It was cold again this morning, and after the last two days I was in no hurry to get back on the road. I took full advantage of the 11 am check out time, before heading back to the park I had found the evening before. I explored it for a few hours, as there were quite a lot of trails, and I even found a thick Tarzan type vine hanging down right over the boardwalk. I couldn't resist swinging from it a few times. The park was pretty long, and I was able to actually use it as a shortcut into downtown, helping me avoid the road with people speeding along off of I-95. I found the library and worked on my blog for a bit, before finally deciding I needed to get going if I was ever going to get to the next stop before dark, as it was already pushing 4 pm. I had decided to stay in yet another hotel that night since it was going to be cold again, and so getting in close to sunset wasn't as much of a concern as if I was planning on camping.
I had a few choices as far as how to get to Yemassee. I could take the secondary highway 17 (which is actually a different highway from the one I had been on for the last week or so that goes right along the coast) which paralleled I-95 and hope it wasn't busy because it was so close to a major interstate (but the way to it was back up that same ugly hill I had to ride over last night), or I could go back the way I came (highway 64) and get back on the bike route that way, or I could take a middle road, highway 303, which would also take me to the bike route. I chose 303, and the first few miles out of town were kind of nice, until I got passed by a certain jackass in a semi truck. I can't tell you how many times I've seen impatient and rude people coming from behind me absolutely refuse to so much as ease off the gas for a few seconds to let an oncoming car to pass before passing me themselves. Sometimes I swear they even adjust their speed to ensure that all three of us will be next to each other at the same point in time. It's incredibly reckless and unnecessary, and often the oncoming car gets pushed off the road to avoid a collision, with tires hitting dirt more times than I can count. Or, if the oncoming car refuses to move just as much as the passing car refuses to slow down, they come within inches of missing each other, and I have witnessed this also more times than I can count. It pisses me off because by insisting on passing me at that very instant, right then and there, they not only put me at risk, but they are also putting the people in the oncoming car at risk as well. It's not like I've asked them to come to a full stop. I'm still moving too. Seriously, what is the emergency? You are late for work? You are going to the store? You just want to get home and plop your butt on the couch and watch some TV? Is it worth it? Would it be worth it to have an accident or kill someone because you couldn't spare a few seconds and slow down just a few mph?
Yes, I've had more close calls now than I can count, but to have a big semi do it when another semi is the oncoming car, and the lanes are barely wide enough to have their trailers be inside the lines in the first place, just left me speechless. The truck in the other lane almost lost control and went in the ditch when his tires hit dirt, and I also went off the road and into the ditch when I saw that we all had missed each other with less than a foot between all of us. Neither truck stopped. The truck that passed me didn't even slow down. He didn't care at all about me or his fellow trucker, and it was that which blew me away most of all. I'm used to people not caring about my well being on the road. I'm sure they think I've somehow asked for it and deserve it by being there in the first place. I stood there in the grass for several minutes. I was done. I had had it with with these utterly rude, inconsiderate, downright dangerous drivers on these too-narrow, poor quality roads.
After I while, I got back on my bike and kept going. There really wasn't much else to do. I was extra glad when I came upon a newly paved winding residential road that I had scoped out ahead of time as a possible "longcut" to get off the highway for a few miles. It was a super pleasant ride, and I took it very slowly, enjoying the empty street that I had all to myself for as long as possible. I passed by one huge rural mansion after the other, some still being built. They had fancy brick and ironwork gates guarding the entrances to their driveways, and for the first time in a long time I started singing about how this was how bike touring *should* be. I was a bit apprehensive as I approached the end of the road. How was this next road going to be? The quality went down measurably, but it was mostly empty and the scenery was fantastic, and absolutely best of all, nearly everyone that I passed waved and smiled at me! It was such a huge 180 degree change from the behavior of only an hour before. I was again apprehensive as the end of this road drew near, and I would need to get back onto highway 17 paralleling I-95. How would that road be?
The first thing I noticed was the fact that the lanes were a good 2 feet wider, even if there was no shoulder. The rolling hills looked daunting, but it was mostly a trick of the eye since the road was so straight. They were very very gradual, and I had very little problem working my way over them, although the fact that I was actually losing speed on the downhills if I stopped pedaling was most puzzling and obnoxious. I stopped at a little shop for a drink and snack, and smiled and waved at the group of old guys that were sitting around on the side chatting and maybe playing cards. They did not smile back but stared me down like I had absolutely lost my mind. I ignored it and went in anyway. The cashier was nice enough. I went back out and overheard an escalating conversation between a guy in a car and a guy bent over his window about "Where's my money." Hmm... I pretended not to notice them at all and slowly moved my bike to the other side of the building where the group of old guys was. I again smiled and they continued to stare. One walked past me giving me a wide berth, and looked scared when I smiled at him and said "Hi." He was obviously still dealing with a bad case of PTSD left over from Vietnam, probably. I decided it was time for me to move on, even though I had only had a sip of my drink and hadn't even opened my snack.
The next several miles were hardly memorable, just more hills up and down on the very straight highway, until I got to Yemassee. The hotel I was staying at was actually a bit past the town itself in a cluster of gas stations, restaurants, and hotels right off the interstate. The sun was starting to set, but I actually enjoyed the ride through the nearly empty road through the swamp and forest. I did pass by a red truck that was parked in front of a gated road, a tree stand in the back. Hunters. I really should probably get something orange to wear when I'm in the woods at some point...
Again I felt apprehensive about getting on the next road to the hotel, as it was an exit road and potentially busy and full of speeding rushed people. It turned out to be almost pleasant, as people actually moved over into the free lane when they saw me, for the most part, to pass even though there was a shoulder that I was hiding in. The front desk lady at the hotel was just as nice as could be, which is why I didn't say anything at all when she made the comment "I'm one of those impatient ones, don't be mad," when I commented about how people are so impatient as to be dangerous on some of these roads. I couldn't say anything, because if I said anything at all, then it was all going to come out. I had a lot built up from the whole of South Carolina, and this poor woman was not going to know what had hit her. I did give her my site information, so maybe she will be reading this now and can understand why, yes, I am mad, and I feel like I have full right to be.
Dinner at Denny's was awesome! I stuffed myself with pretty much 2 dinners, and the waitress seemed a little concerned. The room I ended up in didn't seem to be used all that often, as the room I was supposed to be in had some issues with the card reader and I couldn't open the door, despite getting a new key about 3 times. When I pulled back the covers to get in bed, the biggest wolf spider I had ever seen in my life came strolling out onto my night stand. We are talking huge. Massive. It was easily 3 inches across, and not at all spindly or all legs. It was a beefy sucker. I was desperately trying to find a nearby shoe without scaring it away as it strolled along the nightstand next to the phone. If I tried to hit it now, I'll miss and then what? I tried to wait patiently for it to come out to a better spot, but it had paused. It knew. As soon as I could tell it was about to make a break for it I swung, and missed. It scurried behind the headboard of the second bed. I could see it on the wall, just waiting for me to forget about it and go to sleep. I might have done it too if I didn't know that they can bite and that they hurt when they do. I wished I hadn't used up the last of my potent permethrin spray a few days prior, but it couldn't be helped now. I got out my little spray bottle of DEET bug spray and squirted it behind the head board. It fell to the floor and I started looking around the edges for it to come running out so I could smash it. After a while I gave up and hoped I had knocked it out at least, and pulled out all of my treated clothing and surrounded the bed with them to create a sort of perimeter, which I'm sure was more for my piece of mind than anything.
As tired as I was not 5 minutes ago, now I was wide awake with a decent amount of adrenaline flowing through me. I laid down and tried to read for a while, and just as I was about to turn out the light, the gigantic beast wobbled his way drunkenly out from under the other bed and tried to make a break for mine. I squashed him with my shoe and after checking that there were no more hiding behind my headboard, I went to bed. He was probably as big as he was because he had eaten all the others, I thought.
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