Where I Trace My Bloodline - Sumter National Forrest - Newberry, South Carolina

 

My next door neighbor at Sumter NF KOA.

Officially day one is in the books!

I left Jacksonville this morning at 9AM and arrived at The KOA at Sumter National Forrest, South Carolina at 5PM this evening. Campsite is setup and ready to pass out! When I hit the road this morning the plan was to take I95 and I26 all the way to the KOA. By the time I hit Brunswick, GA I was over riding on the highway. Flat, straight, boring and being buffeted by semi trucks were making for a very non-enjoyable ride. I checked the maps while fueling in Brunswick and saw for the cost of adding an extra hour and a half to my day I could take Georgia back roads up to Augusta, GA and stay off the interstate. That choice proved to make for a much better riding experience with less traffic (especially tractor trailers) and more scenery. Especially after I got past Augusta and crossed I20. 

Welcome to the KOA

Once over I20 I don't know at what point I crossed in to South Carolina, but at some point everything changed. The road changed to a 2 lane and traffic started to dissipate. I came up on Johnston, SC (the peach capitol of the world, according to their large sign outside of town) rather quickly. The town seemed to live up to its name as there was nothing but peach orchards on both sides of the road. And as you come upon the town center you travel under a canopy of huge oak trees spaced along each side of the road for about half a mile. After I passed through the rejected old town of Saluda, traffic became almost nonexistent and the hills and curves that make for really good riding started to take shape. I even began to not think about how much my backside was hurting from the almost eight hours in the saddle. 

First night on the road, First class accommodations.

Coming off the country road, it was a quick twelve mile jump up I26 to Joanna, SC and my first night on the road, tenting at the Sumter National Forrest KOA. The staff called me several hours earlier to check how I was doing and greeted me by name as soon as I got of the bike. So incredibly hospitable and the campsite would have to be considered luxurious by tent camping standards. The Ritz Carlton of roughing it I'd say. I mean, I'm at a picnic table next to my tent and have better wifi than the hotel I stayed in last night!

Tomorrow it's 170 miles of country roads, past Spartanburg, SC, skirting Asheville, NC and jumping on the Blue Ridge Parkway to my next stop in the metropolis of Spruce Pine, North Carolina. Right now though, its a sleeping bag and my neighbor the gnome. I hope he isn't up all night partying cause I need some sleep.