March 23, 2019
Sitting in a bar in Winder GA
As I started entering this journal, Joe Cocker’s cover of The Box Tops’ song, “The Letter” played over the bar radio. There are few who could instantly recognize that version and know it was a cover as well as the original group. If you can recognize both version, I consider you a friend. Which is ironic because that’s the name of the bar, Friends, where I’m eating.
So what led me here? Well, I have this crazy plan of doing one adventure per month. An overnight backpacking trip, a bike tour many call a S24O (sub 24 hour overnight), a sailing adventure, what have you. But the crux of the hole thing is that since October, every weekend has had at least one night of inclement weather. So if I don’t have to be out getting soaked in a hammock I’m not going to go. And then the MR 22/23 weekend presented itself as a sunny weekend and I could FINALLY put my plans into action.
Since my last tour (You CAN Go Home Again) I haven’t ridden much. I’m working for a startup and enjoying creating an organization from scratch. But my Cycling has made the sacrifice. I’m 6-7 pounds heavier and my legs don’t have the miles behind them. So this 80-mile round trip was going to be reasonable but give me time to start getting back into the touring game. I even slept in to 6:30am and then didn’t leave until 10:00am for today’s 40-mile ride.
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I made my way sharing the streets with drivers in metal boxes alongside secondary road and then state roads. Some of them had bike/walking paths paralleling the road, others did not. Driver were courteous - I didn’t have any problem with anyone today. It’s just the noise of the vehicles. I would have preferred something a bit quieter.
I reach Auburn, GA about 28 miles into the ride and there’s a park setup next to the chamber of commerce, and it’s filled with these outbuilding turntable shops area. Very quaint 10x10 buildings filled with everything from pbeuty salons to sweet shops/coffee shops to fashion boutiques. Clever idea next to the tracks in the middle of nowhere
From there, I make my way to Fort Yargo State Park. This was going to be my destination for the night but alas, there was “no room at the inn” or in this case, no campsites available for Saturday night. So as much as I wanted to grab a bag of pasta and som vodka sauce and eat at the campsite, it wasn’t in the cards. I booked a room at the Jameson Inn instead. Shame, too, because I looked forward to camping.
But I digress. This gave me a change to “tour” Winder GA. You may not have heard of this town and though I live 40 miles from here, I had never heard of it, either. That’s because it’s like a lot of other towns that we all feel has been left behind. Irony is, they haven’t been at all, and being left behind is still a matter of perception. Sure, I can rattle off closed storefronts in downtown. I can talk about how several storefronts downtown were churches. And I can communicate the banners promoting downtown businesses. Truth is, like many small towns, the center survives and hangs on while the commerce shifts to the suburbs and the “WalMart” strip mall.
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And yet, here I am at one of several places downtown, and from what I see on a Saturday night at 6:10, this place is about 80% capacity. And the hamburger I said delicious. The music is recorded, sure, but I’m able to recognize cover versions of hits and know who covered it and who originally recorded it. It’s a fun place, and I’m happy to be here on a Saturday night and be in a place that has survived the “suburbanization” of America. Time may have marched on, but it hasn’t completely killed downtown Winder GA.
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Today's ride: 40 miles (64 km)
Total: 40 miles (64 km)
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