Post #16 - Georgia & The Home State

Ok, so I am terrible about keeping my blog up to date.  I'm really going to try to do better.  So here we go.

Since my last blog, we have not only been through the entire width of Georgia, but we will be crossing form Alabama into Mississippi.

Georgia:

Couple pics from the last few miles before rolling into Georgia:

6/3 Hartwell - GA
6/4 Athens - GA
6/5 Norcross - GA
6/6 Rome - GA

So we made it through Georgia pretty quickly, 4 days to be exact.  It was  beautiful day when we crossed the state line.  Everyone apparently stopped to swim in Lake Hartwell, Jesse and myself rode by the turn before they chalked the turn and so we just chilled at the state line... gah... Oh well.  

We had our first ride in the rain on the way into Norcross (northeast Atlanta). We ride rain or shine, if there is lightening we find somewhere to hide. Unfortunately we had a couple people go down on some wet train tracks. Gina went down really hard and had to be taken to the hospital. She cracked her helmet wide open, but it did it's job and kept her head protected. She ended up with a slightly separated shoulder and some bruises. She's back and riding strong though. 

The ride from Norcross to Rome marked one year since the death of Christina Genco, a rider who .
was on our route last year riding in Alabama.  She was hit and killed by a driver.  The Christina Clark Genco foundation was established to continue Christina’s legacy. Link to the foundation website www.ccgfoundation.org.  We met up with one of Christina's fellow riders from last year at the start of the silver comet bike trail to hear a few words about Christina and she rode with us from our "Silent Mile".  We ended up riding for about half an hour in silence.  It was a really emotional time of reflection.

Chalk art commemorating Christina.

We rode from Norcross to Rome that day and ended up staying at the beautiful Berry College.  The ride was 86 miles, the longest I have ever ridden on a bike.  It was a long, but good ride day.  Staying in dorms was awesome because everyone was able to sleep in beds!  They fed us wonderfully and even had a local bike mechanic come in and help people out with their bike troubles.  Pretty much everyone even took the time to clean their bikes.  It was a really great day.

Alabama:

6/7 Scottsboro - AL
6/8 Decatur - AL 

6/9 DAY OFF
6/10 Hamilton - AL

Bama!!

So we made it to my home state of Bama!  The ride into Scottsboro was by far the hilliest of our trip so far. Here is the link to the ride on Strava, if you're curious about that sort of thing.  http://app.strava.com/rides/10324275.

On the way into Scottsboro we stopped at Little River Falls for our lunch break.  Lunch was conveniently located at the top of the really long climb.  It was awesome!  A bunch of us went swimming under the waterfall.  

At about 77 miles into the 83 mile ride I met up with a reporter who was expecting me and wanted to interview the local boy.  So I ended up making the 6:00 news in Huntsville.  http://whnt.com/2012/06/07/bike-build-cyclists-return-to-alabama/

From Scottsboro we rode into Decatur, which is only 30 miles from my house.  So for our off day my parents, sisters, and God-mother hosted all 30 of us for a pool party!  It was super fun.  I really enjoyed getting to introduce everyone to my family.  It was a really relaxing and overall just good day.  My parents and Connie outdid themselves cooking.  I don't think anyone left hungry at all.  

Everyone at the house!

We had awesome weather for the party, which was awesome.  Today we were not so lucky.  We rode 80 miles from Decatur to Hamilton this morning.  The first 40 miles were great, cool and overcast.  The second half of the ride it rained and rained and rained.  We were all soaked to the bone when we rolled in to the church this afternoon.  Dena and I were riding sweep so we were the last to roll in.  The warm showers were amazing after spending several hours in the rain.  Tomorrow we head to Tupelo!  

I am still amazed by this group of people.  Everyone is unique and has their own amazing experiences to share.  There is no doubt in my mind that each of us will learn so much and grow throughout this summer.  Every day is a new adventure and I can't wait!