Breakfast at the Residence Inn is always reliably good. This morning, the Explorers enjoyed the extra bonus of meeting the happiest breakfast attendant they have ever encountered. She asked Sidekick Sue how in the world her husband ever convinced her to do this trip. This is something that still puzzles Sidekick Sue.
Since they were already on the west side of Florence, the Explorers were quickly out of the urban area and onto backroads. They climbed an overpass over Interstate 95 and then crossed under Interstate 20. Like most the roads in SC, these roads were not bike-friendly, but at least they were not crowded, so there was plenty of room for drivers to pass safely. They were passed by one speed demon who passed a little too close and were rewarded with watching the driver get pulled over by the cops. The same driver passed them again later, this time with a lot more control. The scenery along the road was much like the days before, although it seemed that there was a lot more trailer homes, abandoned property, poverty and trash along the roads. As they had seen over the last few days, there were numerous properties with “no trespassing” signs, one that promised the opportunity to test the theory of “the afterlife” for those dared to trespass. The Explorers were only chased by one pair of guard dogs today.
The Explorers’ first break was to be Tex’s Grocery, but when they arrived, it looked closed. Although it is Sunday, in a very religious region, the Explorers got he feeling that it had been closed for a long time. They considered veering off-route to a Dollar General, but decided not to add more miles to a very long day. Captain Mark found another convenience store, but it was another 6 miles away, so the Explorers were already at 16 miles before managing to take their first break at a general store in Oates, SC where, once again, their bike set-up attracted a lot of attention. They planned their next stop at a natural spring that was along their route.
Sure enough, the natural spring was just as promised…. although a pipe had been installed to direct the stream of water as it gushed out from an underground aquifer. Captain Mark refilled his water bottle and said that it tasted quite good. Sidekick Sue opted to finish the Diet Coke she had picked up at the last stop. The Explorers chatted with a woman who was filling up dozens of water jugs. She said she arrived to “beat the church crowd” and sure enough, while we rested, several other cars pulled to join the queue.
Captain Mark had trouble scouting out another stop along the route Google had suggested. There were just no amenities along the route, so instead, he found an BP station slightly south where the Explorers took a nice long break, snacked and charged their phones. Their new route, which was south of the original one, put them on Route 34, which like roads earlier in the day, had little shoulder, but also very little traffic. The cornfields and soy bean fields were replaced with miles and miles of cotton fields. The flat road gave way to rolling hills, something the Explorers have not had to deal with since their first few days of riding.
The Explorers were about halfway through their last segment for the day, when they saw a friendly face approaching in a car from the other direction waving at them. It was Sidekick Sue’s brother-in-law, Todd, who had decided to take a Sunday drive to scout out some routes into Columbia for them. An avid biker himself, he knew the route that Google was suggesting was not passable for bicycling. Once he reached Camden, he decided to continue on a bit on Route 34 to see if he could find the Explorers. It was quite extraordinary that he found them, especially since they wouldn’t have been on Route 34 at all had Captain Mark not diverted to find a gas station. Not only that, but they were only a few miles away (and a few more hills) from turning off Route 34.
The Explorers were so glad to see a familiar face but turned down his very generous offer to tear down the folding bike and chauffeur them into Columbia. They figured that would be “cheating” and they were so close to their goal, they wanted to see it through. They decided instead to jettison their camping equipment, which had not been very useful since leaving the Outer Banks. Todd took their camping gear and they made plans to meet up at the University of SC (where Todd and Sidekick Sue’s sister Cathy work) tomorrow so that Todd can lead them to his house using his tried and true bike route.
After Todd departed, the Explorers finished the last 6-7 miles to their hotel, the Comfort Inn. They still had to tackle several more hills, but agreed that lightening their load made a difference. Captain Mark noticed the the bike computer showed they were moving 1 mph faster, just by losing the weigh of the camping gear. Today was another long ride…. they finished up at 51 miles. After getting settled and showering, they headed next door to the Fatz Cafe for some southern cooking.
ONE MORE DAY!!!!!
