Silver Comet Day Two

Sleeping in was great after staying up too late writing the last blog post. Sleeping in also avoided some of the cold. The mercury was still depressed to low 40's when I hopped on the bike around 9 for grocery shopping. Ingles had a pretty limited selection of trail food but it was well organized and people were both friendly and helpful. Good thing selection was limited as I still walked out with a $50 bill and fully loaded backpack. Trail mix with extra bags of M&M's and peanut butter morsels to "spice it up". Waylon successfully out ate me on day one so I prepared for another day of eating. Looking back I realize I was hopeful of a big mileage day and stocking accordingly.

I surveyed the shops and breakfast options before heading back to the hotel. Once there I mixed up new trail mix and repacked bags. If bike handling is any indication then I succeeded in getting all "heavy stuff" into the panniers. The bike is decidedly rear heavy. This occasionally causes the front tire to bounce along. I now see the allure of front mounted panniers.

After topping off at Bojangles we set off for the day. In the daylight we made our way back to the trailhead from Thursday night.

During the ride back I realized one reason I had such a hard time remembering the name if the town - it wasn't on any of the signs. "Rockmart" appeared on only one sign - and that one was clearly a temporary. The town was nearly anonymous from our eastern approach but treated us quite well. I highly recommend stopping into Frankie's, Dairy Queen, The Garden Inn, Ingles, or Bojangles.

We completely missed this sign and associated story in the darkness of the previous night.




Shortly down the trail we went through downtown Rockmart. There is a great picnic area along side a beautiful little stream. The water was almost unnaturally clear.




There is a bit of navigating in this area with forks and junctions. The signage was adequate to keep us on track with nominal pause. The post in the background caught my eye. I was tempted to stop for the red indicator. I was grasping for direction and missing the antique charm.




Boardwalks became very popular in this section of trail. They were well maintained and quite disarming. This would make a great walk or ride.




Then we found some appreciable hills and the unwelcome sound of traffic. For several miles we rode rolling hills on a dedicated trail but still unfortunately close to a busy highway.




There are some good hills in this area. Eventually we found the beloved and secluded rail to trail and rolled our way to Cedartown. The depot is a welcome and very cool sight.




Ladies inside directed us to Pirkle's Deli for a good meal. Unfortunately Pirkle was closing up when we arrived. We ended up at generic Subway with bees. Eventually we escaped town. Cedartown may be ok but it just didn't live up to our Rockmart experience. We did find this great sign on the way out of town.




I skipped photo op of Alabama line because sun blacked it out. I welcomed the Chief Ladiga trail as it brought back more o the natural beauty we'd been enjoying. We paused on an amazing bridge to watch this combine work for a bit.














I wanted a picture of the surrounding mountains while Waylon stretched his legs.





Dugger Mountain to the south completing the valley effect.




We paused in Piedmont for water, bathroom, snacks, and layers of clothing. Darkness set in as we rolled out if town. Most if the ride to Jacksonville was in complete darkness and cold. We caught 3 major breaks with smooth fresh paved trail, an eventual warm pocket, and flat to downhill easy rolling. 56 miles on the day and scored the last room at the Hampton Inn.

Again I made new acquaintances in random conversation about schools and triathlon. Today's Carolinian hailed from Asheville and just completed their first year of triathlon. They were considering a half Ironman for next year. Glad to hear the triathlon bug striking again. I recommended the Beach2Battleship half. I could see the wheels turning and planning happening.