Shortly after hopping on the bike, I cross the border entering back into Georgia and continue my way south via GA-60. Clear blue skies are overhead as my Strom carries me down the winding road that carves its way through the beautiful Chattahoochee forest land. I try to take in all the views, while still focusing on driving, as the road winds its way around the edge of the mountain. Twisting my way down the hillside, following the stream that is heading for lower ground, I forget about being cold. With scenery like this, I am thankful this is not a short road. Near Suches, I pass by a cool place called ‘Two Wheels Campground” which is a campground that caters to motorcyclists. It looks like a really neat place, not sure what type of events they hold there but definitely will need to check it out later when its open.
I continue riding south through farmlands that are full of various shades of green until I get to Bogart. I make a stop at Stripling’s General Store to use the restroom (which has become a luxury due to virus shutdowns) and eat a delicious beef brisket sandwich. By this point, I had warmed up enough that I was able to shed my cold weather gear for my summer gear. I found an RV park in Milledgeville near Lake Sinclair that was open and allowed tent camping. I arrived there in the early afternoon which was nice to be able to relax a bit. They had electricity and I had cell service, so I was able to do a little work on my blog.
In the morning, I take some time to relax a bit and read a bit from my Bible. I started reading through 1 Samuel again, no specific reason as to why other than reading about David popped into my head. After relaxing for a bit, I decided to head towards Augusta with my first stop at a Pilot to get a shower. After five days, a shower and some fresh clothes felt great. I made a quick pit stop for some food and some sunscreen (as my face was starting to get burned after riding in the sun for a few days), then it was off to find a camping spot on WMA land south of Waynesboro.
As I am driving down the gravel road that leads to the camping spot, there are multiple roads that enter the WMA land. I was not sure which road was the one that led to the campground but turned down one road that was close to where the campground should be. These roads are all dirt roads but in this particular area they were quite sandy. As I make my way down the road, I hit a spot where the sand is quite deep and my front end washes out causing me to crash on the left side.
Thankfully I was not hurt, so all was fine there. I picked up the bike to put it back on its two wheels (not an easy thing to do with 600 plus pounds of machine and gear!). After getting the bike up, I noticed that my left pannier was still laying in the sand. I looked at the mounting brackets and realize that I bent and actually cracked one of them. I assess the bike and don’t see any other damage, which is good. I try to put the left pannier back on the bike but I can only just barely get it mounted with one of the brackets bent. I was able to get it on well enough to ride out of the sand though. I then attempt to restart my bike but get an ‘F1’ error code and the bike wouldn’t start. I made a few other attempts but the Strom would not fire up. I turn the key to the off position and run a few scenarios through my head, not even sure what the ‘F1’ code means. Being in the middle of WMA land with no one else around (possibly for miles) and I am thinking I may be stranded here for the night. I turn the key back to the On position and it looks like the ‘F1’ code has cleared! I hit the starter button and the engine fires back to life. Boy am I thankful she started! (Later I found out the ‘F1’ code refers to a fuel error. The bike falling on its side must have starved it of fuel which kicked that error code. Letting the bike sit upright, and cycling the electronics by turning the key off and back on must have reset the code allowing the bike to start.)
I hop back on the Strom and slowly duck walk my way out of the sand and back to the gravel road. I ride back up the road a ways and see a few large rocks. I use the rocks to beat the mounting bracket on my pannier back close to where it should be. It now mounts properly on the bike and the crack in the bracket is small enough it shouldn’t be a problem. Glad I was able to get this fixed and avoid any major breaks. At this point, I still need to find a place to camp so I continue down the gravel road to see if there is a spot further down. I go about a quarter of a mile from where I originally turned and see a sign that says ‘Camping Area’. I laugh to myself in disbelief. I could have avoided all these issues I just battled through if I found this the first go round. Oh well, had to learn the ropes of WMA land the hard way. I know I will be avoiding sandy roads going forward with the road tires I currently have on the Strom!
The camp is nice with a few fire rings. I am the only person here, so I pick out a nice level spot to set up my tent. I scrounge up some firewood and use my folding saw to cut some smaller pieces. I get a nice fire going and sit around watching the soothing flames as they flicker in the night.
The next morning I decide to head south east towards Statesboro. I am quite familiar with the song ‘Statesboro Blues’ and wanted to check out the town. The town itself looks pretty neat but everything was basically completely shutdown due to the virus. So I just ride around a bit and then continue in my southeasterly direction to Augusta. Augusta too is completely dead. All the stores and businesses have their doors closed and lights off and the streets are almost empty. So I don’t stop here either but continue on to Tybee Island. Tybee Island has more people out and about exercising but all the little shops are sitting empty and lifeless. There is one entrance to the beach that is open but police officers are sitting at the entrances. I wanted to get to the Atlantic but decided to avoid any issues with the law and ride out of town. It was neat to see these towns and I’m sure that is the easiest time I will have riding through them as the traffic was minimal to none. That is one of the big upsides to this virus shutdown.
I pull up my GPS and begin navigating to WMA land a bit further south to look for a camping spot. As I approach the road that leads to the camp site, I see that it is all sand and the GPS shows its 3 miles to the camp. Learning from my last bout with a sandy road, I abort this camp site and head further south to another WMA site. This location too has a deep sandy entrance which I do not attempt to go down. I begin riding around the area to see if I can find a place to sleep for the night. In doing so, I pass by a little campground with a few RVs and a tent. I pull into the driveway and ask a young man sitting at a picnic table if the campground is public. He directs me to an RV where I am introduced to Chuck and Louann. Louann is the sister of the man who owns the camp and along with her husband is watching over the place for the time being. They are happy to have me stay and direct me to where I can set up my tent.
I am truly blessed to have spotted this place as I was able to meet two great people in Chuck and Louann. As I was setting up my camp, Chuck walks over and hands me an ice cold bottle of Acqua Panna. This was very refreshing after a long hot day of riding. In addition to that, Louann asked me if I had eaten dinner. After saying ‘no’, she makes me a turkey sandwich with some potato chips. I was blown away by these kind acts as I am just some random guy showing up on a motorcycle looking for a place to camp. I asked them if I could pay them for it but they wouldn’t accept anything but a thank you.
The young man, Caleb, who was also staying in a tent, was riding his bicycle across the country while towing his dog in a trailer. He recently lost his job in Charleston South Carolina and just decided to ride across country. He randomly came across the same campground a few days prior to me finding it. After talking with Caleb a bit, I found out that he has quite a story and has been through more in his first 27 years than most will go through in a lifetime. It has not been an easy road for him at all but he is trying to push forward and find his way. Chuck and Louann had taken him in as well and have been helping him out.
The next day they were calling for rain most of the day with thunderstorms more towards the night. So I stayed at camp all day which gave me some time to talk to Chuck a bit. He too has quite a story, spending 40 plus years serving our country in the military. He also used to ride motorcycles and loves the outdoors, camping, etc. (of which his time in the service provided him many opportunities to travel; I think there are less places he has been than he hasn’t!). So I got to hear many stories and enjoyed every one of them. The rain held off most of the day, so Chuck cooked us up some bratwursts on the grill for dinner. After enjoying a meal the storms started rolling in, so Caleb and I hunkered down in our tents for the night. The storms that night brought heavy rains, strong winds, and earth shaking thunder. At one point, I woke up around 0330, as my tent was shaking violently and was hoping it would hold up. While awake, I saw a huge lightning bolt flash just across the field (seeing it through my rain fly). Immediately there was a crash of thunder that you could feel vibrate your chest and made you check your pants! I ended up falling back asleep around 0500 for a few hours after the storms calmed down. It was quite the storm but my tent stood strong against the wind and the rain.
The next day I decide to do a little day trip down to Brunswick and St. Simon’s Island as the skies had cleared and I heard the beaches were open. Upon arriving, I ride around the island a bit to scope out the area and take in the scenery. I then make my way to the beach entrance and park my bike. I take off my riding gear and then head down to the beach where I get my feet into the Atlantic. I did not think this would happen on this trip due to the shutdowns but it did, thank you Georgia!
While on the beach, I took the opportunity to get a little exercise in as I have not been able to do so thus far on the trip. I go for a run on the beach and then do some rounds of push-ups and squats. It feels good to be able to exercise a bit and get my muscles and blood moving. After enjoying the beach, I hop back on the bike and make a quick stop at the St Simons lighthouse.
After checking out the lighthouse, I jump on the bike and head towards camp. When I get back, it’s nearing dinner time and Louann made ‘Mexican Spaghetti’ with some biscuits. I have never heard of such a thing but it was spaghetti noodles with beef, cheddar cheese, salsa, peppers, hot sauce, mexican spices and possibly some other stuff. I can’t recall exactly what was in it but boy was it delicious! That night I was able to hear some more stories from Chuck and Louann let me use her washer and dryer to wash some of my clothes before calling it a night.
The next morning I was heading off to continue my way south. Before I left, Chuck brought me some donuts for breakfast. While in Brunswick yesterday, I picked up a Thank You card for Chuck and Louann and gave that to them. I am very grateful for their hospitality and blessed to have been able to meet them and spend a few days with them. Amazing people and was glad to learn that they are Christians as well. I plan on keeping in touch with them and hope we can meet again soon. I also say goodbye to Caleb and wish him the best on his journey. I swing my leg over the Strom and wave goodbye as I leave the parking lot. Was a bit sad to leave as I thoroughly enjoyed their fellowship but I have to keep moving.
I continue my way south towards St Marys, taking in the beauty that is Georgia. Throughout my travels in this state I am awe struck by the beauty of the trees. Not sure what exactly it is but they sure caught my attention as I have been riding. I make a quick stop in St Marys to check out the city. It is a neat little place but once again the shops are closed and the streets are pretty empty. Back on the bike I go, next stop Florida!