Charleston - Completed

Stats Wednesday, September 15 - St. George, SC to Charleston, SC . Day distance 58.5; ride time 3 h 35 m; ave speed 16.3; total climb 553; total miles 3,388.

I commented to Mickey at the beginning of the day: “I think our objective today is to finish without getting hit and without injury.” We’ve been blessed. Though every day we have 3 or 4 vehicles who needlessly “shave” us, we’ve not gotten hit. Or, we’ve not fallen due to evading a car or from getting blown off the road from an 18 wheeler.

Yesterday and today we are on US Hwy 78. The road surface is rough. No shoulder. The grass is about 10 inches high right next to the white line. We take 78 all the way into Charleston.

We were rolling at 6:45. The first hour was good. Little traffic. And it was cool. We were nearly 20 miles by 8:00. But then the traffic really increased. Cars. Vans. Trucks. School buses. No shoulder.

We came upon a large gas station / convenience store / restaurant. “Mick, do you want to take a break?”

“Sure.”

We were weary of Hwy 78 and a little anxious about our safety.

“Whoa, look at that over-sized load!” A flatbed rolled by with a huge piece of construction equipment on the trailer.

“Good thing we’re not out there right now!”

“Let’s go over to I-26.”

The sign at the entrance ramp read – No Pedestrians, No Farm Equipment, No Bicycles. We ignored the sign. Hey, our lives are in jeopardy on Hwy 78!

For 5 miles we rolled on the shoulder dodging debris – tire pieces mostly. Rolling at 22 to 25 mph. Then we came to a bridge with no shoulder. Uh oh. This is going to be a problem. Traffic is heavy. The bridge was about 30 yards long. We could get in real trouble for this. A break in the traffic allowed us to scoot across.

In a couple of miles we exited at the off ramp. I checked my tires. I had 3 pieces of wire in my tires from shredded vehicle tires on the shoulder. Luckily I pulled them all out without incurring a flat. Mick had no wires in his tires.

We were able to find alternate roads for the next 12 miles allowing us to be off of both 78 and I-26.

As we neared Charleston we rejoined Hwy 78, now a 4-lane road. Cars have options on 4-lane roads to avoid bicycles.

A sign said 14 miles to Charleston. We rode past Olive Garden, Best Buy, Walmart and many other familiar stores found in most metro settings.

Then the Charleston area itself came into view. The Cooper Bridge stood as sentinel off to the left. A church steeple in old town poked its spire above the mid-morning horizon.

As we leisurely pedaled into old town Charleston it again seemed real and unreal at the same time. We were done. Done. Completed. Finished. At 58 miles we were at the sea wall at the battery. Tomorrow we would not get up and pedal another day. It was 10:45 am. Done.

Happy. Sad. Relieved. Accomplishment. Many thoughts and feelings converged. Mick and I will always remember this adventure. 3,388 miles. 44 days from coast to coast. The Golden Gate Bridge. California. Nevada. Utah. Colorado. Kansas. Missouri. Arkansas. Tennessee. Georgia. South Carolina. The Cooper Bridge. Old Town Charleston. Mountains. Deserts. Canyons. Plains. Rolling Hills. Wind. Wind – our best friend or our worst enemy. Roger and Tim joining us in Colorado. The open hearts and open homes of the Engebergs, Bruce, Linda, my Dad, Stan and Margie Schleenbaker. Camping in city parks, beside streams in the mountains, at RV parks, in a stranger’s yard. And motels. We’ve experienced so much. We are rich beyond measure.

Thanks for joining us on this journey. This adventure.

Spin. View. Shift. Soon we will be shifting back into our “real” worlds.