Before I start on Day 5, I want to share a fun experience we had the afternoon before in Sylvania. While I wrote the blog, Madeleine and Marie went for a walk around the town to scope out a place for dinner. When they returned we were talking with Bob, our host, and they related how charming and clean the town is. He ended up calling the head of the Chamber of Commerce and sharing their observations. She decided to come over and do a video interview for the Chamber website. We may be famous in Sylvania, GA!

Everyday this week has been different and has brought a new challenge as Sam suggested it would. The first word that comes to mind for day 5 was "hard". The roads were great for riding today but the hills and headwinds made it challenging. I had not slept well the night before anxious about the first 15 miles of the day which were on GA 21. It is a busy four lane road and I was anticipating the trucks whizzing by. However, people said that it had a wide shoulder and we would be fine. They were correct. Not only was there a wide shoulder but between the shoulder and the road there was a rumble strip which was very comforting. Generally, the trucks and cars got into the far lane when they passed us. The next 23 miles we biked were on a less traveled road but we were met with the hills and a strong headwind. The wind made the uphills much harder and kept us from reaping the full benefit of the downhills. Due to the busy first road and the elements on the second road, we did not take in much scenery. We were focused on just making it to the end. A highlight of the ride was at mile 25. We had plans to meet Marie for lunch. She had found a lovely spot on the side of the road and set up chairs and lunch - how great is she! About 1 mile from her and after a climb up a hill, we had stopped to have a drink of water. An older gentlemen was driving by in his truck and stopped to wish us well and tell us that our sister was half a mile ahead waiting with lunch which brought a big smile to our faces and the energy to hop back on the bikes. Marie had had a nice chat with him earlier. I should note that Madeleine is an incredibly strong biker so it was me that needed that boost. We made it to Midville a little tired but happy to have successfully completed the ride.