Late For Dinner

"Adventures...Make you late for dinner." -- Bilbo Baggins

Featuring Thoughts and Images both Adventurous and Otherwise. Dealing mostly with those Occurences and Happenings which befall one Jordan Emmans, during his Sojourn in the Far East (South Korea, specifically). Giving no promise as to Quality or Frequency of posts. Expecting, however, great Diversity of Subject Matter. Hoping sincerely to Entertain and Enlighten those Readers who would care to glance herein. Or Something.

Name:
Location: Gwangju, South Korea

I'm a follower of Jesus and a guitarist/drummer/vocalist. I'm from Cool, CA, USA, and I've been in Korea since Jan. 27, 2006. Right now I'm giving teaching a try. Next year...who knows what I'll be doing. Life is an adventure!

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

A burger "all the way," lessons learned, heat

Hello again. First, the numbers: I am now up to 780 miles pedaled, and 20 days on the road. So I'm averaging 39 miles per day, between 9 and 10 miles per hour. Which is down a bit from my previously posted average of 45 miles per day, but hey, there have been some hills. And some heat.

I'm in the Auburn University library in, you guessed it, Auburn, Alabama. This is another day of rest for me. I'll be honest, the last few days have been a bit rough. Near 100-degree heat has really been taking it out of me, even with taking a break during the worst of it every day. Aaaand...I realized that I'm going to have to change my route if I want to make it back in August. Without going broke. So, while I haven't finalized my new route yet, I have decided not to go up to Franklin, TN, as it would take too much time and money. So I'm going to go straight northwest from here, as straight as I can. Don't worry, I'm still going to avoid the worst of the desert.

I've continued my stealth camping ways, and enjoyed the hospitality of the church. And I stayed in a motel in Columbus, GA. Yes, I cracked. I don't plan on that happening again. Too expensive.

To back up a bit...

After quitting Quitman (haha, do you get it?), I rode to Moultrie. As I was heading out of town, at around 6:30pm, a thundershower hit. I stopped off at Lakeside Assembly of God, seeking shelter. Only momentary shelter, but I met Bryant, a real nice guy and the children's church leader there. We got to talking and he offered to let me camp there at the church. I took him up on his offer, and was setting up my tent when Jean Sellers walked up.

After learning what I was doing, and that I was intending to spend the night there under the church's carport, he said, "Why don't you come stay in my guest room?" He seemed like a nice guy so I accepted his offer. He and his wife Lucille took me to pizza, then back to their home, where they did my laundry and put me up in a wonderful bedroom, complete with a fan to drown out any noise and help me sleep better. In the morning Jean took me to breakfast and dropped me off back at the church. It was great, and very, very generous of them. And trusting on their part. They're both retired, Jean from Proctor and Gamble and Lucille from a large sewing company there in Georgia. Both wonderful, hospitable, Christian people! Thank you Jean and Lucille!

I should also mention Jimmy Chapman, who was also there at the church. He made me feel extremely welcome, and offered all kinds of help and support, even giving me his phone number. Thank you Jimmy for your warm hospitality!

From Moultrie I rode to just outside of Albany, camping behind Mt. Hope Baptist church, which was out in the middle of nowhere, between two cornfields. On the way there I stopped off at Bob's Country Store and had excellent food, cooked by a guy named (I believe his name was also) Jimmy. The burger was great. I had it "all the way," which means "with everything on it." First time I'd heard that phrase. The black-eyed peas were great (my first black-eyed peas ever, if my memory serves me right). The pudding was excellent. I hung out there for a while, waiting out the heat and reading. I'm reading The Odyssey, by the way, a gift from my coworker Daniel. It's extremely apropos.

I should also mention the All-Pro Grill in Leesburg. I heard "all the way" in relation to burgers for the second time there. The burger was good, too. I watched Regis and Kelly while I ate it. Good, ol' fashioned, mindless entertainment.

After Mt. Hope it was another church, which had no sign so it shall remain nameless. This one was just outside Americus, GA. From Quitman all the way to Moultrie I took the back roads. The highways in Georgia are terrible for bikes. Georgia is either indifferent to or has a strong dislike of bicycles. There are no bike lanes, and major roads have deep, horizontal grooves on the shoulders, warning drivers when they're about to go off the road, but also making it hell to ride on. I can't ride on the grooves, which puts me on the white line -- with semi's shooting past me. No fun. So when I got to Americus, the edge of my good map that showed back roads, and couldn't find another map with back roads, I became frustrated. And decided to get out of Georgia.

So I headed straight west on Highway 26, going to Columbus. As it got toward the heat of the day, I stopped at Friendship Camp, a Baptist summer camp. They were winding down a week of jr.-sr. high camp, and were kind enough to let me hang out for a while. Janet got me water and took me to see Lance, the camp director and a real nice guy, who gave the okay. I also met Scott, a biker like myself (perhaps less crazy). I sat at some shady picnic tables, where a couple of students and a counselor (Josh, Ashley and Libba) were hanging out, playing guitar. It had been two weeks since I had played a guitar, so I asked if I could borrow one of theirs. It felt oh so good to play again. I played a couple songs for them before they had to leave. Josh, Ashley and Libba, it was nice meeting you guys! And thanks, Lance, Scott and Janet for making me feel so welcome.

I rolled out of there at 5pm, headed toward Buena Vista. About an hour and a half later, I rolled into the outskirts of town. I camped in a field behind their sports complex, in what I thought was a great location. In the morning, I discovered...ants. Now, there are red ants everywhere in the South, but these had actually chewed through the netting on my tent and gotten into my backpack, where they smelled goodies. They didn't bite me at all. I only saw it when I woke up. But it was a bummer de-anting my pack and tent.

After that delightful morning, I rode toward Columbus. I made good time, stopping off at Zion Hill Baptist Church in Cusseta. They were having a barbecue fundraiser to send their youth to Six Flags in Atlanta. So naturally, seeing the sign and the smoking grill, I stopped for lunch. Douglas was manning the grill, and he did a fantastic job. The ribs and chicken were superb. I also talked with a gentleman who had ridden his motorcycle all over the States, so we had something in common. Pastor Harris was a very welcoming, friendly man. Everyone there was very friendly, actually. Thanks, Zion Hill Baptist Church!

Zion Hill was the last good thing that happened that day. I was on Highway 30, which was pretty nice. But it deadended into 280, which was basically a freeway. The grooves returned. It was hot. And on both sides of the road -- military property. I found this out the hard way. I kept seeing signs that said, "U.S. Property, no trespassing." This frustrated me. If it's U.S. property, and I'm U.S. citizen, I should be able to ride that road, I thought. Now, in my defense, I was sick unto death of freeway riding, was hot, tired and pushing to get to Columbus before it got too hot. So, seeing a nice road that seemed to go the right direction, even though it was closed, I got off 280, road through some tall grass, and made the nice, abandoned road that wound through the woods. It wound past a large, open field with a sign that said, "Babbot Drop Zone."

Not good. I was on military property, military training grounds, no less. So I promptly decided to something else stupid. I saw a dirt road that seemed to maybe take me back to the freeway by a quicker route. Bombing down it, I hit some sand and took a spill. I was okay, I just couldn't get free of my clip-in pedals. Then I compounded my stupidity. I didn't go back to where I knew I could get back on the freeway. No, I kept going on the dirt road, till I came to another, more overgrown dirt road that seemed to go straight back to the freeway. It led me to dense brush. Which I had no choice but to go through. So about 50 yards of dense brush later, with cuts and stratches and sand all over me, I made it back to where I would have flown past 15 minutes earlier, had I stayed on the freeway. The lesson? Don't trespass, for one. Don't take unproven shortcuts, for another.

I made it to Columbus after riding through the heat. It was about 4pm. By 5, I was toast. I had no energy, was not in the highest of spirits, so...I checked into the first motel of the trip. It set me back a pretty penny, but at least I had a shower and bed. Columbus is beautiful, very historic. I just wish I had had more time and a car to enjoy it. Yes, I wanted a car. I was tired.

After Columbus I rode to Opalika, Alabama. Once you cross the Chatahoochee River going out of Columbus, you're in Alabama. So, another new state. To get to Opalika I had to ride on 280 again. No grooves, just a horrible chip-and-seal shoulder that I couldn't ride on. So, I was on the white line, with cars and trucks barreling past me at 65 miles per hour. I took my life in my own hands all day that day. Once again, the heat was intense, reaching 100 on the blacktop. I got to town and was drained. I stopped at Burger King, thought I could keep going after that, and was wrong. I immediately had to find some shade and just sit. Which I did, for two hours. After regaining my strength a bit, I rode off in search of a place to crash, metaphorically speaking.

I happened upon First Baptist Church of Opalika, in a huge, beautiful building in the Greek style, recently renovated. Their youth choir was practicing for the evening service, so I sat in. They were very good, led by a lady named Tamara. The evening service (it was Sunday) was full, maybe 500 people. Pastor Steve and Pastor Mike gave me the okay to camp on church property for the night, which I gladly did. Thank you, gentlemen!

I woke up at 5:30 (Alabama is Central Time, so I gained an hour). After riding casually around the historic district, I headed for nearby Auburn, where I did my laundry at the laundromat. After cleansing my garments, I went across the street to R and R Music, where I met Larry and Toby and another guy who doesn't work at the store whose name escapes me. Larry gave me a pep talk about my ride, and about music. So I'm feeling better about my chances of making it all the way by bike. Toby showed me his band and had some very kind words to say about my music. The other guy, who shall remain nameless until I remember his name (he has spent a lot of time in Canada, though he's not Canadian; just so he knows I'm talking about him) was very impressed with our stuff. I'm glad I stopped in; thanks guys!

And that pretty much brings you up to date. Now I'm off to find a place to sleep for the night, and up at the crack of dawn to beat the heat. Your prayers are appreciated!

Until the next library...

3 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi Jordan,
Sounds like you have had some interesting days. I think i lost your email address. I want to send some pictures from Fort Meade.

Paul the Painter
paul_from_fl@yahoo.com

4:15 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Dear Jordan,

What an amazing adventure you are having! I'm so proud of you. I thought I was something when I gave up my parking spot and started riding my bike to work in the mornings... it's only abou 5 miles each way.

I am very impressed!

I was grateful to Nathan for forwarding me the link to your blog spot. I had asked him if he thought you might be interested in volunteering at worldfest in Grass Valley next month.

You probably won't be home yet.

What a great job you are doing with the blog too. It will be very nice to see you when you are back.

love to you from Aunt Chris

PS: YOu are aware of all the flooding and storms in the midwest, yes? Don't go too far north till you're past all that mess. Any chance you'll go through Logan, Utah? If you did, Grandma and Grandpa would be glad to see you!

Love and luck!

8:54 AM  
Blogger Jordan said...

Hey Aunt Chris, yeah I'm hoping to avoid all that mess. I'm not sure if I'm going to go through Logan, but if I do I'll be sure to visit Grandma and Grandpa. See you some time in August!

11:54 PM  

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