Comfortable night. Woke to alarm to make Sprinter service appointment.

Last night gambled w/ FS camping permit that was good till midnight last night. Had story to tell in case. No act had to be performed.

Short drive to dealership. Met w/ Val & she had her way w/ my van. Found ambient sensor needs to be replaced but has to be shipped from Atlanta, be installed tomorrow. Its all good.

Did wash. Found 2 bike shops in Augusta 30 miles away to go visit & tourist the day away. Augusta’s downtown is rotten. Big shops were small & lacking.

Checked yellow pages for shower. Found a health club. Called, explained my situation & asked if I could buy a shower. Guy said come on down, ask for Louis, & maybe he will give you a free guest pass. Drove downtown and Louis did just that.

Found UHaul dealer for propane. Gotta watch consumption to assure sufficient supply. Heater on high burns a bit.

Drove back to Thomson. Found large gravel parking lot just off main drag. And it is a transient tractor trailer parking lot. Hopefully no refers or idling engines.

Bill emailed Rob, his Santos contact who emailed me back. Setting up ride for later this week after red flag warning is hopefully expired. Rob sent me on to Wes for the Alafia River trails further south.

Lots of good things happening. Thanks all.

Bill turned me onto “Expertsgps.com” for mapping gps routes on topo maps which can then be shared via jpeg and you do not have to have an account to view them. The map quality is way better directly from NGS TOPO! maps.

New interview posting on:

http://www.mtbresource.com

Going to ride Macon, GA tomorrow for 34th state.

Off to clean bed & visions of quiet running 18 wheelers.

Comfortable quiet night spent. Heater kept up w/ warmer outside temps.

Drove back into Edgefield being a tourist. Noticed old frame buildings falling down hidden in regrowth of trees. Town drying up, local business sucked off to other places. grocery store was not a stable of overly healthy food selection.

Entered Bill’s address into GPS. Went well until the route entered dirt roads. tried to run me down a dead end FS road. Wandered a bit until I stumbled onto his road which is actually a FS rd.

WOW. I met Bill Victor, pretty much the main man behind the FATS, Forks Area Trail System. What lessens I learned in working w/ regulations & land managers to politicians. Bill is sharp and a spark plug.

We rode the 2.5 miles from his house to the TH. Bill lead the way and kept almost a running description of the trail. My front brake was squealing the whole time I couldn’t hear, plus Bill is a bit faster, i couldn’t stay on his wheel. Almost all the trails are machine cut by either a small ditch witch or the larger tracked machine. Excellent layout and execution. The tread was mostly smooth which allowed enjoyment & focus on trail route. Lots of traverses that went up & down, never any killer hills just lots of noddeling ups & downs. Low point is 200′ above sea level, high point was 545′. In the 22.84 miles ridden we climbed 2210′. I kept remarking that the trail kept me involved in almost constant pedaling. Lots of grade dips across the contour in the erosion gulleys. Bill said that the old timers said that the land was all in cotton and the gulleys were formed by poor farming practices. Whatever the cause they were well used and often. Upper body work out from linear force down & up the walls of the dips. Land is reclaiming the scars of the machine cut and riders are establishing a line. Check out the ride in Google on ride data page.

FATS is the first trail system that will be closed if it is too wet that I have ridden on. Bill manifests ownership of trail and is admirable. If there is a vacuum when 1 is strong enough it can be filled. Congrats to Bill’s effort.

At almost the end of my squeaking front brake ride I readjusted the caliper to the rotor and the noise disappeared. It took me  a long time to remember that skill.

Bill fixed dinner and shared his dogs & cat w/ me and later his 3 small kids. I slept in the driveway.

Put rain cover over bikes before bed as forecast said maybe rain. It rained during the night, not much. If Bill lines up a kid watcher for this afternoon we will ride again although maybe not FATS because of the wet. He said that there are miles of trails elsewhere locally that aren’t being ridden and will withstand our bike tracks.

Bill’s kid sitter fell thru, it continued to rain, and a UK basketball game was on TV. I hung for the game then Bill adieu & thanks for sharing & warm visit. Plan is to drive back to place I camped above Lick Fork Lake. Sun broke thru clouds on way to camp spot. Bill told me of Horn Creek trail near lake. Rode it. Bill, it was not flowey to ride. It did have roots. Nowhere near as fun as FATS to ride.

Warmer temps.

Monday Am the Sprinter goes in for another engine control light issue in Thomson, GA.

Spent eve researching GA rides on way to FL and FL rides. Lot of driving to get then ridden.

Most cold I have slept in van yet. Outside it was 6 degrees. Inside w/ propane heater on full was 44 deg. Windows frozen over. Fixed bfast. Cold.

Bruce was still sleeping when I knocked on door to say good bye. Chatted w/ Beth & left.

Got just a bit S of Hendersonville, home of the Sprinter repair shop, and the engine control light came on again. No turbo power. Turn around & drive short distance to shop. They get me in quickly again and the charge again was warranty. I have less than 500 miles on the warranty and an electronic system that has already had 3 hickups. Not ready to put it in the VW van bucket. Yet.

Have a telephone interview w/ Chris Youman tonight. He has a web site where he plans on poting his results.

Bill Victor @ FATS thinks I am a character, possibly 1 of the best he’s seen. Sure going to brush my hair for this visit.

Mid afternoon hunker down in a grocery parking lot soaking up sun warmth.

More perhaps later.

Later.

75 miles South of dealership the light came back on. Called Egolf to report problem & line up a Sprinter dealer down road. Got that nailed with a Monday appointment in Thomson, GA for the next fix. I am just miles from warranty expiration, attempting to cover myself for future problems.

Continued driving S. Saw what i beleive are plantation houses just outside Edgefield, SC where I am in the woods. Red clay dirt.

Made Long Cane RS just before closing to inquire about camping. In the Sumter Forest camping is only allowed in organized campsites and the local 1 was closed for season. FS guy cut me a permit to dirtbag camp. Drove back gravel road thru a pine plantation to dead end. Need to understand southern forest logging practices. Land seems flat that lends itself to machine logging and cutting younger trees.

Chris called me and we did phone interview for his web site.

Zysk, I bought some boiled peanuts from a smoke shop. Yes, they were tasty and like a lugie. I wonder if they are better just having been boiled versus slow cooked who knows how many days?

Another cold night forecast. I lack an outside thermometer. I could put the inside 1 outside but that would mean getting out of a comfortable van.

10:00PM Friday night, listening to channel 54 on XM: BB King Bluesville. I liked the other blues on old XM better.

Very fat woman w/ equally fat husband on her choice of men: She wants a man that she doesn’t have to shake the sheets out to find.

Say good night, Trixie.