Augusta Ga. 400K Ride Report!
John o. and I joined 10 others in Augusta Sat. morning for a ride
hosted by Kevin Kaiser. (Top American finisher in 2010’s Race across
America) We rode with Kevin for the first 16 miles; then John flatted
in front of a fire station. On duty Fireman was very friendly and let
us in the garage to get it fixed as it was still dark out. It was
beautiful country, with rolling hills and a gazillion cattle and horse
farms. No more mishaps during the ride, just all those hills
eventually wearing us down. At Watson Mill Bridge State Park near
Athens Georgia, home of Georgia’s longest wooden bridge, 100 miles
into the ride, Kevin told us of some serious, but not too serious
hills coming up but that I would enjoy the flat and fast section after
that. Not so! To quote John, “we may not be climbing but we’re still
going uphill”.
From there we travel even farther away from Augusta to Lake
Hartwell and cross the huge dam there. We’re still patiently waiting
for that flat section as the legs are burning. Now we travel back to
Augusta on the South Carolina side of the Savannah River. 200 miles
into the ride we arrive in McCormick, S.C. just before midnight. This
is our last food stop on the route, and it’s a Huddle House because
it’s the only thing open by the time we get there. I’m hanging on by
a thread. Exhausted, sleepy, legs are toast, shoulder is killing me,
and no energy. Food and Advil help with energy and pain but the rest
I’ll have to endure. John is fairing much better. Only 53 miles left
now.
We stopped once after dinner/breakfast for a cat nap but that
didn’t help much. It was a little colder than expected and there were
storm clouds brewing, but they held off until after we finished. No
traffic, so the road was ours, except for the deer, fox and occasional
snake lying out in the road enjoying the still warm pavement from
yesterday’s sun. (Snakes in March?) This was a very long 54 miles. I
was stopping often to ward off sleep. We started out at 6:00am
Saturday and finished up at 5:30am Sunday. 254 miles of constant
hills and thrills. It was an awesome ride for 200 miles but the last
54 miles made me seriously wonder why I continue to do this. Kevin
checked us in at the finish and we headed to motel for 4 hours of
sleep before they kicked us out and we headed home.
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