Day 7 Finding my Heritage?

Sunday January 15, 2023

First goal of day Seven?

Get a warm coffee! I was entombed in the sleeping bag and blanket last night as it dropped to nineteen degrees and all I did was stick my nose out from inside that cocoon this morning and the frigidness of the air whacked me! Geez....! Then I thought... "Did I really write a blog about thinking I might be part Eskimo? I'm having second thoughts on that...cuz this duck can't get south fast enough! Then I thought...hmmm... I wonder if Uber Eats can deliver a hot Caramel latte to my car? Promise I would tip well...my phone is right here..."

So I got my silly little entitled butt (unseasoned) out and and found the cutest little coffee shop in town...and the Barista's smile was enough to warm me up...the coffee was a bonus. I love the people down here..."no sir, yes sir, where y'all from" (even though it's just me lol) but incredibly genuine feeling.

Second goal of the day?

RIDE!

My buddy Jim (in Georgia where I am headed) recommended a park enroute to his house that I am headed for. Siri took me through the mountain roads which led to some twisty driving but oh so gorgeous views...

News flash!

An addition to Pete's heritage perhaps?

SO the eskimo portion of me may only be a tiny bit- (like .002 %) - but I have discovered another part of me that has been dormant for some time!

I kinda can't sit still when there is some good reggae music on!!!

Have you ever listened to 'Stick Figure'?

I'm playing drums on the dash and bopping back-n-forth as I'm driving...I'm talking Jamaiican (well to the ducks on the dash... not to people...yet : )

Wow! Maybe I was just in the mood for it but the sound was just so awesome and...cavernous! A deep bass that kind of firmly plants your feet on the ground coupled with his voice drifting melodically over that foundation like it was soaring in the sky above, just that little echo in the recording...oh so good.

I cranked that up for a few songs and everything was Iree Mahn! Check 'em out when you can.

SO maybe my ancestors married into a Jamaican family somewhere down the line? Mom says I'm Irish but all those bagpipes do is want to make me sing songs and drink beer. Well wait that's not bad either actually I kinda enjoy that.

Wow I am one serious mutt!

An Irish reggae loving eskimo Mexican duck! Wow sounds like a cartoon character actually.

Kept driving and found the trailhead because Jim sent me a lil' trail map that the local bike shop put out...which, as it happens, was closed on this Sunday. Dang! I wanted to chat with them first and put my mind at ease about the trails...which are obviously completely unknown to me. So my journey through all this was to navigate off of a pdf in a state I had been in for like 20 minutes to a trailhead back in the sticks where cell service will be sketchy at best. Yeah there we're some doubts as to the sanity of myself through all this. Funny when I pass a few homes that are just amazing ranch style-open-air with horses and stuff it feels so friendly. I'm like "oh this is a nice area". Then I pass a few trailers with God-knows-what strewn about and roofs caving in and an old man staring at me as I go by and I think "What am I doing here?" That dude is coming after me with a shotgun for sure cuz I looked at him - I know it!".

Wait! Is it Duck season??

The drive up to the top of the mountain where I started the ride from was literally alongside a drop-off that went down for a few hundred feet...jeep was amazing but I definitely white knuckled it for awhile there lol. I'm not much of a mountain cyclist either but wow what a ride too! Bombing down between trees with roots everywhere and a drop-off to the side is just adrenaline fueling for sure...I needed to air out the legs and lungs after three days of 'waddling' around tourist towns and driving. Totally navigated the trail pretty well and made it back to the jeep in about an hour and a half. Perfect cuz the sun was getting low and I was starving!

I stopped in the little town of Ellijay which is where this trail was closest too.. a cool little mountain bike/bar/coffee house and gift shop vibe. I could spend a day or two here and just ride and recap the day over a pint for sure.

But on to my buddies house!

Jim is a fellow that I meant early on in his career in the FAA and we had bonded instantly over cycling even back like 15 years ago. One of those give ya-the-shirt-off-his back kinda peoples that you come across now and then in your life. He, his wife and two kids invited me to stay with them and they were, believe it or not, smoking a butt on their new grill! HA! Life is funny sometimes huh!?

OMigosh so hospitable and the food was off the hook delicious! I felt so bad as I sat around their dinner table smelling like four days of road grime and mountain bike sweat...apologies to y'all!

Ever take a shower and then sleep in a bed after camping out in-between two bikes in 19 degree weather and no-shower for nearly four days?

Let me tell ya...

It was nice.

Inside

Totally building my confidence in being able to locate these obscure trailheads and navigating them! Because there are definitely some (healthy) fears about leaving your car behind with less than 3 hours of sunlight left on a mountain you've never seen before and the town of Sketchyville only down the road lol! But between finding that first campsite in the dark on night one, the hike back a few days ago into bear country and then this bike route - I've really begun to trust my instincts and map skills. Now not to get to over confident with that...

Outside

Wow to finally get to do a ride...in the mountains with drop-offs right next to me was todays outside gold medal winner.

The trail was called Pin Hottie (**DON"T GOOGLE IT! No telling what might pop up : )

Upside

Meeting up with Jim and his family was such an upside for me today. I haven't seem Jim in near 15 years probably and we connected up like we never were apart. Looking forward to a ride with him tomorrow for sure...

downside

Man I would love to have somebody to chat with! After doing a ride like that to kind of re-hash the terrain or the thrills or the scary holy $hit moments would be so fun. Walking thru these little towns and exploring them with someone would add another dimension to the trip for sure also. I'm having a blast by myself for sure...and enjoying every second! But also noticing the couples that get to do this with a lifelong partner and looking forward to a time when I get to do it with someone too!

Every which way but east

Think I forgot about this part of the blog but I've been heading south to Marietta to get warmer temps and finally looks like that will happen. I plan on chilling with Jim in Marietta for two days and then heading west. Dallas is the next planned stop. Everything in between is open to the wind. Anyone with ideas!? Jim suggested SA30 which is down on the gulf...I may do that but seems kinda southerly. But ever tie I poke into Mississippi or Louisiana the area's just look super sketchy.