Rainy Night..er, Near Georgia

Three states, one day. An early start is a good one for us, especially after drying out dew-soaked tents. The sun is out, and miles await. After a long wake-up climb out of camp this morning, we rode the ridge of Sand Mountain until finally dropping down the other side. Lunch in Georgia, as though we we had the luxury of going anywhere but just really liked the atmosphere in this particular Wendy's. Then a nice twenty miles or so to Chatanooga, Tennesee. I hear they have a really nice Wal-Mart Supercenter there--why not! Local biker (Chip) helped pass the ride time and gave us some great route advice. A relaxing spin through empty downtown gave us a neat look at the old brick and new hip buildings co-mingling in this border town. Definitely have to come back and check it out. But now the priority is campsite, and we finally roll by a large church and house complex with lots of grass. The place has a nice look, and the folks we meet are as friendly as we hope. Eventually permission is granted, and we set-up at the building's back to avoid wind. Shelter, check; now food. An Asian buffet, you say? How can we say no! It just so happens that its rated #1 in town! We eat and drink and we are satisfactorily full if not quite merry. As we linger outside the nylon-and-poles we call home, it begins to sprinkle. A few drops on us, some dull taps on the tent tops, and we know it's only the beginning. The report says tomorrow we'll be wet--we may wake early again, but there'll be no drying off. As we fall in and zip up, the tapping becomes more steady, and soon it's an official soaker. Nice to sleep to, but biking's gonna be a slog. Oh well, it's bound to happen from time to time--after all, it is spring.
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