tattoo shop just south of Savannah. Who knew?

US17 really wasn’t bad at all in this part of Georgia and was actually quite scenic. I had a shoulder for almost the entire time as well.

I stopped around mile 30 at a McDonalds for lunch but they wouldn’t let me use the drive through because it was too dangerous. Uhhh sure thing guys thanks for looking out for me. Although that would be a shitty way to die… Just sitting in the McDonalds drive through as someone slowly runs you over at 5 mph. But I digress! I got myself a 10 piece and sat in the lounge with my bike leaned up on the glass where I could see it and then moved on.

I crossed a number of rivers and swamps which was pretty. The only time I had trouble going over the river was when some redneck yelled something at me from the back of a pickup. Way to play into your stereotypes redneck in the back of a pickup truck in Georgia!

Darien was actually really nice little town which was unexpected. I figured it would be another truck stop but there was a lot of outdoors stuff going on like fishing.

At this point in the ride I was about 60 miles in with 20 to go. I really needed a pick me up and it came in the form of passing through the town of Needwood. Heh Heh get it!?!

Finally hours later I made it to the Econo Lodge and ate multiple meals at Denny’s. I started singing Ja Rule – Put It On Me to myself but to Denny’s.

Where would I be without youuuu? Denny’s! I only think about youuuu… Denny’s!

… You get the idea. Total consumption was 5 plates of things. Here was some of the fare.

Tomorrow I cross the border and head into Jacksonville. The St Johns River Ferry is closed so I have to go all the way into town and then spit back out on the east side of the river to get to Atlantic Beach. Can’t wait to be there and hopefully tomorrow’s ride is less eventful than today’s.

The direct route from Ridgeland to Savannah is about 33 miles. Unfortunately that route uses I-95 or US17. My bike safe route ended up being just over 70 miles of which the first 20 were uphill and into the wind. I think I averaged around 9 mph for the first 20 miles which was a bit tedious but I knew I’d be coming back down to sea level with the wind at my back. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from running and biking, it’s to never trust a downhill early on because you have to come back up eventually. The uphills are okay by me because I know I’ll be coming back down soon enough and if I put my work in now I’ll be able to relax later.

In either case, I wasn’t upset I chose the long route because it was an absolutely gorgeous day. The early uphill was tough but there was nice scenery. I saw a colorful bird and stopped to take a picture and it promptly took a shit into this lake and the fish started eating it. Ahhh the beauty of Mother Nature.

Once I got done climbing I crossed the Savannah River and entered Georgia as trucks hauling trees continued to pass me. The Georgia sign was pretty lame on the road I crossed into Georgia on but what can ya do?

It was around this point a black lab started chasing me but only half heartedly. I haven’t been in a legit dog chase since North Carolina which has been a relief. I stopped for lunch at a gas station in Guyton which ended up being a delicious meal of chicken tenders, potato wedges, and a hot pretzel which I washed down with a Glacier Freeze Gatorade. Amazing.

After lunch I stumbled upon the “Middle of Nowhere Georgia Spyware Removal House” which I laughed it. I wonder how much business this guy gets?

I kept moving and eventually got to Savannah 70 miles later. It was a gradual down hill for a while which was great and like I mentioned the weather was perfect, mid 50s and sunny. Since I got here with some daylight left I said fuck it I’ll go into town and see some things. I started out in Forsyth Park which was full of trees and statues, very similar to the battery in Charleston.

I then headed down to the river and watched the sunset while I waited for my carriage tour to start at 6:00. I also headed into an art store which I really liked. Someone should buy me these giraffes for Christmas (only $900!)

The carriage tour was neat also and I learned Savannah has a lot of weird history. The guide also pointed out a good ice cream place that I went to after consuming a full pizza and beer for dinner.

All in all a very busy and exhausting day. I have another 75ish miles tomorrow which will be almost solely on US17 which I am not looking forward to. It looks like there’s a shoulder most of the way but it will be boring and still scary. Also my destination is Brunswick, GA which is just a stop over point before Jacksonville so there won’t be much motivation to get there. Just going to try to make the best of it and get there safely.