Charleston or Bust!

Departing view of Beaufort

It was a chilly morning and Glenn got an earlier start thanks to the time change!  It was bright and sunny by 8 AM when he departed Beaufort for Charleston.   After having a flat tire yesterday, Glenn checked out the tire before leaving this AM.

Today's journey was 78 miles from downtown Beaufort to Charleston.   I caught up to Glenn about 22 miles outside of Charleston and he hopped into the car to sit and eat his lunch, the usual PB & J, fruit and trail mix.  Our next meeting point was The Battery in Charleston.  It was a gorgeous day to sit and enjoy the view and the weather!

Glenn decided that he had a few more miles in him so he headed out of downtown Charleston to cross the Ravanel Bridge.  I picked Glenn and his bike up on the far side of the bridge to complete this adventure.

This is the only photo that Glenn took on the ride.
The Ravanel Bridge from the seat of his bike on his cell phone!

Our accommodations for tonight are the best of the trip.  Our friends, Bill and Barbara Green live near Charleston on Daniel Island.   Bill is out of town but Barbara is a great hostess, as always! 

***The final tally of miles and dollars***

244 miles =  $1220 donation to I Care I Care

The next leg will begin at the Ravanel Bridge and head north to North Carolina......to be continued in 2011!

Beaufort - Bike Friendly!?!

We might be staying at the friendliest motel in town for bikers......only all of the other "bikes" are the motor variety!   There must be 20 of them parked right outside our door!   We thought we heard a train going by but soon realized that it was just someone revving the engine of a big bike!

We are in for the night but had a great dinner and experienced a Beaufort Sunset.  It is chilly tonight but we warmed up by the fire outside the restaurant!

Alley leading to our restaurant and the River Park

Sunset in Beaufort

Chilly Evening

                        Glenn is notorious for turning the clocks forward or back much too early in the evening
                          for Daylight Savings time.   He was very excited to find that the town of Beaufort
                        does the same thing!   It was 7:16 PM and the big clock downtown had already been
                         set back an hour!    Don't forget to set your clocks back an hour before heading to bed!

Sunny South Carolina

Glenn sporting his I Care I Cure I Cycle t-shirt in Historic Beaufort, SC

Today was a relatively short ride for Glenn....about 63 miles.  Our goal was to get to Beaufort, South Carolina today.....we did that and have enjoyed a more leisurely afternoon perusing the cute shops and soaking in the beautiful waterfront scenery.   We found a motel right in the historic downtown district and can walk to dinner tonight......an early dinner and a short walk in case Glenn is running out of energy!

Glenn's decision to stray from the East Coast Greenway directions was almost a big mistake!   He reached a long bridge that had posted signs saying "no pedestrians and bicycles allowed to cross".  After consulting someone in the Savannah Visitors Bureau office, he ventured across the bridge despite the signs!  He had no problem crossing and no ticket was issued so it was a good move.   We know now why the Greenway directions did not suggest this route!

Glenn enjoyed pedaling through the Low Country marshlands which provided him with some nice scenery.  Tomorrow our goal is to reach Charleston.   Our stop in Beaufort may make tomorrow a shorter ride for Glenn and will be a pleasant place for me to hang out tomorrow morning!

Meeting up 16 miles from Beaufort, SC

Glenn's GPS with today's stats.

The riverview from the restaurant we will dine at tonight.

Glenn relaxing at the river after his ride today.

Just to prove that I am on this trip too!

All Rested and Ready to Go!

A good night's sleep can do wonders for the body....no aches and pains for Glenn this AM.  After looking at the East Coast Greenway suggested route for the day, Glenn decided to forge his own path so that we can be in Beaufort, SC tonight.  We'll see how that goes!  Thankfully, the GPS should keep him from getting too lost.

The Georgia drivers haven't been too rude to him...only one person rolled down his window and said, "Get off the road" and Glenn wasn't even in his way!   Sure beats the time that a man got out of his pick-up truck and started running after Glenn with a baseball bat in Cherokee County, GA.  Glenn out-pedaled him!   Let's hope for friendly drivers today!

I might go explore Savannah for an hour this AM....sunny and crisp morning here.  Have a good Saturday and I will report back tonight.

Leaving this AM from the Best Western in Richmond Hill, GA bound for SC!

Today's Stats!





                            One day down!   Who would expect a 60 year old to accomplish this?!!?

Glenn traveled 103.3 miles from Kingsland, GA to Richmond Hill, GA.

(At $5/mile, I am already donating at least $515.00 to I Care I Cure!)

He pedaled for 6 hours and 42 minutes expending 5100.01 calories.

The strangest stat is that he ascended 2720 feet - on the coast?!  There are a few bridges!

How do we know all of this?   Glenn has an invaluable bike GPS.

My day was much less strenous....many hours in the car with a few stops to view the scenery and to meet up with Glenn.  We rewarded ourselves this evening with a wonderful dinner in Savannah which is about 20 miles north of our motel.   Now it is 9 PM and Glenn is asleep.

Tomorrow is another day!



Palm Trees!
We must be on vacation!

  





Meeting up in Darien, GA about 50 miles into today's ride.

                                         



The starting and ending points of today's ride
are starred and circled.

My quick stop in St. Simons Island

   

St. Simons Island





And He's Off!!

We arrived in Kingsland, GA last night at 10:40....just off Exit 3 on Rte. 95.  This AM I drove Glenn and his bike to the Florida/Georgia border on Rte. 17 to the spot where he finished his ride last November.  It's a chilly but clear and sunny morning here and the forecast is for temps in the low 60's.   Should be a great biking day.  Not sure what I am going to do...perhaps explore Jekyll Island!  

I hope that the start of Glenn's ride was better than my day began....after dropping him off, I somehow missed the motel and ventured too far on Rte. 40.  When I realized what I had done, I turned around and went back and eventually found the area where we were staying which is a grouping of 10 or 12 motels and hotels.  I happily parked the car and started into the motel but quickly realized that I was at the wrong place.   Good thing I am not navigating a bicycle today!

Enjoy the first photos of the ride!

The start of the ride - at the bridge where last year's ride ended.  Rte. 17 at the Florida-Georgia Border!

Friday, November 5, 2010  9:00 AM

Another year, Another state!

We're back on the road again!   Glenn has decided to continue working toward his goal of riding the entire East Coast Greenway which stretches from Key West, Florida to the Maine-Canada border.   As you might know, we began this trek last November when Glenn rode his bicycle from Key West, Florida to the Florida-Georgia border in a week.   Tomorrow he will begin at the point at which we ended last year and pedal up the Georgia Coast into South Carolina.  Not exactly sure where we will be when we have to head home on Monday.

When I mentioned to Glenn that I wasn't exactly thrilled about being his pack mule again, he suggested that I continue the blog to pass the time.....hence this new update.   Although we are not soliciting for donations this year, I have pledged to donate $5.00 for each mile that Glenn rides to I Care I Cure and Glenn will wear his I Care I Cure I Cycle Shirt whenever he can to continue to spread the word about a cause dear to our hearts!

I will post photos and updates as we make our way up the coast this weekend!  For those of you who didn't follow our adventure last year, you can catch up by scrolling down this blog to the very end and reading up to this post!