Today’s Highlights:
Our 81-mile ride from Savannah to Brunswick started at 7:30 this morning with beautiful weather. We were on busy city streets for several miles at each end of the route. About seventy miles of the route was on Rt 17, which varied from a four lane divided highway to a two lane main road. It was flat and comfortably smooth, and we made good time. There was a lot of traffic, but nearly all the drivers gave us plenty of room when they could. I almost had a run-in with a logging truck that pulled out in front of me, but I had just enough space to stop. I cycled pretty hard for the first 36 miles, averaging 18 mph, then took it down a notch to finish the entire ride with a 17.4 mph average. I arrived at the hotel at 1:00.
Although it is easier overall to cycle on the flats, the drawback compared to a hilly ride is that you use the same muscles for the entire ride, and there is no relief. With hills, there are slight variations in which leg muscles you use, and you get a little recovery on each descent. These flat rides are like riding in a gym, with resistance, for five hours straight. Imagine that. It can get monotonous too when the scenery doesn’t change much. So at this point in the ride, we are just trying to get to Florida. We are all in fine shape, and it feels good to just power through an 80-mile ride with relative ease. Even finishing in 95-degree heat does not feel bad anymore.
Pictures Of The Day:
Click the icon in the lower right to see photos in full screen mode.
Go here to see the full Ride The East Bike Trip Gallery
Statistics:
Zoom and pan the map to explore the route. Click the name to view more information at Garmin Connect.