deCycles Southeast America 2014
Journal Entry
Day 14 ... Friday, July 4

Start: Columbia, SC

End: Spartanburg, SC

Distance: 91-miles

Terrain: Rolling hills.  Climbed over 5000-vertical feet today.

Climate: High 80s.  Sunny.   Headwinds all day.

We're heading for the hills.  Elevation went up to 700-ft today with a total of about 6000-vertical feet of climbing.  That can slow things down a bit ... especially with a headwind.  The first few groups averaged 15-mph.  My odometer recorded 14.2-mph which is the slowest day on the trip so far.  The temperature today was the first time in 2-weeks that was lower than 90-degrees.  We were on the road for about 10-hours today.

The roads today were the worst and the best of the trip so far.  The worst roads jiggled us to death.  The best roads were beautiful.  We pedaled through a national forest and the scenery was gorgeous.  This was also the first day without a lot of traffic. So the auto pollution was minimized and I myself felt much better not breathing auto exhaust.  I have my methods for dealing with highway pollution, but enough is enough.  East coast riding is always tough with relentless traffic.

About 4-5 people on this trip have come down with a queasy stomach.  We want to nip this in the bud, so we are sterilizing everything and reminding the riders to practice proper hygiene when possible.  Food handling will have to be more careful. Riders will have to be reminded over and over again.  Riders who have been injured are getting back out on the bike.  

The rookies doing real well on this trip are too many to mention.  Most everyone prepared themselves very well in the training rides.  The veteran group leaders are helping many other slower riders get down the road.  This is an experienced team and they are doing great.  And finally, there are some really awesome adults on this trip.  They have made the trip go so much smoother.  They help supervise and are bringing a lot of fun on the trip for the student-riders.

We are staying here in Spartanburg on July 4.  This church is huge and they are hosting a fireworks display and party.  It should be fun and will be starting in a few minutes, so off I go and I'll check in tomorrow on our way to Asheville, NC.

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