V-200 - Kaolin Country

The name of this ride was supposed to be "V-200 - Maebob's."  Alas, Maebob's was closed last Saturday, but I didn't know that until I rode to Irwinton.  At least I had a Plan B, which turned out to be pretty fun, too.

In anticipation of fried chicken from Maebob's, I packed a bottle of Crystal brand Louisiana hot sauce in my Yogi Bear picnic basket.

Don't forget the hot sauce!

My first stop on this 200K was in Gray at the Otis Redding memorial.  I've been here several times before, but it's always a good place to revisit.

The road from Monticello to Gordon is a pretty straight shot, all on state highways.  It's not bad to ride on regardless, and traffic seemed slightly less last Saturday, probably due to COVID-19.  There was a tailwind as I headed south.  Yikes.  I knew what that meant for the return trip north... 

Gordon marked the definitive entry into kaolin country.

Kaolin plant in Gordon

One of the most prominent geological features in Georgia is the fall line, which runs east-west across the middle of the state.  Millions of years ago, it was the coastline.  Today the flat coastal plain lies to the south, and the hilly piedmont lies to the north.  Kaolin lies in a belt roughly 15-20 miles south of the fall line.  It’s usually mined hydraulically and is an important Georgia export.  Until recently, Georgia was the world’s leading producer of kaolin.  (Brazil has surpassed us.)  Kaolin is used in medicine (e.g., Kaopectate), paints, and cosmetics.  However, the main use (more than 80%) is to make the glossy coating on magazine pages.

Kaolin tailings pond near McIntyre.  The process water is an iridescent blue.

In a previous job I did quarterly inspections of some of the tailings pond dams in this area.

It was just a few miles farther to Irwinton and Maebob's!  I have to admit that I wasn't shocked that they were closed.  Time to improvise.

For the past few years, Irwinton has hosted the state Banana Pudding Festival.  Thanks to the Puddin' Pedal, a bicycle ride in conjunction withe the Banana Pudding Festival,  I came up with alternate lunch plans.  I continued on a few miles to Toomsboro, the halfway point of my route.  I remembered a city park that had been a banana pudding stop on the Puddin' Pedal.  I didn't remember this sign, though.

Not a sign you usually see at a city park

Despite the unusual sign, it was the perfect place for a popcorn picnic from a paw print paper sack.

It was homemade popcorn that I had made a few days earlier.  I make real popcorn, popped on the stovetop, and I pop it in homemade rosemary infused olive oil.  It sounds pretty fancy, but it's quite simple and much better than microwave popcorn.  Also, since I had carried the hot sauce all that way, I had to put it on something.  Popcorn!

Lunch o' champions

Kaolin country is one of the poorer parts of the state, and with shelter-in-place in effect, it seemed even more desolate.  I saw a teenage boy running and doing calisthenics at the park.  He seemed almost afraid of me even though I kept plenty of distance.

I'm always glad to see a Little Free Library (LFL), especially in a small community.  This was the oddest LFL I've ever seen.  It's like a combo newspaper dispenser/stereo cabinet and looks like some kind of 1970s relic.  There's a bird's nest in the newspaper dispenser part on top.

The whole park vibe was kind of Southern Gothic, a la Flannery O'Connor.  Southern Gothic can be disquieting, but there's a certain familiarity about it, too.  I guess because if you're part of the South, it's part of life.  Anyway, it gave me something to ponder as I battled the headwind on the way home.

Y'all Come Back - Life Is Good