24th May 2016 Borden Springs, Al to Newnan, Ga 117.2 kms - 72.8 miles Up = 1010m - Down = 1007m
24th May 2016 - Borden Springs, Alabama to Newnan, Georgia.
What a wonderfully quiet stop it was at the Chief Ladiga Campground on the Chief Ladiga Trail. Rita and Jerry who we met and rode with on the trail yesterday used to live a 2 hour drive from here and used to drive over about 3 times a week to ride the trails. About 6 months ago, they sold up and moved to Piedmont to a house right on the trail and they ride daily now without all the car travel. Great idea!!
Today would see us move into the state of Georgia – and we would get to the town of “Newnan” – which is pronounced like my surname!
The route we were to take was discussed and instead of heading south down the Alabama side before cutting across into Georgia to Waco etc – we continued on the Chief Ladiga Trail the 6 miles to the border. In Alabama the bike track is “tar-sealed” – “black top” - but once into Georgia it becomes the Silver Comet Trail and is a very wide concrete surface that is very smooth and doesn’t have those normal “join bumps” that our concrete paths often have. I believe the full route of these bike paths extends from Anniston, through to Atlanta. The section from Georgia border to wherever it ends in Atlanta is 100 kms in itself.
Once we crossed the border – we instantly lost an hour as we moved into the Eastern Time Zone.
We continued on what is now the “Silver Comet” bike track until we had covered about 25 kms when we decided to start heading south from Cedar Town on the “27”. There were quite a few decent hills along this stretch of the road, through to the Interstate 20 junction. One of those days when you get to the top of one hill only to see a downhill followed by another uphill. The good thing tho was that there was a pretty wide shoulder and a much milder rumble strip that didn’t shake the living daylights out of us if we had to ride on it. This was certainly an improvement for cycling!!
We met up with Pat near the I-20 junction and restored used energy with some food and drink before going under the Interstate and heading towards Newnan.
This was in a southerly direction on the 27 past Carrolton and onto Newnan Road before a few short roads brought us to our destination for the day which is Don and Annie’s cousins’ place. We were inspired all through this section that we were to have a special treat of a massage on our arrival!!!! Yippeee!!!
This section of the road had areas that were certainly not cyclist friendly – and the traffic seemed to be in great hurry!! I was battling on the hills – and at the same time anxious to get to the destination in time for our massages!! We had all overlooked the change in time zone and our proposed arrival time of 3:00 pm was slipping away. As usual when time is of essence – I got a “flat”. My sixth puncture of the trip, but first for quite some time. Maybe it had been a slow leak today which had been making the hills seem hard today - maybe not - but it was another of those pesky small fine pieces of tyre wire that had pierced the tyre and tube. Don stepped in and changed it for me as he hasn’t had a lot of practice of late!!
So with losing an hour to the time zone change, stopping for a flat, and travelling a few extra miles of bike trail, we reached Mike and Janette’s lovely home an hour later than planned, but just as Tiff (the masseuse) was finishing her previous family client!! Perfect!!!!
It was wonderful for Don and Annie to meet up again with their “cousins” - I think quite a few years since they had seen each other. They made us all extremely welcome and it was super to sit down in a homely environment and enjoy a beer – a special brew that Mike had found for us – see photo!!
After quick showers - Tiff got to work and with expert hands I am sure helped the three of us cycling!! While we keep on keeping on day after day – we have all had niggling aches and pains from time to time – and sometimes certainly more than a “niggle”! Thank you very much Tiff – hard to convey how much we appreciate your expertise – and to Janette for organising this for us – thanks and big hugs!!!!
Feeling very relaxed and re-hydrated - we then enjoyed a very social evening of poolside nibbles, followed by a beautiful meal in a large extended family environment. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting and chatting with y'all!! A super relaxing time, and perfect way to end another big day on the bike!!
Also a great time to catch up with some “canine cuddles” – Angel and Angus are 2 very cute little “Westies” and a gorgeous “smallish” Labrador who had been rescued from the streets in Sicily by Mike’s sons friend while he was on military service there and had found a litter of pups abandoned on the street. This lovely little girl is very lucky to be able to come back here for her future!!!