Day 38: Savannah to Brunswick

Yesterday morning after packing up my stuff, I said goodbye to Joe, who woke up early, too. I had breakfast at The Sentient Bean, where I had an omelette and a cup of coffee. I hit the road at 7:45 AM from the restaurant.

The road out of Savannah was a little bit dangerous, but nothing compared to the road coming into Savannah. After I got out of the city limits there was a bicycle lane that I rode on route 17. After that there was a shoulder and I was glad the road had four lanes, two on each side, so the cars could pass me.

Yes! A bike lane

I averaged a little over 14 miles per hour on this section of the road, thus making good speed. I stopped at a Dollar General to buy my daily ice cream bar to cool me off. Then I got on the road again.

There was a convenience store in Riceboro and that’s where I decided to have an early lunch, consisted of chicken thighs, rice, and corn, along with sweet tea.

Just what I needed for the road

At this point, I rode about 38 miles and it’s not even noon yet. I debated with myself about going to Brunswick rather than Darien, but that’ll be 20 extra miles from Darien and I would have ridden over 80 miles in one day. I decided to push ahead and see what happens.

Further down the road, I passed by the smallest church in America. I decided to pay a visit. The church had a small bell tower and only seated 8 people. It was a good break for me after on the saddle for so long.

The smallest church in America

I took this rest break to call Red Roof Inn in Brunswick to make a reservation. That way, I won’t chicken out of going there. After the lady quoted me $66 for the night, I told her on booking.com it’s $61. She then immediately gave me an April discount and the total was $54. I wondered if this trick works for all hotels.

After passing Darien, I rode all the way to Brunswick, having stopped at another convenience store for ice cream. I wanted to get to Brunswick before 4 PM since the weather forecast indicated rain. I noticed my speed was slower now than in the morning. Maybe it was because I’m not on route 17 or maybe it was late in the day and my fresh legs in the morning had worn out. I'm not sure.

I saw a pair of long distance cyclists coming from the opposite direction. Since we were riding on a busy road we didn't stop to chat, but I did ask where they were going. They are going all the way to Maine.

While riding on a local road, I saw a sign on someone's front yard that said "Only God and Donald Trump can save our country." I don't think neither of them care.

On a quiet road

I did ride on a bike path for a bit before coming into Brunswick. That was a delight to be away from all the cars.

A little after 3:30 PM, I arrived at Red Roof Inn. After I checked in, it started to rain. I made it just in time! I settled in my room and the first thing I did was to take a shower. I had ridden 83 miles and set a new record for myself.

For dinner, I went to Cracker Barrel and had a huge meal of meat loaf, chicken and dumplings, coleslaw, carrots, fried okras, and corn bread. With tip, it was about $20. A great deal considering how much food I got. I also bought gummy worms and ate them for dessert.

After reaching out to some Warmshowers hosts in Jacksonville and St. Marys, I didn’t have much to do so I went to bed around 7:30. The sun sets around 8 PM these days and I’ve been going to bed early.

This morning I woke up at 5 AM again. I will ride to St. Marys and hopefully stay in a Warmshowers host’s boat for the night.