The good news the following morning
(3-17) was that the sun was shining. The bad
news was that Gene noticed a small bulge in his front tire while checking his air
pressure. This was not the new tire from
yesterday, but rather his other original tire. The
bulge was of great concern, as it seemed to signify the same kind of tear in the sidewall
as he had experienced yesterday on the rear tire. So
we went to a bike shop again this morning. Sure
enough, the sidewall was torn slightly in about three places. He also had a cracked spoke. New tire, new spoke, new direction. Partly based on a conversation with the bike shop
owner, I decided to take a route across northern Georgia that would stay more in the
foothills of the Appalachians rather than through the mountains themselves. With a little luck, we can still get to
Chattanooga right on schedule.
We arrived in Toccoa, Georgia around
4:30, but there wasn’t a campground in the area, so we elected a motel even though it
wasn’t supposed to rain tonight. We
found an Applebees, and had a nice dinner and a mild celebration of St. Patrick’s
Day.
(Great
Adventures to Scenic Places)
