Day 24, Eufaula Alabama to Perry Georgia
Tuesday, October 04, 2011 Category: Bike Ride
Tonight finds us in Perry Georgia. Georgia is the last state we will visit on this Epic Journey.
The ride was a good ride, although long. The ride was 112 miles long with about 4700 feet of climbing. Temperature on leaving was in the usual 40 degree range, so we had the usual cold temperature to deal with. We headed out of Eufaula and over the causeway across Lake Eufaula into Georgia. We hit Georgia at the 4 mile mark, so just about all of today’s ride was in Georgia. Georgia looks just like Alabama. Lots of trees, pines, and of course, the logging trucks.
Most of the large climbing was at the beginning, with very large rollers. Great on the downhills, slow going on the very long uphills. I was glad to get most of the climbing done earlier in the day.
The most memorable part of today was our visit to Andersonville National Historic Site. During the Civil War, Andersonville (or Camp Sumter) was one of the largest prisons established by the Confederacy. The camp was in existence for 14 months, and during that time, over 45,000 union soldiers were confined there. Almost 13,000 died there from disease, poor sanitation, malnutrition, overcrowding and exposure to the elements. That translates to about 29% of those confined died there. It is hard to believe that such harsh conditions existed at such a beautiful place.
The National Historic Site has a museum that features prisoners of war for all conflicts. One particular display that caught my attention was about Camp O’Donnel in the Philippines. From 1966-1968, I was stationed at Clark Air Base in the Republic of the Philippines. I was assigned to the 1961st Communications Group and worked at the HF receiver site on base. The HF transmitter site was at Camp O’Donnell in Capas, Tarlac. Camp O’Donnel was the final stop of the Bataan Death March, and was used as an internment camp for American and Filipino prisoners of war. About 2,200 Americans and 27,000 Filipinos died at Camp O’Donnel. I had occasion to visit Camp O’Donnel a number of times and to witness the shrine dedicated to those that died there.
The last part of the ride into Perry was relatively flat which I certainly appreciated. Dinner at Subway and a large chocolate shake at the local Dairy Queen topped off the evening. Unfortunately, it was a short day since we lost and hour due to the time zone change when we entered Georgia.
It is hard to believe that we will finish in two days. The ride tomorrow is 118 miles, but only 3000 feet of climbing. I am looking forward to this ride, even though it will be long.
Click here for today’s pictures
The ride was a good ride, although long. The ride was 112 miles long with about 4700 feet of climbing. Temperature on leaving was in the usual 40 degree range, so we had the usual cold temperature to deal with. We headed out of Eufaula and over the causeway across Lake Eufaula into Georgia. We hit Georgia at the 4 mile mark, so just about all of today’s ride was in Georgia. Georgia looks just like Alabama. Lots of trees, pines, and of course, the logging trucks.
Most of the large climbing was at the beginning, with very large rollers. Great on the downhills, slow going on the very long uphills. I was glad to get most of the climbing done earlier in the day.
The most memorable part of today was our visit to Andersonville National Historic Site. During the Civil War, Andersonville (or Camp Sumter) was one of the largest prisons established by the Confederacy. The camp was in existence for 14 months, and during that time, over 45,000 union soldiers were confined there. Almost 13,000 died there from disease, poor sanitation, malnutrition, overcrowding and exposure to the elements. That translates to about 29% of those confined died there. It is hard to believe that such harsh conditions existed at such a beautiful place.
The National Historic Site has a museum that features prisoners of war for all conflicts. One particular display that caught my attention was about Camp O’Donnel in the Philippines. From 1966-1968, I was stationed at Clark Air Base in the Republic of the Philippines. I was assigned to the 1961st Communications Group and worked at the HF receiver site on base. The HF transmitter site was at Camp O’Donnell in Capas, Tarlac. Camp O’Donnel was the final stop of the Bataan Death March, and was used as an internment camp for American and Filipino prisoners of war. About 2,200 Americans and 27,000 Filipinos died at Camp O’Donnel. I had occasion to visit Camp O’Donnel a number of times and to witness the shrine dedicated to those that died there.
The last part of the ride into Perry was relatively flat which I certainly appreciated. Dinner at Subway and a large chocolate shake at the local Dairy Queen topped off the evening. Unfortunately, it was a short day since we lost and hour due to the time zone change when we entered Georgia.
It is hard to believe that we will finish in two days. The ride tomorrow is 118 miles, but only 3000 feet of climbing. I am looking forward to this ride, even though it will be long.
Click here for today’s pictures
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