I finally made it to Oconee with Steve!
For my Georgia ride, I decided to do the
Nitty Gritty Apple Valley ride listed in Bicycle Magazine because it was only an hour north of Lake Oconee where Tommy and Kim have a house. I figured I could combine the ride with a visit that was long overdue. Unfortunately, Kim wasn't in town for this weekend :( so I will have to catch up to her next time.
Tommy and Kim's house is really cozy and beautiful. The azaleas were popping which made it extra colorful.
I started the ride at Oconee Heights Baptist Church, which was appropriate, because at times I thought there were more churches than cars on this ride. I guess it's a good thing I didn't go out on a Sunday morning!
This church wasn't technically on the ride. I took a wrong turn right out of the gate and ended up on Crooked Creek road.
And another - Summer Hill Baptist. They were all baptist but one. However, none of them had weird or silly messages on their signs like I see up north. So I'll give them credit for that.
So, the pictures look so bright and sunny, but I started out the ride feeling a bit dark. I think I was partially worried that I might have a problem with my bike and I didn't want to call Steve because he was an hour south of my start and I rode north. It was very rural. But also, I felt weird about being in Georgia. How many times have I read the dread of going "the Georgia way." Georgia is the horror of all writing about slavery. So I associate it with slavery more than Virginia and North Carolina, where I have spent much more time. I spent a good amount of time thinking through this on the ride. Yes, Georgians held slaves, but so did Virginians. I've never been a fan of Virginia, but nevertheless, why did it feel less immediate and sinister to me in Virginia than Georgia or South Carolina? Meanwhile, my own neighborhood is built on an old plantation and there was a cemetery for enslaved people on the corner that was moved to widen the road. There is a plaque there now--as if that makes it better. I decided my feelings about Georgia were just me projecting my own guilt about our nation's terrible past onto others. As if those Georgians were terrible, and us New Englanders (and Virginians?!?) were so much better.
Meanwhile, the landscape was prettier than expected. I don't think any state should be viewed and judged by the view from route 95 (which is all I'd previously seen). There were many long pole pines, which created beds of needles and a rich piney smell. The azaleas bloomed and butter cups lined the road side and layered the fields. Little blue flowers too.
And another church.
The ride's namesake. I should have said I started in Athens and rode north then did a loop. So the ride was shaped like a lollipop. Brock loop road was like heaven. Smooooooth pavement, no cars, rolling hills.
Such picturesque little homesteads. Not sprawling farms like Pennsylvania and VA with fields of corn and soy. There were no fields of anything but grass. Cows or horses in the fields. I wondered what the horses were for because no one seemed to be riding them.
This was a vast pond full of lily pads. I knew it wouldn't come through in the picture well, but wanted to take it anyway. The water is down low below the cliff just past the trees.
I stopped around mile 20 to pee in the woods and eat my pb&J. I came prepared with everything I needed because there was no commercial anything on this ride. One store and I don't even think it was open. I should also note this was my first ride with my new "teeth." So I had to take my Invisalign out to eat and brush my teeth on the side of the road. Fun times!
I had a keen eye out for birds and didn't see anything early on except cardinals and black vultures. Then I flew down this hill and came upon a wake of vultures (yes, that's what they're called - creepy). There were 20 or 30 of them perched on a bridge looking over a river. Think of romantic movie scenes where a couple in love walks or rides into a flock of doves or gulls and the birds take flight around them. Well, that's what happened, except way less whimsical. I startled the vultures and they all took off, flying in front of me and around me up into a roost with their huge awkward wings.
Later I came upon a group of about 8 little cows lined up next to each other looking through the fence at me. I stopped to take their picture but startled them when my bike made a weird noise. They all turned and scampered away. Then I saw the bull standing alone in the middle of the field, deciding what to do about me. He had one front leg cocked, as if to stamp the ground.
Everything was so green and so blue. I know this is just a field. But I wanted to capture the color.
And...another church. I also saw my first other biker here. I guess a lot of folks don't bike on Mondays!
I encountered several loose dogs. One, an all black shepherd actually came into the road and chased me, but I could tell by his body language and gate that he was only in it for the fun. His soft feet padding on the pavement just made me miss Maybe.
This is how the ride felt. Cool and relaxing. Like sitting in the shade. The weather was perfect.
Forty-eight miles and one store. And it was closed. I think. Good thing I came prepared!
Winding downhills.
In addition to the pines, there were a lot of HUGE oak trees in some areas. This was one of them.
The beautiful colors get lost in this pic. But this was quite an idyllic scene. Up the hill and around the corner, I would encounter Payneville.
I wish I'd been prepared for Payneville. Suddenly the road narrowed to one lane and the houses crowded up to the street. I saw a sign that said "speed table ahead." Speed table? I quickly learned this is a speed bump. Then I saw a sign that said welcome to Payneville. Then I passed a house or two and went over another speed bump. And that was it. A two speed bump town! I really wanted a picture, but I'm loathe to get off my bike when I'm unsure of the dog situation so close to people's homes. But it was super cute. You could feel that it had been a tight little village.
Meanwhile, another church.
More buttercups.
This horse came running up to greet me.
And another church!
In the second half of the ride, I put on my audio book, How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi and thought a lot about the essay I'd like to write about whiteness and the work white people need to do to uncover and undo their own racism. It was a coincidence that I was in the middle of this book on this ride that made me think so much about race. The book also got me thinking about segregation because I only saw one Black person on the entire ride - a woman checking her mail.
In the final 10 miles, I finally saw a few hawks: one being chased by 2 crows, the other shooting past overhead. Both were small. Cooper's hawks maybe? Then a sweet little pond appeared with bright reeds, a blue heron floating in the shadows on the left and another strutting around the perimeter out of the frame on the right. So nice to see something besides the vultures that dominated the skies all day.
And another church!
Returning, I once again found myself under the pines. And here came another cyclist. She was the third of the day (I saw another earlier).
At the finish I saw there was probably no need to worry about all the church folk who saw me parking in their lot earlier that morning because when I returned, there were two bicycle tour buses there dropping people off to ride! I wondered where they all came from when I passed about 20 cyclists riding in a group in the final mile.
In the whole day, only one confederate flag and 3 trump signs. Maybe Georgia really is turning blue! And eight Baptist churches.
Later that evening, I toured the lake with Tommy and Steve, taking in what was left of the beautiful day. I was so tired I didn't even take my phone, but later took a picture of Steve pretending to drive the boat.
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Tuesday, I stayed at the house and tried to work, but I was distracted by all the birds and their calls--a northern flicker, a different elusive woodpecker I couldn't get a good look at, a tufted titmouse, lots of cardinals, and then the two vultures scrabbling in the tree, knocking branches and feathers in the lawn below. They'd come for the dead fish in the water, but they couldn't get to it and were left keeping watch on shore or circling overhead.
My view from the porch.
Tommy and Kim had done a beautiful job on the house - and the blooming azaleas didn't hurt!
After I was done pretending to work, I mapped out a quick bike ride of the neighborhoods around Tommy and Kim's house. But it didn't turn out the way I thought. The main road I chose was narrow with 55mph traffic and trucks. Then the 2nd and 3rd neighborhoods I'd planned to ride through were gated, so I decided to give up and turn back.
On the way back, however, I saw a sign for Alice Walker's childhood church and family cemetery.
The
Georgia Writer's Museum had posted signs with quotes from Walker's poetry and a link to the website and her bio. I was really nice, but also a little strange because she is still living.
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Ward's Chapel A.M.E. Church
Original structure built in early 1800s, current structure was built in 1940s. The church where Alice Malsenior Walker was baptized and faithfully attended services.
It is here where Alice's strong faith began to grow, giving her a sense of security and a place in the community. |
Then as I was leaving I happened to see the cemetery across the street.
And there was the cemetery--oddly spread out across a field. Were there many other graves without headstones in the in-between? Most of the stones were dated from the early 20th century. I found one baby and one person born in 1858 (I think), during slavery. It was peaceful.
There were two graves with plastic flowers set in Styrofoam crosses, as if someone had recently visited, but then other stones lay in the grass.
These stones placed together and facing the little dirt road appeared to be Alice's parents and other immediate family and comprised the prettiest part of the cemetery. Because Alice is still alive, it felt like an intrusion to walk among her family. I found the whole place perplexing and ultimately wondered if the signs had been erected without Alice's blessing.
I thought it was interesting I came across this cemetery after thinking on my ride the day before that I should pay more attention to the cemetery for enslaved people that had been moved from the corner of Guinnea Road by my house.
As a side note, the
Georgia Writer's Museum featured two other writers: Flannery O'Connor and Joel Chandler Harris. I'd never heard of Joel and was surprised his claim to fame was to popularize the Uncle Remus stories. Huh? Why would he get any credit for that?
After my ride, I came back to the house, showered, and enjoyed a beer on the dock while I waited for Steve and Tommy to pick me up. We went to
Georgia Butts for dinner and I had the best sandwich ever - a fried grouper Rueben. Yum!
Then Tommy drove us back.
We'd all forgotten our jackets, so it was a little cool. But the night was beautiful.
And then the sun had set. We hung out for a few hours talking about our various wildlife encounters - which led me to dream I was at the zoo and stressful things kept happening!
The route:
Distance: 48 miles + 12 miles
Speed:13.7 mph
States: 17
