Frm Savannah, GA to Atlanta, GA

Select a Ride Report from this list. April 11: Ramona, CA to Phoenix, AZ April 12: A Day in Phoenix April 13: Phoenix, AZ to Tucson, AZ April 14: Tucson, AZ to Las Cruces, NM April 15: Las Cruces, NM to Carlsbad, NM April 16: Carlsbad, NM to Midland, TX April 17: Rain Delay in Midland, TX April 18: Midland TX to Austin TX via the Hill Country April 19: Austin TX to Houston April 20: Houston TX to New Orleans, LA April 21: A Day in New Orleans April 22: New Orleans, LA to Pensacola, FL April 23: Pensacola, FL to Tallahassee, FL April 24: Tallahassee, FL to Orlando, FL April 25-26: Too Dazed in Orlando April 27: Orlando to Miami Beach April 28: Miami Beach to Key West April 29-30: Wasted Away in Key West May 2: Key West, FL to Fort Lauderdale, FL May 3: Fort Lauderdale, FL to Melbourne, FL May 4: Melbourne, FL to Jacksonville, FL May 5: Jacksonville, FL to Savannah, GA May 6: Savannah, GA to Atlanta, GA May 7: A Day in Atlanta, GA May 8: Atlanta, GA to Asheville, NC May 9: Asheville, NC to Winston-Salem, NC May 10: Winston-Salem, NC to Lynchburg, VA May 11: Lynchburg, VA to Washington, DC May 12-14: Three Days in Washington, DC May 15: Washington, DC to Newtown, PA May 16: Newtown, PA to White Plains, NY May 17-18 White Plains, NY to Stamford, CT May 19-20 Stamford, CT to Boston, MA May 21 Boston, MA to Portland, ME May 22 Portland, ME to Burke Hollow, VT May 23 Burke Hollow, VT to Amsterdam, NY May 24 Amsterdam, NY to Meadville, PA May 25-26Meadville, PA to Columbus, OH May 27 Columbus, OH to Chicago, IL May 28-30 Chicago: My Kind of Town May 31 Chicago, IL to Springfield, IL June 1-3 Springfield, IL to Saint Louis, MO June 4 Saint Louis, MO to Cuba, MO June 5 Cuba, MO to Tulsa, OK via the Ozarks June 6-7 Tulsa, OK to Oklahoma City, OK June 8 Oklahoma City, OK to Kansas City, KS June 9 Kansas City, KS to Sioux Falls, SD June 10 Sioux Falls, SD to Pierre, SD June 11 Pierre, SD to Bismarck, ND June 12 Bismarck, ND to Beulah, ND June 13 Beulah, ND to Dickinson, ND June 14 Dickinson, ND to Glendive, MT June 15 Glendive, MT to Billings, MT June 16 Billings, MT to Helena, MT June 17-18 Helena, MT to Kalispell, MT June 19 Kalispell, MT to Glacier NP to Coeur d'Alene, ID June 20 Coeur d'Alene, ID to Yakima, WA June 21 Yakima, WA to Aberdeen, WA June 22-24 Aberdeen, WA to Seattle, WA June 25 Seattle, WA to Portland, OR via Mt. St. Helens June 26 Portland, OR to Grants Pass, OR June 27 Grants Pass, OR to Eureka, CA June 28 Eureka, CA to Fort Bragg, CA June 29-30 Fort Bragg, CA to San Francisco July 1 San Francisco to Sparks, NV July 2 Sparks, NV to Fresno, CA via Tioga Pass July 3 Fresno, CA to Ramona, CA

Select a Travel Leg to review my plans for that day. Leg 01: Ramona, CA to Phoenix, AZ Leg 02: A Day in Phoenix, AZ Leg 03: Phoenix, AZ to Tucson, AZ Leg 04: Tucson, AZ to Las Cruces, NM Leg 05: Las Cruces, NM to Sanderson, TX Leg 06: Sanderson, TX to Austin, TX Leg 07: Austin, TX to Houston, TX Leg 08: Houston, TX to Galveston, TX Leg 09: Galveston, TX to New Orleans, LA Leg 10: New Orleans, LA to Pensacola, FL Leg 11: Pensacola, FL to Tampa, FL Leg 12: Tampa, FL to Miami Beach, FL Leg 13: Miami Beach, FL to Key West, FL Leg 14: Key West, FL to Cocoa Beach, FL Leg 15: Cocoa Beach, FL to Orlando, FL Leg 16: Orlando, FL to Jacksonville Beach, FL Leg 17: Jacksonville Beach, FL to Savannah, GA Leg 18: Savannah, GA to Atlanta, GA Leg 19: Atlanta, GA to Knoxville, TN Leg 20: Knoxville, TN to Lexington, VA Leg 21: Lexington, VA to Washington, DC Leg 22: Washington, DC to Baltimore, MD Leg 23: Baltimore, MD to White Plains, NY Leg 24: White Plains, NY to Boston, MA Leg 25: Boston, MA to Bath, ME Leg 26: Bath, ME to Quebec, QU Leg 27: Quebec, QU to Montreal, QU Leg 28: Montreal, QU to Toronto, ON Leg 29: Toronto, ON to Cleveland, OH Leg 30: Cleveland, OH to Fort Wayne, ON Leg 31: Fort Wayne, IN to Chicago, IL Leg 32: Chicago, IL to Springfield, IL Leg 33: Springfield, IL to Saint Louis, MO Leg 34: Saint Louis, MO to Joplin, MO Leg 35: Joplin, MO to Oklahoma City, OK Leg 36: Oklahoma City, OK to Dodge City, KS Leg 37: Dodge City, KS to North Platte, NE Leg 38: North Platte, NE to Pierre, SD Leg 39: Pierre, SD to Underwood, ND Leg 40: Underwood, ND to Beach ND Leg 41: Beach, ND to Lewiston, MT Leg 42: Lewiston, MT to Great Falls, MT Leg 43: Great Falls, MT to Missoula, MT Leg 44: Missoula, MT to Kalispel, MT Leg 45: Kalispel, MT to St. Regis, MT Leg 46: St. Regis, MT to Spokane, WA Leg 47: Spokane, WA to Pateros, WA Leg 48: Pateros, WA to Seattle, WA Leg 49: Seattle, WA to Portland, OR Leg 50: Portland, OR to Grants Pass, OR Leg 51: Grants Pass, OR to Eureka, CA Leg 52: Eureka, CA to San Francisco, CA Leg 53: San Francisco, CA to Sparks, NV Leg 54: Sparks, NV to Fresno, CA Leg 55: Fresno, CA to Ramona, CA

Ending Mileage:

	Actual	As Planned
Day of Travel	Sunday May 6, 2001	Sunday May 6, 2001
Departing From	Savannah, GA	Savannah, GA
Destination	Atlanta, GA	Atlanta, GA
Distance (in miles)	293 miles	249 miles
Distance (in kilometers)	472 kms	401 kms
Departure Time	8:15 AM
Arrival Time	4:20 PM
Total Travel Time	8 hours 5 minutes	4 hours 17 minutes
Average Speed (in mph)	36 mph average	58 mph average
Average Speed (in kph)	58 kph average	94 kph average

RETURN TO TOP OF PAGE

I get another early start today from Savannah. I met a couple from Ontario that also ride motorcycles but were in their sport utility returning from a golfing holiday in Florida. We had a nice chat although the wife offered to 'hold' my keys while I went for my final cup of coffee. Before leaving town, I take another spin around some of the squares of Savannah to collect some pictures and some memories in daylight rather than moonlight. My pictures are totally inadequate but I hope you get some small sense of the beauty of this city. If you haven't already read the book "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" you should consider it. It is a true story from this crazy town. There is now a small cottage industry catering to the many fans of the book. Wandering these streets both on foot and on the motorcycle, I am reminded of all the crazy characters that inhabited these spaces and the book. Before departing for the trip one of my guest book signers had wished me good luck for a Lady Chablis sighting. Unfortunately I had no luck in that endeavor. I overheard two children being told by a friend that he HAD seen the phantom dog walker earlier that day. But how can we ever know what is true and what is false in a city that so carefully guard's its secrets? Finally, I come around a corner and spot two people surreptitiously snapping a picture of a specific house. They don't seem to be taking a picture of 'a house' but rather a picture of 'the house.' And since I think too think that it is THE HOUSE, I pull over to snap a picture as well. The easy choice for getting from Savannah to Atlanta is Interstate 16. But I had already decided that I would not take route. I have driven Interstate 20 from Atlanta to Augusta several times for business and it is hard to imagine a more boring stretch of highway. Instead I elect to take US 80 (the same one that has its westward terminus in San Diego) to Macon and then transition to US 23. US 23 was once the highway between south Florida and Chicago. It is Sunday and church after church is filled with worshippers. I knew that churchgoing in the South was an important part of the culture but I'm still surprised by both the number of churches and the full parking lots. I'm even more surprised at 1 PM when a lot of people are still at church. Shortly after leaving Savannah, the roadside scenery begins to change. Once outside the big city and suburbs, I am treated to a string of small towns. Forests line the road but there is also a lot of tilled ground. In some places, a first crop of alfalfa or other grass is already rolled into huge bales. Other fields are tilled and ready for planting. I'm also surprised by the degree to which the road wanders up and down hills. The ride is a series of nice hills and some sweeping turns. The traffic is very light and I can pick my speed up a bit. In one little town after nearly being run over twice by the same woman, I stop to snap a picture of a sign for the "Kuntry Kitchen". At first I thought about giving the sign the first Glen Best Award For Unfortunate Roadside Signage but decide it can not qualify for the award. To qualify, the sign error must be unintentional. However, I think this one is a mix of unintentional and intentional errors. The substitution of the K for the C in country is just 'cutesy.' But the omission of the O makes for an unfortunate spelling to those of us who view the world lying in the gutter. I get a chuckle out of the counterpoint of the bright Georgia Sunday morning and the churches against this restaurant's sign. North of Macon, the road becomes even more fun. I would recommend this route to anyone on a bike or in a car that has some time to waste. The ride into Atlanta on Interstate 75 is uneventful. My former work colleague Trevor will be my host for the next two nights. Trevor is coming home from London where he has celebrated his 50th birthday. His directions to his house are impeccable. Once on his street, I no longer need any directions. His friends have engaged a service to decorate his lawn with fifty pink flamingoes. Tomorrow: A day in Atlanta.

Depart Savannah westbound on US 80.

At Macon, GA, transition from US 80 to US 23 heading north

At MacDonald, GA transition from US 23 to Interstate 75 heading north.

Arrive Atlanta, GA