It was raining when I left Orlando, but the further north I drove, the clouds parted and the sun smiled upon me. It's was July 4th weekend, so I traded the rain for traffic. If it's not one thing, it's another. Because my butt is getting so sore so quickly into rides, it's becoming more difficult to enjoy, and more of a struggle. Little things lift my spirits, though. I talked to a guy at a gas station, and the look on his face when I tell him how far I've ridden so far really put me in a good mood, and reminded me of how incredible this is. I got to Savannah, Georgia with a renewed energy to find a city that oozes southern charm and character. The kind of city you could meander through all day, eating an ice cream cone in one of it's many squares, or relaxing by the river. And it's just ten miles from the beach. I love it!
The next day I set a goal for a 400 mile day, trying to get as close DC I could, so I would have an easy drive on Sunday. Savannah is very close to the South Carolina border, and I quickly crossed a spectacular bridge into South Carolina. The view of Savannah from the bridge is one I wished I could have taken a picture of, but there's no room on the bridge to safely pull over. The mental picture will have to suffice. As I crossed the border, and old bi-plane flew over head, welcoming me to the state that was first in flight. How fitting I thought! Then I realized that North Carolina was first in flight, not South Carolina. Oh well. It was still cool.
It was a beautiful day and a beautiful ride, but of course I struggled with achy bum syndrome, which I will now refer to as ABS. I really had to push my self to keep riding, and not stop every 20 miles for a break. There are people starving all over the world, and if they can endure that, I can endure my ABS. Late in the afternoon I had a quick chat with my friend Megan, who lives in DC and who I'd be staying with. After discussing plans for the 4th of July, I was pumped to keep riding and get hit my goal for the day of 400 miles, putting me just 204 miles from DC. After 10 hours, a lot of which was break time and 399 miles, I got a hotel in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina. It sits just 8 miles from the Virginia border, state #24, on day 60 of my trip!
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