March 02, 1999

BROKEN SPOKE

I had a pretty good start for the trip several hours ago. I left Americus, GA around 8:40 a.m. and started the trip southwards along GA 185. The weather was a bit cool and there was a slight headwind to ride against. Along the way, I rode past old cotton fields that had been picked.

Even though I was riding against the wind, I made twenty-eight miles in the morning. I got into the northern edge of Albany around 1:40 p.m. About three-fourths the way to the downtown area, one of the sounds that I didn't want to hear came from the bike especially on the very first day of the new ride. A spoke had snapped somehow on the rear wheel. This was hard to believe because I wasn't carrying as great of a load that I usually carried since I had smaller panniers this year.

It was about a four mile ride on the wobbly wheel before I got to the local bike shop. The mechanic repaired the wheel slowly between customers because he was the only person in the store.

I didn't really feel like going any further for the day so I just rode through Albany. I was able to find a low-cost motel room near the instersection of the road that I was going to take to my next stop of Moultrie.