We Finally Launched!

AND SO IT BEGINS!  We finally hit the road Thursday morning and it’s already been a roller coaster ride of emotions and experiences.  We are already more than 1/250^th done, how exciting!  We had to do the math a couple times, because it did not seem right, but sure enough it was.  My goal (This is Brent) is to keep these blogs short…which can be a challenge, as I can be a bit wordy.  My initial goal was to keep it under 500 words, but now I think 1,000 will be the goal.  So, we’ll just see how these posts develop along the way.  Hope you enjoy

Day one was full of many emotions.  The adrenaline was absolutely pumping as we rolled out of town, thanks to the excitement embarking on our journey as well as the ridiculous traffic on highway 378, which we rode for about 15 miles.  Once we got off that road it was smooth sailing for the rest of the day. The tough part was the heat; with highs in the lower 90's we were drinking a lot of water making sure to stay hydrated.  After 72 miles we rolled into Whitmire, South Carolina where we would be camping for the night.  We stopped at a gas station to ask for the nearest campsite and grab a drink.  I (Brent) was feeling a bit nauseous and was ready to set up camp and get to cooking.  We were directed to The Brickhouse about 7 miles away, however along the way we passed Friendship Baptist Church, where we struck up a conversation with gentleman and were invited to stay under the awning of their Family Center.  We were worn out and ready to hit the hay, so we cooked up some rice and beans, added some hot sauce, ate our dinner and went to sleep.  The next morning, one of the Deacon’s and another church member showed up to cook us breakfast. (this would  turn out to be extremely helpful as the day progressed) 

         The morning of day two was cold, we woke up to temps in the low 50’s.  While this was chilly to pack in, it was great to ride in.  (much better than 90’s)  halfway through the day we stopped to eat lunch on the town square in Laurens, SC.  As we were pulling out our tuna, a joyful woman came out to offer us some bottled water.  One thing led to another and we were having lunch in the historic courtroom and she called their local newspaper the Advertiser.  We left Laurens with a smile on our face, energized for the next leg.

         We planned the day to be a short 50 mile ride to Greenville where we would camp for the night, but it turned into a 75 mile ride when our friends father offered to let us stay at his place for the night…he just happened to live on the north end of Greenville.  (which is extremely hilly, good practice right?)  Whilst it may be good practice, it was rough after 50 miles.  Either way we finished and had a great dinner thanks to Mr. Gerald.  Then we crashed again.  (we are sensing a trend…it’s going to be easy to go to sleep at night)  The next morning Mr. Gerald cooked us breakfast, provided some recommendations for around town, and saw us off. 

         We decided to rest today, as we want to ease into the long days and not push it too hard in the beginning.  Our first stop was Sunshine Cycle on the recommendation of both Ms. Crotts as well as Mr. Gerald.  These guys were awesome they gave our bikes a once over, tightened some of the cables that had stretched and hooked Michael up with a kickstand.  It turned out they had just returned from their Saturday morning and there were a bunch of cyclists in the store we got to chat with.  Mr. Fitton, one of the cyclists invited us to stay the night at his house for the evening and we could not turn him down.  We exchanged info to meet up later and Michael and I rode to downtown Greenville for some R&R.

         We got to catch a bit of football while we ate lunch, then we headed down to TTR Bikes (Tandem, Touring and Recumbent Bikes) The guys at Sunshine Cycle said we should stop, and we had to agree…I mean touring is in their name.  The owner was not in, however his father, Scott McCrary, was and he provided some great insights into touring and how we can become more efficient. Mr. McCrary was a blast to chat with; he was extremely jolly and just loving life.  We appreciated his advice and genuine approach and passion for cycling advocacy. 

         By the time we were done at TTR the Fittons had returned home from their trip to the Orchard and the oldest daughter, Camilla, a culinary student and her boyfriend was busy cooking away making spiced apples ice, apple cheesecake, apple streusel muffins and applesauce.  We did find time to take some breaks to play ninja and take a family photo.  Perfect way to cap off an awesome day in Greenville, SC!

         In Good Health,

         Brent and Michael