South Carolina---"They refuse to give me their names, but the ranks are nine lieutenants, five captains, three majors, and one very fat colonel who called me a...cheeky fellow."

I woke up once...to put my rain fly on when I heard rain. Poor Karen and Laura heard someone in the next campsite use an electric pump to fill their air mattress all.night.long. We wanted to get out of the campground early, and we did our best, but there are always these little details like gas and ice that need to be taken care of before we ride, so it was after 7 when Laura dropped us off at Highway 17. We rode towards Monck's Corner and then through the Francis Marion National Forest. Great riding. Karen was loving South Carolina and quickly got in her 40 miles.








I got a text from Laura that she needed to know where the truck registration was. Uh-oh. Seems the arm of the law had stopped her. When she stopped at a convenience store, the clerk was almost apologetic about it...seems they watch for "out-of-state" cars. We switched riders and Laura was getting rid of some of that angst on Highway 521...which was big and open like a freeway, only we had it to ourselves. There was very little traffic. Then it started to drizzle and soon the drizzle turned to rain. We had 60 miles and it was only noon, I thought we were doing pretty well.




But then it was time for Cindi to do something...dumb. We came to a RR crossing and though I know better, I tried to ride across. Down I went, and down went Laura right behind me. She got the worst of it...a nasty contusion below her knee. My rear wheel suffered a broken spoke. Blast. A very kind, very sweet couple stopped to help us. Marshall and Barbara had a first aid kit in their truck and bandaged Laura's leg and even offered to haul our bikes somewhere. When I told her what we were doing, she sighed and gave me a look like, "Couldn't you just be happy watching Wheel of Fortune?" and then she grabbed Laura's hand, and my hand, and said a little prayer on our behalf. We assured her we were okay and when Karen pulled up, I switched out bikes, Laura determined to keep riding (she's one tough cookie) and off we went. I will say that the road crews in SC know how to lay asphalt...there is no chip seal here...nice, smooth pavement and often, but not always, shoulders.






The terrain looked a lot like Georgia to me...gentlemen farms, nice gardens, well kept yards. I meant to get a picture of one of the gardenia bushes. The fragrance was wonderful, and though I have tried to grow them in the Pacific NW...I can't.
We rode over a few rivers but the elevation gain for the day was a mere 181'. My average was 14.9 and I rode 100.4 miles.
We loaded up the bikes and wound our way north to Kinston, North Carolina. There was another "Uh-oh" from Laura who was driving. That pesky "check engine" light was on again. After a long and windy drive, we arrived at Ray and Melinda's our Warm Showers hosts for the night. What a delight they are! They both cycle, but Ray is the avid cyclist. He owns a fleet of bikes, many of them recumbents. He is planning a cross-country tour on the Northern Tier with his brother in the next couple of years.








They made us feel right at home, offering us laundry facilities and showers. Melinda, who is a nurse, even dressed Laura's "owie". (She is also a grandma). We had a great meal of BBQ chicken with Ray's special marinade, pasta salad, potato salad, and pound cake with strawberries. They had made up beds inside for us and we laid our heads down with full tummies.
maybe you can't...because you won't...