Day 16

I set the alarm for 8:30, which would have given me about six hours of sleep, but then I forgot to turn it on. Somehow I woke up at 8:42 anyway. Went down for my usual abuse of the continental breakfast perk, and there were actually a lot more people there than I expected. I guess because people had to catch flights out and stuff. Even though I didn't have such a hard time constraint, I still wanted to get out at a reasonable time, and I managed to hit the road at 11:00. Easily my latest start ever, but that was fine for today.

Leaving Atlanta was a lot nicer than coming into Atlanta. First, it seems like the city drops away a lot faster to the northwest than it does to the northeast. Then, since it was Sunday morning, some of the areas I was riding through were completely devoid of traffic. I headed out towards Marietta, and eventually got on US 41 after passing Kennesaw Mountain. Then around Cartersville, I switched to GA 293, which would take me west to Rome. Somewhere along the way, I think I might have had something thrown at me. Finally! Now I feel like a real touring cyclist. I'm not sure what it was, and at first I thought it was just a big bug that brushed against my leg, but it happened just as three guys in a pickup passed by slowly. I wanted to stop and see what they threw, but by the time I figured out that they threw something at me, I'd already gone too far to go back. A little later on I went by a house where a few guys were shooting a gun at something. Thankfully they were in the backyard pointed away from the road.

Now, a note about dogs. In the three-and-a-half days I've been riding in Georgia, I haven't been chased by a single dog. Today a couple came out into their front yards and barked mildly at me, but that's the worst I've had in this state. That's a huge contrast to Kentucky and Tennessee, where it seemed like I'd get at least one a day, and sometimes more. I can't figure out what the difference is, because except for the areas around Atlanta, the country in Georgia doesn't seem markedly different than the country in Kentucky and Tennessee. Do the animal control officers in Georgia just have a lower tolerance for dogs running loose? Or is there less cultural pressure in Georgia to own a cyclist-eating dog? Or are the people on the roads in Georgia simply of a higher caliber, making it less necessary to have dogs to chase and eat them? I can't explain it, but I sure won't complain about it.

Even though I really had only about half a day of riding today, it was really easy to cover the distance. Partially because of the two days off, and partially because of the flatness and lack of wind. It was dripping rain for a while early in the day, and it would have been refreshing, had it not already been a nearly-chilly 69 degrees! Later in the afternoon the sun came out and it warmed up a little, but I'm sure the cool temperatures helped make things easier too. I covered the last 25 miles without even putting a foot down on the road, which is a lot longer than I usually go without stopping.

Tonight, Glenn Harveston, the host of the excellent ProgPower event I'd just attended, was kind enough to let me crash at his place. That was extremely gracious of him, especially since he's a lot more worn out than I am after running the show for the whole weekend. I almost felt bad taking him up on his offer, but his place is exactly on my route, and a perfect stopping point for the day, and it was nice to see him for a bit too. Plus, I might as well ease back into this camping thing. Hopefully the demonic Winnie the Pooh toilet seat cover won't haunt my dreams.