(the white line marked the shoulder--but this was just for a short distance).
Tuesday, October 22, 1996
Time out: 10:22 AM. Temperature 66°.
A photographer from the Atlanta Journal met me at the Silver Hill Manor B&B this morning at 9:00 to take my picture (actually several) to accompany another newspaper article by Art Kramer. He took my picture standing with my computer gear in hand by my bicycle and had me ride up and down Main Street in traffic several times for photo ops.
When the photography was completed, I ate breakfast. My B&B hosts (the Brownlees) fed me so well (good french toast, eggs, sausage) that I had to sit sipping coffee a few minutes to digest it all before jumping on my bicycle.
The trip south on Main Street from Stone Mountain went surprisingly well. Traffic was light and the drivers that passed me were quite courteous (only a handful came within the danger zone). I was at the Panola Road cutoff sooner than expected.
Panola Road was pleasant.
(Note: This picture is out of focus. When I went to take the next picture (the turtle below), I noticed that the camera was already in "macro" mode and thus focused for closeups. The Casio macro switch is located on the back of the camera and it is easily switched on or off by the action of putting it in or taking it out of the carrying case.
Another camera problem that I should mention concerns my direction of travel. I am riding south--into the sun--every day. It is incredibly difficult to shoot into the sun. A lot of my pictures have a real problem with the sun. That's why I shot the Georgia welcome sign at an angle. That is why I have few pictures of the roadway and actually very few during the mid-day.)
Panola Road teed at Georgia 155 with a left turn and a crossing of the South River. Climbing out from the river valley, I saw a turtle on the shoulder.
I stopped at Panola Mountain State Conservation Park to use the restroom, then continued down 155 to McDonough, where I ate lunch at Hardee's. Some men eating at Hardee's told me that the "only" motel between there and Macon was in the town of Jackson. So I headed there.
In McDonough the Universal Map was confusing. I struggled a bit to figure out how to reach US-23 from 155. I saw a bicyclist heading my way and waited a bit for him to catch up with me, only to have him zoom right on by me before I could say anything more than "hi." I was on course though and it wasn't any big deal.
About a mile south of McDonough, I turned left (south) on US-23. I was last on US-23 when I picked Ritt up at Detroit Metro airport. It is interesting that US routes 23, 27, 127 and 41 are familiar to me from the Midwest. In this part of Georgia, US-23 was busy and shoulderless, but I didn't have any bad experiences.
According to a historical marker on the side of the road, on November 17, 1864, the right wing of General Sherman's army marched from McDonough to Jackson en route to Planters Factory on the Ocmulgee River along the route I was riding. My great-grandfather (Patrick Noonan) was a Union soldier in Sherman's army and was killed in the Battle of Atlanta.
I took a picture of the Locust Grove Municipal Building; quite ostentatious. Perhaps this would make a good model for the Williamston City Hall of the future; sure--not likely.
I stopped for Gatorade, a banana (5lbs for $1) and some Snapple
(Bali Blast 
juice) in Jenkinsburg.
The dirt in Georgia is amazingly red. I remember the red dirt from trips through Georgia in my childhood. I actually remember my mother admonishing me not to get any on my clothes.
I arrived in Jackson at around 4:00. I stopped at the motel, but felt it was too early to stop for the day. I talked to the Indian (India) proprietors of the motel about lodging options down the road. Macon was too far (over 40 miles) for 4:00, but there was nothing in-between on US-23. They suggested taking Georgia 42 to Forsyth, 22 miles away on I-75. In looking at my maps, it seemed that I'd lose nothing by taking that option, then heading down US-41 toward Macon tomorrow.
So, I headed to Flovilla, then southwest on Georgia 42. This was a low volume country road winding its way thru rural Georgia. The houses ranged from mansions to uninsulated shacks.
I went through the town of Indian Springs, location of a state park
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I crossed the Towaliga River (which played a part in Sherman's March to the Sea and probably looked about the same then as it does now).
I passed a picturesque house outside of Forsyth. The camera didn't do justice to the flower garden.
I arrived in Forsyth about 6:15 PM and stayed at the Best Western Hilltop motel. The motel owner asked if I really rode my bicycle from Alaska. When I affirmed, he offered to pay for my dinner and I accepted.
Total mileage today: 67
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© Ed Noonan 1996, 1997