Today was definitely a dog day. I lost count of how many dogs chased after me. I've read up quite a bit on how to handle dog situations. I'm not going to pepper spray a dog. Not because it's a poor little doggie, but because I think I'm way more likely to spray myself! Only one of them I needed to take some action, which was just yelling back at him pretty ferociously. He cut in front of my bike twice, but without incident. The other close call I was fortunate to be passing a couple of guys across the street and they saw the dog approaching and scared him away for me. The others were more cases of "ooh...look at that moving fun toy that I need to chase". Showing no fear is crucial. And always keep Red Ranger in between me and any approaching canine if I have to stop.
Today was also a day of rollers. The small chain ring is my friend. Again due to the load it was a chore though. I found myself going up what previously would be rather inconsequential hills at the same speed and effort as I would Sugarloaf. But I did manage to get to 22.8 mph on a descent! That's the one good thing about going uphill...what goes up must inevitably come down.
I don't have a lot of pictures to share today because frankly there wasn't much to photograph. This part of Georgia is pretty depressed. The towns are small and look pretty poverty-stricken. The weather was overcast and dreary.
I stopped in a town called Register. I found the people to be a bit creepy. I had no desire to talk with any of the townspeople. Basically just do my business and get out of there. I imagine most of the residents there are unemployed because people were just hanging out in the middle of the day at The Store in Register (yes, that's really its name).
Collins was essentially the same thing. People just hanging out at the BP. They were fascinated with my bike though. They'd never seen anything like it. I've had people everywhere ask me how much my bike cost. I've learned to lie like a dog and say things like:
- I got it for $50 on Craigslist.
- I don't know...I got it as a gift.
- My husband built it from scrap materials.
I get this feeling that if some of the townsfolk knew what it actually cost that they'd bop me over the head and steal it. I'm not all that paranoid, but I definitely have gotten some weird vibes from some people. I've also started to lie about where I'm headed as well. Just something eerie about people asking all kinds of personal questions. What I have to realize though is that living in these small depressed towns...someone like me coming through on such a contraption is such a novelty that they can't help but be curious. I just use my improvisational skills to steer the conversation away from anything uncomfortable to me.
I arrived in Reidsville today at about 2:00. There really is nothing here. This building is lovely and it sticks out like a sore thumb.
I have no idea what it is. There's nothing on the outside identifying it.
Also around town there are these things sitting on benches lining all the main streets.
Their heads are made of some sort of gourds, but I can't identify it. They're everywhere! There's more of these than people.
I mean there is really nothing here. I walked over to the Goodyear shop across from the Dairy Queen (I guess that's something) to get my tire pressure gauged and asked the guys there where I should have dinner. They all looked at each other for a while. Then I heard Smith's, if I like my food salty (more salty on Sundays than any other day of the week). And Summer House, if I want to pay New York prices (I checked online and entrees range from $11-15...only open for dinner on Fridays). Once one guy saw how they swirled some sauce on the plate, no way was he going there. And Hubble House, but be prepared to be eating dinner with drug addicts who are buying and selling drugs inside the restaurant.
I asked one local woman where she would recommend I have dinner. She was going inside a clogging dance studio! A few of the other women came out and the first response I got was "fsheh" (my best attempt phonetically). They said either Joe's Kountry Kettle or Village Pizza, both within walking distance. The general consensus was Joe's, but when I walked over there I discovered they are only open for dinner Thursday-Saturday. So Village Pizza it was!
Actually Village Pizza was just fine. The waitress was ultra friendly, as were the patrons. I had spaghetti with meat sauce, unlimited salad bar, and garlic toast for $4.99 (plus tax). It was the only opportunity I had to ask the locals the one thing I should know about Reidsville.
Joe - people are real friendly.
Lillian - everyone comes from close-knit families.
Cory - everyone knows everyone (I asked if that was a good or bad thing...both was the answer).
Lisa - it's the only place you can walk around barefoot and nobody will say a thing.
I asked Joe what people did around here for employment. The largest employer is the Georgia State Prison (where Joe works).
"Houses the most recalcitrant and aggressive male adult offenders incarcerated in the Georgia Prison system."
Hopefully any prisoners with designs to escape will do so after tomorrow morning.
Come to find out Lillian works for the local newspaper, The Tattnall Journal. Cory thought it would be a great idea for there to be an article about me in the paper and Lillian agreed, but I would have to wake up Ranger and drag his ass down to the newspaper office for them to take pictures of me. I was flattered, but respectfully declined.
Speaking of the Red Ranger, after I unloaded him and was walking with him to Goodyear, all I could think of was it's like walking with a horse out to pasture after a long day's work and his saddle and bridle are removed. He seemed pretty lethargic, but thrilled to not be carrying all that weight. He's got it made again tonight...sleeping in the front parlor with the grand piano. Seriously! I'm staying at the Nelson House B&B and I'm the only guest. So both Red and I had our choice of rooms. No surprise, I opted for downstairs. Climbing enough on the bike...don't need to climb once I'm done.
So tomorrow will be a challenge. The rain is expected in the afternoon and I've got 60 miles ahead of me on my way to Blackshear, GA, population around 3300. I'll have some serious climbing to do around the 20-mile mark, but once that's done it should be a smoother ride. The rain is coming though. Not a thing I can do about it. Some of it is supposed to be severe. I'm doing my rain-go-away dance as we speak.
Thanks for tuning in. Sorry this one's not more interesting. You'll have to check out Julie's blog for that. Not much of a comparison between Paris and...where am I?...Reidsville.
So for day two, it's over...and I'm out.
It's not only interesting, it is riveting and I can't wait for the next installment. Your description of the creepy local folks and the picture of the gourdheads was a good mesh and may give me bad dreams. I hope your B&B is not haunted. This is a good Halloween story! I sure do hate to think of you riding in stormy weather but I know you will have a contingency plan of some kind. I'm loving your adventure and I thank you for sharing it. Sleep tight. You too, RR.
I miss you so much. Please be careful tomorrow. Thanks for sharing. Soy Solana!
I agree with Leica. That was sooooooooo interesting! Gotta take the good with the eerie, right? I do say, though, that the 'eerie' in your case is surely entertaining. I actually laughed out loud for much of this one ;-)
Love you! Good luck tomorrow!
I have a plot twist for you...maybe all of the gourd people are those who have visited Reidsville and never returned home! Watch you, you and Red might be the gourd versions of yourselves by morning!
Great adventure and interesting, too. Thanks for sharing with us. I love following along. I'll be wishing for some good weather.
Have a good sleep.
Jenni