Thursday, July 6th 2000
Milledgeville, GA to Commerce, GA; 105 miles, 3,000’ climbing
by Arend-Jan Koning
Another hotel breakfast; the hotel dining room is not exactly large, so we are supposed to go to breakfast in groups, between 6.00 and 7.00 am.
The steep hill going up yesterday is now a steep downhill, but the advantage is only minor, since one cannot see the oncoming traffic, making it necessary to come to a complete halt before getting onto the road.
Along Route 441 north, where we ride on for the first 32 miles, there are a lot of homebuilding companies located, which has a nasty side effect for us; these companies seem to be doing well and have sold a lot of houses that need transportation from Milledgeville to any places north of it. At least two dozen trucks with wide loads are passing us, with the houses passing us with sometimes not much more than two feet to spare. Some drivers are quite considerate, but we yell at and curse others.
We are glad to take a turn, leaving the road after 32 miles, where we take quieter minor roads to Buckhead. The first sag stop after 38.5 miles is supposed to open not before 9.15 am, meaning that the first riders to arrive have to wait for 25 minutes before they are able to get fresh water and Gatoraide.
The scenery is mainly agricultural, mingled with houses on large building plots, overall making for a nice varied scenery. As seem to be usual, the first few hours have some cloud cover, after which the sun start to bother us again, with temperatures reaching the upper nineties. We keep on drinking and drinking.
In Statham we have lunch alongside the railroad, while some trees give us enough shade to stay somewhat cool. It’s only another 25 miles to the hotel, but some hilly stuff make it seem longer. When you’ve been pushing yourself all day, it’s those last hills that make you suffer.
Gerald Goode decided that since no major improvement to his injured hip was noticeable, a flight back home again would be the wisest thing to do. We are sad to see him go.