I got up bright and early, thanks partly to the cold, but didn't freeze my extremities this time.  I followed US-280 east from Reidsville to Pembroke, postponing as long as possible the question of whether I would stay the night there or continue to Savannah.  I decided to go for it, even though it meant a 65-mile day, because there was a hostel waiting for me, and I fully expected it to be as nice as Pirate Haus.

When the night started getting cold, a draft blew in under the door of the social hall and made it at least as chilly as my tent would have been... maybe more so, because my tent fills with body heat.  I didn't turn on the thermostat because there was a big sign saying not to touch it, so I just froze.  My fingertips and toes regained their feeling around noon.

Today was windy!  I had a fierce headwind most of the morning, but then it turned and pushed me in the afternoon, which was a lot better than the other way around.

Today was uneventful, except that I missed a turn and found my own route for a while.  I think it may have been more direct, less trafficked, and better shouldered than the route I was supposed to take, but of course I can't be sure.

33.5 mi

I took my good sweet time leaving the hotel this morning in the hopes that the rain would stop, but eventually I had to go out and get wet.  The rain kept right up all day long, without a single pause.

I stopped for lunch right across the border in St. George, Georgia, at a little place that was only accessible via a dirt road that had turned to an inch of mud.  The locals assured me that was nothing, that by tomorrow it would be about 3 inches deep, and cars would get stuck in it.  But the BBQ sandwich was worth the trouble.

The rain stopped overnight, and the wind calmed by morning so that I was able to pack up without losing anything to the wind.

The bike-map route brought me around Jacksonville without going into town.  I stopped at a quiet little strip mall for lunch and was able to send a message to the list.  I rode as far as the town of Callahan and got a hotel room, since there were no campgrounds for another 30 miles or so, and so that I could wash and dry some things.

33 mi

[posted to the Wheeled Migration Yahoo Group on February 26, 2005]

I know it's only been a few days since I last wrote, but as I write this I don't know when I'll next be online, so I figured I should take the opportunity.

The helicopters and jets stopped flying over sometime between 10 and 11 PM, and the rain started.  It was just a light rain, but it had a strong and gusty wind behind it.  When it hadn't stopped by 9 AM, I called the camp office and had them sign me up for another night - no point traveling in this weather when I could stay put for just $5.75.  I had plenty of food, and my gear was dry inside the tent.

I stayed up late last night talking with fellow travelers in the hostel: a young woman from Ireland headed west and a young couple from England headed east.  All three have been to the US before but have never been to the midwest; they go back and forth between the coasts through the South via Greyhound because there are more interesting stops that way... I guess they don't think there's much of anything between Minneapolis and Portland.

[posted to the Wheeled Migration Yahoo Group on February 23, 2005]