…& helping my friend Sherry Ott achieve part of her goal to bike from Capitol to Capitol. This time, it’s Tallahassee, FL to Atlanta, GA. And, I’m driving my 4Runner!
Back in 2023, I was logistics support for Sherry for her ride from outside of Phoenix, AZ to Santa Fe, NM. We had good times, scary times, successful times, & enjoyed the beautiful scenery & amazing food of those two states.
Day 1 4.10
Around 2pm, I drove to the Orlando airport to pick up Sherry, her bike & bags. We headed back to my house & she began the process of putting her bike back together.
She was a bit nervous how it would all go, but Danny & I thought she did it pretty quickly & efficiently.
She took her bike for a spin & decided it’d be a good a idea to run it up to our local bike shop to have them check it out. So, we all hopped on our bikes, rode the 1.5 miles to Kyles bike shop where they did one tiny tweak & declared it good to go.
After packing up my 4Runner, we all enjoyed some evening time at one of our favorite little local bars called “The Courtesy”. As always, the staff was fantastic, food was delicious & it was fun just the three of us visiting.
We spent a little time & another cocktail on our patio, then we all went to bed…ready for the adventure to begin the next day.
Day 2 4.11
We left a little after 8am making the almost 4 hour drive to Tallahassee. We grabbed a quick salad then headed to tour the Capitol building. The building with it’s red & white striped awnings was very pretty, but we soon learned that was the old Capitol…now a museum. But if you look at this picture below, the big ugly towering building behind the pretty building is the current Capitol.
Here’s the front of the real Capitol. So, we toured both, neither one standing out as very awesome & of course, no politicians were actually working on this day (do they ever? #snarkytalk). It was super quiet & empty. Maybe DOGE fired everyone? Oh, but we’re in DeSantis territory…they’re probably all out playing golf (more #snarkytalk).
But, Sherry had her Capitol passport stamped & so we moved on. We walked around the town & ended up for drinks at a cute bar in an old library…it was called 1903. It was full of charm, nice bartenders & yummy drinks.
The bartender suggested we go for burgers at Midtown Caboose. And we did, but I forgot to take a photograph. They had all sorts of burgers with unusual combinations…I had the Maui Wowie burger topped with coconut shrimp & jalapeño-strawberry-pineapple cream cheese …it was pretty good! Then we went back to our hotel to get ready for a big start tomorrow.
Day 3 4.12
We loaded up the car heading to Capitol for an early start. But, when we got there, we discovered the metal piece that holds the front wheel on the bike, was missing. So, we drove back to the hotel, which thankfully was only a few miles away, found the missing part & started over. Then as Sherry was putting all the electronics on her bike, she realized she’d left the mount for her radar detector back in Colorado. This is also the very bright red blinking light she attaches to the back for safety. It was not a good start to the day or ride. So, she loaded up what she could, left a back up blinking light to charge in my car & hopefully by our first stop about 5 miles up the road, the light would be charged & I would have found a solution to the mount problem. For the ride she did between Phoenix & Santa Fe, she didn’t have this radar piece. But, since she’s used it, she’s found it invaluable for these kind of road rides. And, without further issues, her bike was ready to go & so was she.
I started down the Google path to find what I could to replace the missing mount. All the bike shops were still closed, but I located a REI which carried the whole radar kit. We’d buy one, use just the mount, then she could return it once back in Colorado. So, we met up at mile 5, discussed the plan, then I took off for the REI. After buying the new mount, I chased her down so she could add the radar detector to her set up. Then, it was all good. She sighed some relief & the adventure continued.
She was on a rural 2 lane road, lined with beautiful green trees. Things were going well. It didn’t take long to cross into Georgia & leave Florida in our respective rear view mirrors.
Here’s her at the very underwhelming state line sign.
She had been warned by several people about the loose dogs in Georgia & she prepared as much as you can for that sort of random scary surprise when it happens. She had a squirt bottle to shoot water, mace & an air horn. But, she’d asked me to stay close in case those wild canines came out for a chase. This is her passing me as I’m pulled over on a side road, giving me the “all is good” sign.
The day went so well, even after a rocky beginning, she added on a few more miles before we quit for the day. We checked into the motel, stashed her bike & all the gear inside. She showered, took a little rest, did a little work, then we went into town. It happened to be prom in Bainbridge, GA tonight & it was fun to see the kids dressed up. There’s not too many restaurants here, but we found a really great brewery, Southern Philosophy, with good beer & yummy food. We had a really great Peach beer, shared a stout as well as a wood fired pizza & salad…it all tasted great.
The Town Square in Bainbridge, GA
We headed back to the motel & called it a day.
Day 4 4.13
We always start in the same spot we left off the night before, so here she is, putting her wheel on the bike. This is the first C2C ride she’s done where she flew with her bike instead of driving there. She has an awesome bike rack, but on this trip, since we’re using my vehicle, the front tire has to come off to be loaded inside.
We got a much later start this morning…it was chilly out & she thought she could wait a little longer to begin the ride today. She had one bad encounter with 5 pit bulls chasing her. When we met up she was a bit rattled from the encounter, so I tried to stay closer to her for the remainder of this day, & as it would turn out, the remainder of the rest of trip.
The tree lined roads were super pretty & the weather perfect.
Churches…we passed a gazillion of them. Multiple in every town…even tiny ones. Sometimes they were right next door to each other.
And, a lot of churches had cemetery along side of them…or sometimes you’d just drive by one randomly, like this one.
Today’s ride ended without any more significant catastrophes. She wanted to rest, so I went to explore Kolomoki State Park. There’s Indian mounds there, but it’s all very tiny. This is the biggest mound is 57’ high & 86 steps to climb. So, I did that. The top is just a small area, then you go back down the same way. There’s a few other very small mounds around, some signage explaining these ancient sites, a pretty lake, a nice campground & a couple of small hiking trails. So, I drove around for a bit checking it all out & finishing my audiobook.
You would think I would have hours & hours to listen during the day, while I’m following Sherry around, & sometimes I can. But, a lot of time I don’t. I’m following two “live maps” to keep track of her when I’m not right behind her, making sure she’s still on the move. Plus, when I can I’m driving near her…in front or behind, looking for crazy attacking dogs. Somehow, I can’t seem to process an audio book when all my senses are on alert for everything biking disaster!
Then I drove back to the airbnb we had for the night. It was a pretty day outside & I didn’t feel like being inside. There wasn’t great outdoor space, so I sat in the “lounge” in the back of my 4Runner, drank a beer, studied my Spanish & read part of a book.
There weren’t too many choices for dinner tonight in this tiny town of Blakely, but we scored when we found a Mexican place open. They were so nice, the food was good & so were the margaritas!
Sherry loves ice cream! And one of her goals is to eat some after each day’s ride. So, tonight it was fried ice cream from our Mexican restaurant…she said it was great!
Another day closer to Atlanta!