First 5 Days: What A Great Time

So we are five days and it has been a great time, here are some of the highlights.

Moncks Corner
It was a grand time on our first day of riding heading out from the Charleston Harbor! We rocked it out of town and got into Moncks fairly early, so you may ask how we used our extra time? We found a Channel that is fed from Lake Marion, and swam with the gators in South Carolina! The current was strong but we survived with no limbs missing. On the way through the town we talked with the owner of the Book Stores on Main who loved our group and was awed by our trip to Santa Cruz. It was a nice small town with a great church that gave us a lot of space!

Pinewood
One town in a spacious church was followed by a night of camping along Lake Marion with the good old locals. They were fishing for Crawfish and our host offered us a grand meal that we had to decline for budget reasons. Fortunately, dinner crew prepared for dinner the night before at church and we were able to rock out a great meal with the campfire. We absolutely loved the bike ride into the campsite that included Closed Bridges across Lake Marion, Sudden Road/Sandy Roads and Alligators on the swamp near us. I met a farmer by the name of James who was getting ready for the Watermelon Season with his upcoming crops. We realized that we are a working team by our group raising money to provide shelters for everyone and he growing the crops necessary to feed the world.
Columbia, SC
Nice capital city but was not able to see much of it due to the fact that I was the last person to arrive in our group. We were the sweep for the day which includes the duty of herding all the riders to make sure that everyone stays in front of us. It was nice to relax and just enjoy the sites along our route with no real hurry. I really got to know my fellow sweep Kelsey a lot more and take great pictures along the way. The train tracks near our host offered great sounds though the night, you know how much I love trains! (Seriously am obsessed enough to be a Conductor when I retire)

Newberry, SC
This is basically a small town surviving off the Opera House that brings in tourism for half of the year. It is amazing what one attraction can bring to a local economy especially in South Carolina. Apparently, people come from all over the surrounding Southern States during the main season of performances. Bridget at the Embroidery Store was a great person to talk to on the Main Drag in the town. She will be a great help for future Bike & Build Groups that come through with setting up Community Events. I bought a great shirt for my Best Friend Greg Baker for his Birthday, lets hope he likes it!

Greenville, SC

We are in this great city now and I enjoyed a great difficult ride up rolling hills between Newberry to here. So far the church has been amazing and locals gave us a classic BBQ experience during dinner. Our day off is tomorrow so I will hopefully have some great tales to offer in my next blog!