Last Saturday was the best kind of ride - just riding for fun and enjoying being outside. I started by going to the farmers market. I got some tomatoes and the first muscadines of the season!
After dropping off my produce at the office to pick up later, I continued on my journey. I planned to ride about 75 miles total, stopping in Eatonton for lunch. The best way to get from Monticello to Eatonton via bicycle is on Glenwood Springs Road. I had a couple of options for getting to Glenwood Springs. I took Goolsby Road to Fullerton-Phillips Road. Then, I turned from Fullerton-Phillips onto Highway 212. I could have stayed off of Highway 212 completely, but this gave me an extra mile or two toward my goal of 75. Fortunately, traffic isn't bad on this section of Highway 212. Also, this took me to Glenwood Springs via Rabbit Skip Road and Stanfordville Road, which are some of my favorite roads to ride on. It turned out to make my ride a little more adventurous, too.
I was riding on Highway 212 when I spotted another cyclist ahead of me. His bicycle was loaded down, and he was walking. As I approached him, I called out hello so I wouldn't startle him. He looked very hot and sweaty. I asked him if he needed anything. Before he could answer, I offered him one of my water bottles; I hadn't even drunk out of it yet. He took it appreciatively. I saw a large container of water in one of his saddle bags, but I didn't ask questions. I also offered him the Zuda Bar from my pocket. He tried to refuse, saying, "You need that." I replied, "That's OK. I'm going to a store." I had packed the bar merely as a backup anyway, but I'm sure this guy needed it more than I did regardless. Maybe other people would ask where he was going, etc., but I try to stay out of other people's business. So, I just asked again if he had everything he needed. He said yes, and I pedaled on. I thought about him for the next few miles, wishing him well on whatever journey he was on.
As I turned onto Rabbit Skip Road, I was soaking up the warm summer morning and feeling good after my brief encounter with the cyclist, which reminded me of how we're all connected to each other and all living things. Then came Stanfordville Road with its fun, swoopy curves through beautiful forest. At the end of Stanfordville Road, I turned right onto Glenwood Springs Road. Right after the turn is a bridge over Murder Creek. A family was standing on the bridge looking at the creek. I waved as I rode by. A little girl who looked to be about four or five waved back. She was wearing a T-shirt that read "Enjoy Your Life." I'm not one to go looking for signs, but I'll take that as a sign.
About eight miles farther, I reached Eatonton. It was good to go back to Tienda Tarimoro, a wonderful Mexican market. Most of the inside contains the market, which has all kinds of treasures: produce like nopales (cactus pads), Mexican Coca-Cola with real sugar instead of corn syrup, Pope John Paul II candles, etc. You enter the store through the tiny restaurant portion. Lunch was my first order of business.
The very friendly owner of the market (I should learn his name) sat down with me for a moment. I asked him how things were going, and he said it's very busy. I'm glad he has built such a good business for himself. By the way, he has done some beautiful rock masonry on the exterior of the building. Robert told me that the man lives on Highway 16 on the west side of Eatonton, where he has done similar attractive rockwork.
A few minutes later, a guy came in and said, "I want to get some of that small, white cheese." I replied, "OK, I'll let you do that." No wonder he mistook me for an employee as I was wearing the traditional Mexican cycling kit.
My lunch was soon ready. It was delicious as always. I got my usual: sopes with carnitas (roasted pork). They were topped with the most flavorful queso fresco.
Sopes are made from masa. They are kind of crispy and kind of chewy and have that wonderful corn masa flavor.
I ordered water to go with my meal. I thought the waitress would bring me a glass of tap water, but she brought me a bottle of water from the market side. I'm not a fan of bottled water, and so I swapped it for a Mexican soft drink. That's more fun anyway. The grapefruit flavored one is my favorite.
When I finished, I walked to the cash register to pay for my lunch. Even though I didn't get one, I admired the assortment of Mexican pastries.
I also saw something that I hadn't noticed before. There are three brightly colored phones, two red and one yellow, that are set up for easy phone calls to Latin American countries. They look like the phone that Commissioner Gordon uses to call Batman.
Because water wasn't as readily available at Tienda Tarimoro as I expected, I made another quick stop at Eatonton Presbyterian Church to refill my water bottle at their outdoor spigot. Being down to a single water bottle, I made sure to take advantage of water when it was available. I topped off again later at Providence Baptist Church in Shady Dale. I've been grateful to get water at both of these churches a number of times before on bicycle rides.
I made one more stop a few miles from the end: the new Dairy Queen in Monticello. It was the first time I had been there. It's next to the old Dairy Queen, which will be repurposed into a convenience store. The old Dairy Queen was there for more than 50 years. The new one is nice, but the interior doesn't have the charm of the old one. (But how could it compete with etched glass deer atop the booths at the old one?) On the other hand, the new one has more features, including ready-to-go ice cream cakes and outdoor seating. I took my caramel cheesecake Blizzard outside to eat it, and it started melting fast!
Bonne route and bon appetit!
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