TRIP TOTALS

Showers:                          4 (each)

Tent Nights:                     18

Hotel Nights:                    0

“Rustic” Cabin Nights:    3

Restaurant Meals           2

Miles Traveled:               624.35

Best Quote:  Yelled from the backseat of a passing car while riding through Waltersboro, “Where did you get your wagon?!”  Thanks to Jerry, for all of his help getting the frame put together, and to Faith for fabricating the canopy.  A Puppy Waggin’ post is coming soon!

TRIP UPDATE

We are in South Carolina!  And we are about to leave South Carolina!  The tires are smoking from burning up the backroads, riding 232.45 miles in the last six days.  Tomorrow (Wednesday) we will cross the border and be in state number three…Georgia!

Its an on-going joke on this trip that we have experienced some kind of plague at nearly every stop.  It’s becoming highly entertaining for us to see what is next!  Here are some examples…Thorns and burrs. Mutant mosquitos that had clearly escaped some kind of genetics lab.  Georgia counted 38 bites on 25% of one leg. So much rain it required digging a ditch (and breaking our shovel in the process).

Flies by the dozens. Fire ants, aptly named. Recently it’s been a series of critters, including a crazy squirrel who had a face-off with Biscuit (and lost), a tiny kitten, and a couple of stray dogs.

Our first hotel night is two days away, and we are looking forward to a day of R&R.  Since starting, we have only had three nights not in a tent, and by the time we get there we won’t have slept on anything but our camping pads for 22 straight days.  We have hauled around our food and cooked nearly 70 meals on the camp stove, eating out only twice (and one was Wendy’s, so it doesn’t really count…we just needed calories).

As mentioned in all previous posts, we are continually in awe of the support and generosity of the folks we know and the people we meet.

MORE SUBMITTED QUESTIONS! Thanks Crystal!

What is the average speed you think you are traveling on the road?

We use Cateye Strada bicycle computers to track our speed and miles. We upload the data via our phones to Strava, a free app that provides all sorts of statistics. At this point in the trip, we typically average 9-10 MPH. That is pretty slow from a cycling perspective, but we are carrying a lot of weight and we aren’t in a hurry. The target that we used in pre-trip planning was 10 MPH, so we are pretty close on that. Daily mileage varies, with our shortest ride at 19 miles and our longest at 57 miles. The planning goal was 250 miles per week and we might get up to that eventually, but just starting out and in this heat/humidity it has ended up in the 150-200 range.

Do you guys need bail money if you get caught sleeping with tents and dogs on this stretch of the journey? If I supply the money, can I please have a copy your mug shots??

We recently camped outside of a Police station, so it would be a short trip to the city lockup. Do you think the dogs would get mug shots too?  Kidding aside, the police and EMS have been very kind and helpful on our trip.  That’s a definite plus, since we are sort of like hobos on wheels.

Thanks for following along!  The updates have been slow because we have been going through rural South Carolina and it’s hard for us to get service and electricity.  GA may not be much better, so we hope both improve once we get to FL and start traveling A1A down the coast.

-Mark, Georgia, Junebug and Biscuit

#justride

by Mark

TRIP TOTALS

Showers:                          3 (each)

Tent Nights:                     13

Hotel Nights:                    0

“Rustic” Cabin Nights:    2

Meals Purchased:           0

Miles Traveled:               391.9

Best Quote:  “You don’t get a chance in life to go back to GO and start over again, like you did with Monopoly.”  – Richard M., a youngster we met at Carolina Beach.  True words, Richard, true words.

TRIP UPDATE

Tomorrow we enter state #2…South Carolina!  This is going to require pictures.

Currently, the bicycle maps have us traveling through an area where campgrounds and dog-friendly hotels are outlawed.  Actually, that isn’t a joke.  Most of the towns have ordinances against tent camping and pets in hotels within the city limits, and there just isn’t much between towns.  This just gives us an opportunity to use our networking skills!  Expect a story or two out of this!

Speaking of stories, two nights ago we landed in Southport, SC to run errands and ended up parked outside of a Mexican restaurant at dinner time.  In short order, we met some of the friendliest folks we have met on the trip!  We left with a few dollars in our pocket, an offer for a place to stay, queso dip (if you recall, queso dip was our main craving two blog posts ago, and we never got it…it was fantastic), and super-high spirits from all of fun we had talking with people about the trip.  If any of you are reading this, we will be talking about your impact on us for many miles down the road.  Thank you.

From here we plan to press on with some bigger mile days.  Wish us strength, power, cloudy skies, downhills and tailwinds.

My sister submitted a few questions that seem perfect for this part of the trip.  Here we go!

What do you miss the most?

Georgia:             Barefoot showers. Right now I’m just sorta hoping the soapy water runs down my leg into those mesh shower shoe holes and calling it good. Then using my yoga skills to balance on one leg while I try to get my wet shoes into a pant leg. Bubble wrap anyone?

Mark:                  Sleeping in a cool room with a real pillow.

Junebug:            Hiding Mark’s socks.  It’s harder to do out here on the road.

Biscuit:                I’ll tell you something I don’t miss, scary indoor flooring surfaces.

Did you forget anything critical?

Georgia:             I forgot what day it is.

Mark:                  It’s not critical, but I wish I had brought some SeamGrip.

Junebug:            I am a little worried about a treat supply.  It appears we only have one entire large pannier for dogs.

Biscuit:                I haven’t seen any of my antlers.  I think we forgot my antlers.

What is the best part so far?

Georgia:             The simplicity of life when focused on the hierarchy of needs – food, shelter, and water are not things I thought much about before this trip. Included in that is meeting people and hearing their stories – the kindness and generosity of strangers has been overwhelming to me.

Mark:                  That we all get to be together.

Junebug:            I have tracked lots of new critters.  I’m a good critter tracker!  I could show you.

Biscuit:                I like doing the navigation for the family.  They would get lost without me.

Thanks for following along!

Mark, Georgia, Junebug and Biscuit

#justride

And it goes like this…

The alarm goes off at 3:30 AM.  Snooze it for 9 minutes. Snooze it again.  Third time is the charm! Talk in the tent for a bit.  Discuss the previous day, how we slept, plans for the day, weather, etc. Pet some dogs.  Get kisses from Junebug.  She loves morning wake-up time.  Watch Biscuit pretend he is still sleeping.  While still in tent (to avoid bugs), put the sleeping gear back in the appropriate pouches…two sleeping pads, two sleeping bags, a dog blanket, three pillows and all of the other various things that made it into the tent overnight.  Get dressed like a character from Tron. Pack up the tent. Get a small bite to eat.  Pack up the bike panniers.  Prepare the trailer.  Walk dogs.  Start bike computers.  Turn on blinky lights. Ride off at 5:00 in the dark.  Ride for 1-2 hours, stop and feed the crew.  Roll again in 60 minutes.  Ride, taking breaks when needed, until the miles are done for the day (15 to 55 depending on the conditions and our destination).  Find a campsite.  Walk dogs.  Get a people snack.  Take a five minute rest.  Note: The term “five minutes” means lay out the army blanket and pass out for a few minutes.  Eat lunch.  Setup camp.  Do some chores…laundry, blog updates, charge devices, answer emails/texts, research upcoming campsites, bike/gear repair and maintenance, check weather, etc.  Explore the area. Eat dinner.  Workout. Prepare for the next day by packing up what we can and getting clothes ready.  Eat dinner.  In bed by 8.  Asleep by 9. Who wants in on this?!

Days 5-10

TRIP TOTALS

Showers:                          2 (each)

Tent Nights:                     8

Hotel Nights:                   0

“Rustic” Cabin Nights:    2

Meals Purchased:           0

Miles Traveled:               289.8

Current Food Craving:   Jason’s Deli…all-you-can-eat salad bar.  Oh my.

Best Quote: “Um, how long has it been since you have had a shower?”

We are almost out of North Carolina!   Right now we are camped just shy of Wilmington and will be in South Carolina in three days or so.  It will be pretty exciting to enter a new state!

The trip keeps showing us the kindness of strangers.  We have been given bottled water, Powerade (partially frozen so it would be cold), bagels, snacks, an offer to stay on a farm if we get to Atlanta, an offer to run into town and get us supplies, and a place to stay out of the rain for the night.  We are living a simple life, so these gestures mean a lot to us.  If you are reading this, thank you to all who have helped us.

The riding has been great.  Once we left the outer banks, the terrain changed and became more hilly, but so far nothing too bad and certainly nothing we couldn’t handle.  It is working out very well to have these sort of miles early in the trip to get used to everything, plus get stronger.

Mechanically, we haven’t had any major issues either.  All of our equipment and gear is performing as expected.  All that research we did is paying dividends now.

The pups are as happy as could be.  They both love exploring at all of the new places we have been and the last two they were able to hang out off-leash.  Last night Junebug treed a squirrel, which proved to be a lot of entertainment for our four-legged crew.  Tonight they are passed out.  It’s good to see tired little puppies.

We are having such a great time!  Thanks for following along!

Mark, Georgia, Junebug and Biscuit