Carthage, TX to Athens, TX

Today's route: 94 miles from Carthage, TX to Athens, TX

We woke up this morning at 5am in the house of a previous Southern U.S. Bike and Build rider. I was sleeping alone on a recliner in a room in the corner and did not hear the wakeup call, so I did not actually get up until 5:20 when I heard people moving around outside. I packed my bag as quickly as I could (the rule is that no one eats breakfast until all the bags are packed in the trailer) and actually managed not to be the last person packed. We then had a delicious breakfast of pancakes, cereal, coffee and orange juice, amid the chaos of everyone filling up their water bottles and cleaning their bikes.

Lots of people had already left by the time I was ready, and there were only about 5 riders left, including sweep, which are the two riders who are assigned to ride in the back to make sure everyone is okay. I left at around 7am with Rebecca Carter, and we headed out into the Texas sun. Well, it was actually more like Texas dense fog, and it was very eerie riding through fog so thick that visibility was only a few feet. Thoughts of Stephen King's The Mist kept coming to mind.

Rebecca and I took turns leading as we zipped down the road thinking that everyone was way ahead of us because they left so early. We ended up passing some of the slower riders (we affectionately call them "The Slugs") and a large group of at least 10 people that were waiting for someone to change a flat tire. We finally caught up to another group that was riding and traveled with this group until we reached the first lunch stop. The group pulled in just as the van was parking, so we were the first group to arrive. I was thrilled because I had never been in the first group to arrive at lunch and especially not after leaving almost last.

After lunch, (including some delicious donated lunch meat...lunch never has meat usually since it's too expensive to buy), we all headed out to the pool party that was being held at mile 70. The hosts were the family of yet another Southern U.S. alum, and everyone was excited for the break in the long day. Three miles from the party though, we encountered construction and freshly paved roads. While this is a plus for cars, it is completely impossible to bike on because gravel would get stuck in the wheels and lock the bike up, and many people ended up with melted tar all over their wheels. Becca Bainbridge and I alternated between biking 20 feet, stopping to get out all the rocks, or just walking the bikes in the grass. Those three miles took us about an hour, and all we wanted was to go to the pool party. When we finally made it, everyone just relaxed and had some delicious food and ice cream. We also found out that some people managed to hitchhike their way across the construction, while others got a ride from the van or just toiled through it like Becca and I did.

When we left, we biked the last 25 miles mostly on a very narrow road with no shoulder and rolling hills. Kerri and I almost got run off the road by a semi passing another semi, but still managed to make it to the host right before 7pm. It was a long day and will be another long day tomorrow (~100 miles again: the mileage on the website is not necessarily up to date, but as of today, everything listed for before July 4th is correct). Our average mileage is way more than the original stated 65, but by the end of trip, riding multiple centuries (100 mile rides) in a row will be a piece of cake for everyone. Although hopefully not something that we would need to continue doing after Bike and Build. :P