New State

I’m doing four consecutive short days, partially by design—due to the weather system last  Sunday, the desire to spend some extra time in Savannah, GA, and because of a gap of services between Beaufort, SC and Charleston, SC. And by setting up a shorter 30-mile day to Bluffton, SC today I was able to take a bicycle tour with a guide through a St. Patrick’s Day-free Savannah, GA.

The Clyde Market, near the hotel, is a great place for coffee or second breakfast.

Maybe the most important thing I did today was secure two replacement tubes at Savannah On Wheels, as I’ve been carrying only one since the flat north of Jacksonville, FL.

The historical tour of Savannah met and ended at Savannah on Wheels.

That’s Linda, in the orange jacket—the tour leader—rounding everyone up, passing out audio headsets, and relaying riding instructions.

And the eight of us bike tourists are off on a two hour history tour of Savannah, GA.

Our first stop was in Orleans Square where Linda oriented us to the layout and history of the city.

Live Oaks draped in Spanish moss line the many historic squares around Savannah.

The Harper Fowlkes House an 1842 Greek Revival Mansion is now run as a museum.

This is the likeness of James Oglethorpe who is credited with founding Savannah, the oldest city in Georgia, in 1733.

Linda also pointed out that this is the square where the iconic “bench scene” in Forrest Gump was filmed.

Note only one of our tour bikes is actually freighted down with a full touring set-up. Who goes on a “bike tour” while bike touring?

Johnson Square, with City Hall looming in the distance, was the scene of St. Patrick’s Day parade madness yesterday.

President George Washington attended church services here in 1791, during his tour of the south.

Some fountains, like this one in Columbia Square are still flowing green from St. Patrick’s Day green dye.

The Mercer Williams House, featured prominently in the book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, is a backdrop feature of Monterey Square…

… which also features a monument to General Casimir Pulaski—look up The General was Female?—for an amazing story about the Polish American Revolutionary War hero.

I eventually got on the road—some of the worst roads yet—and made it through awful riding conditions out of Savannah, and Georgia, into South Carolina! The third state heading north on the East Coast Greenway Trail.

This section of the trail is notorious for tough riding conditions—high-stress roads, poor road conditions, aggressive drivers, and disappearing shoulders—in fact the East Coast Greenway suggests you skip parts of it—or skip It all together:

I can attest that the 3-mile stretch of SC 170, is the absolute nadir of road bicycling conditions I’ve encountered yet, and I got a “Get the F*** off the road!” greeting to boot.

Yes, welcome to South Carolina! You know it’s bad if the sponsoring organization encourages one to skip a section of their own trail (see the last sentence in the image above.)

Anyway, at least the taco trucks serve excellent food! Taqueria Las Abuelitas was a nice pay-off for having suffered the bone-jarring juddering aggressiveness of SC 170… (did I mention that road sucks!)

Day 19
Start: Savannah, GA
End: Bluffton, SC
Miles: 33.13

At least the weather was absolutely perfect all day. I can only hope I don’t feel compelled to skip up ahead to North Carolina after the introduction to it’s southern namesake. A short day is in store tomorrow to Beaufort, SC, and the Spanish Moss Trail, which will definitely help staying off these roads.

And there’s nothing like a meatloaf patty melt to take the edge off… oy!

What I’m Reading: (and considering)

Please note: Currently, our interim route in South Carolina and Georgia, includes a great deal of high-stress, on-road segments, predominantly on U.S. Highway 17… we strongly advise against riding these high-stress segments at this time.

— East Coast Greenway / “Long Distance Trips” /  https://greenway.org/trips/long-distance-trips