This was such a fun ride right in my own backyard! I did this ride three days ago as part of the 2021 Virtual Brevet Series. After being on the road every weekend this month, I thought it would be nice to stick closer to home. I devised a 200K route consisting of three loops. Because I would be stopping at home several times, I was able to ride my lighter Factor instead of my supply-laden Trek.
Loop 1 (52 miles)
This past Saturday was the first day of our local farmers market season. So, my first order of business was stopping by the Monticello square.
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| The new mural just off the square is almost finished. |
I had seen the list of vendors ahead of time and looked forward to seeing a few of my regular farmers market friends. I usually walk all around the farmers market to see what's available before I make my final selections.
I missed Leah, who sold pies at the farmers market for many years. She was always dressed to the nines. Last year she was the first person I knew who succumbed to COVID-19. Her family continues to make pies.
It was good to see Shannon selling her beautiful plants and, of course, Laverne, maker of the rapturous fried pies! I bought a peach fried pie to eat later during my ride. (More on that to come.) I also bought some locally made goat cheese with spices from Yellow Rose Farm. I buy their goat's milk soap regularly; handmade soaps are a luxury I enjoy. Lastly, I bought some fresh Georgia shrimp! The vendor said he sells shrimp in other nearby towns and first came to Monticello last fall. I think I remember reading about that, but I was out of town that day. I took my goat cheese and shrimp to the office refrigerator to pick up later and made a new mental menu for that night's dinner.
Robert joined me at the office. He had planned to ride my first loop with me, but, unfortunately, he only made it a few miles. He's been battling a new tire that won't hold air. He had to head home, hoping he could make it on his CO2 cartridge as well as mine that I gave him.
That was a downer about Robert having to bail, but I decided to focus on all the good things about the day. There were tons of them. I headed up Post Road, turned on Barr Bridge Road, and then went through Shady Dale. Heading out of Shady Dale on Aikenton Road, I passed this sign. It made me grin.
I rode a few miles in Putnam County, my only foray out of Jasper. I stopped in Willard for a twofold purpose. One was to check in there on Facebook. I've checked in at Willard several times mainly as a joke with myself. Willard is just the intersection of Georgia Highway 16 and Georgia Highway 142. There's an abandoned building there. Whenever I go through Willard, I think of the deejay Willard on 96 Rock, which I listened to growing up in Atlanta. He just went by Willard; I never heard his last name. In honor of Willard, I found a picture of an old 96 Rock license plate on the Interwebs. People used to put them upside-down on the fronts of their vehicles.
It was also time for some bike food, specifically Laverne's fried pie! They are always wonderful, but that may have been the best ever. I stopped on the side of a quiet road beside some woods that are part of a wildlife management area. I took the fried pie from my jersey pocket, where it had gotten slightly warm. The crust was flaky and buttery, and the filling was soft and warm with chunks of peaches. Simply delicious!
Toward the end of my first loop, I rode by a large tract that was timbered a few years ago. A guy was standing on top of a pickup truck right next to it. The truck said University of Georgia, and so I guess he was doing some kind of timber assessment. He had a small gauge or controller box in one hand and a rod in the other. Was he fishing or maybe using a Geiger counter? When I told Robert about it later, he said the guy was probably flying a drone. Anyway, as I rode past, I yelled out, "Expelliarmus!" but the guy didn't drop anything.
Loop 2 (52 miles)
I stopped briefly at home, where I said hello to Robert and the dogs, refilled my bottles, ate a few fresh strawberries, and enjoyed a real bathroom instead bushes. Then, I headed back out on Goolsby Road toward Hillsboro.
It seemed a little strange not to continue south past Hillsboro like I usually do. Instead, this time I headed north on Highway 11 and cut through Feldspar Road to go toward Clay Road. This was the best way to minimize my time on Highway 16. Highway 16 was necessary to get me to the highlight of my second loop, the Sac-o-Suds.
The movie My Cousin Vinny (1992) was filmed in and around Monticello. The Sac-o-Suds, the site of the tuna "theft," is a real place. We used to reenact one of the courtroom scenes from the movie for tourist groups. I played Mona Lisa Vito, who was Marisa Tomei's character. I'm not sure how I got involved in these skits (acting is definitely not my thing), but they were a lot of fun. I had the hardest lines, which included things like limited slip differentials, Positraction, etc. This is a photo from our last reenactment, which was about four and a half years ago.
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| (L-R) me as Mona Lisa Vito, Rob Andrews as Judge Haller, Roger Harrison as Vinny Gambini |
Back when the movie was filmed, the Sac-o-Suds was ready to go, as-is (or as-was). It's changed ownership a few times since then but has remained a minor tourist attraction. It closed a few years ago, but someone recently purchased it and remodeled it. Fortunately, they were able to negotiate keeping the name.
A few days before this ride, I saw a Monticello-Jasper County Chamber of Commerce post on Facebook that the Sac-o-Suds had just reopened. They had some great looking T-shirts (including some that said Two Yutes Tuna), and they would be selling BBQ plates from 2:00 - 5:00 PM on the day of my ride. Perfect! It would be a great lunch stop. Also, it made up for the cancellation of my original ride lunch plans, the Methodist men's chicken-que. I don't know what it is about Methodist men, but they know how to do chicken-que. They must have secret lore they pass among themselves, like an obscure branch of the Freemasons. BTW, I found out later that the chicken-que was cancelled because they couldn't get chickens.
I arrived at the Sac-o-Suds around 2:30 PM. I didn't want to get there too late because I was afraid they would run out of BBQ. No worries - it wasn't quite ready when I got there. While I waited, I stood in the parking lot talking with a nice young man who owns a fencing company. Good to know who I can call locally next time I need a fence. We talked about all the people we know in common and recited lines from My Cousin Vinny.
Then I saw my friend Sandy, whom I hadn't seen in a long time. She said she had just been talking about me when she was teaching a yoga class. Apparently referring to a particular yoga move, she told them it would make their pooty pucker, a phrase I taught her. The actual phrase is that something will make your pooky pucker. I learned this from my Great Uncle Gene. It applies when something is gross, disgusting, or heart-stopping. Sandy gave a good example: when you look over the railing on the Blue Ridge Parkway, it makes your pooty pucker. I didn't correct her phraseology, though. It's just good to be remembered, even in the context of something making your pooty/pooky pucker.
At last the BBQ was ready!
A woman and her daughter had made all the food. I think maybe they are the owners, but I'm not sure. There was a nice guy working the cash register, too. He said that the women wanted constructive criticism from the BBQ customers. I told him that the coleslaw was particularly good - very fresh and flavorful. I liked that it was vinegar based instead of mayonnaise based. The BBQ was good, too, but I like mine a little spicier. However, because not everyone else likes theirs hot, maybe they could have a spicy BBQ sauce on the side. I told him about an older man named Gene Mathis who used to be the City of Monticello building inspector and Santa Claus (he looked the part). Gene always wore a holster that held a tiny bottle of Tabasco. Maybe I should do the same because I've found myself in need of hot sauce several times recently. As I told this to the Sac-o-Suds cashier, I noticed that he had a holster with a gun. (I don't blame him, running a convenience store.) We agreed that he should add a bottle of Tabasco, too.
My energy level was up as I continued on my ride. I definitely had needed food. I was thinking that I had about 42 miles to go, but then I realized that I had only 20 miles left in this loop. Breaking my 200K into sections did make it seem easier. I rode some familiar roads on the north side of the county and then went back to my house.
Loop 3 (22 miles)
I had completed a little over a century, which would have been a respectable ride on its own. However, I was determined to complete my 200K. I headed out once more for my shortest loop, about 22 miles - easy! Even better, I planned to stop at Dairy Queen toward the end. Only 18 miles - a little over an hour - to a Blizzard!
I rode by the old Georgia-Pacific plant. There's a rail spur there. I think these are some kind of rail maintenance vehicles. Although they are gas (or maybe diesel) powered, this long line looks like some kind of steampunk fantasy:
Even with 100+ miles already in my legs, I enjoyed the final miles. I rode to the Dairy Queen, and lo and behold, there was Robert! Actually, I kind of suspected he would meet me there :)
Dairy Queen has several summer Blizzard flavors. I had researched them ahead of time and decided on a frosted animal cookie Blizzard. In addition to frosted animal cookies, it also has pink confetti frosting. It tastes like the circus.
Robert got the Drumstick Blizzard. This one has pieces of Drumstick ice cream cones and peanuts. I considered this one, too, but figured it would be a lot like some of the regular Blizzard flavors. Robert confirmed that it was pretty much the same as about three other flavors that have chocolate and peanuts. I tried a bite of his Blizzard - yep, it tasted like a Snickers Blizzard. Not bad by any means, but at least I had gotten something significantly different.
As I rolled out of the Dairy Queen parking lot, I stopped to smell the magnolias blooming along the back fence.
Only four miles to the finish! Robert offered to go by the office to pick up the refrigerated stuff I had gotten at the farmers market. Yea! Now I didn't have to figure out how to carry the bag as I rode my bike.
I took a shower and then joined Robert on the patio for adult beverages. As we walked back inside, we admired the wildflowers that Robert planted beside our driveway last year.
I had already planned to make tomato grits as a side dish for another meal this week. For that night's dinner I converted the grits to an entrée and added the fresh shrimp I had gotten at that morning's farmers market. I also made a salad with the greens, radishes, and turnip's from the week's CSA delivery. I topped it with my favorite vinaigrette, but instead of the usual blue cheese, I added some goat cheese from the farmers market. All these good eats make me glad I live in Georgia.
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