We had a couple mile warm up through the old industrial area of Charleston.  An old Cigar Factory had been converted to shops and homes still had the narrow road frontage and large side porches, just not as elaborate as in the Historic District.

We had seen the tall bridge over the Cooper River from the shoreline of town, now we were up front and personal with all 575 feet.  It was a slow two and a half mile climb, but great views back to the city and of the Historic USS Yorktown Aircraft Carrier, sailboats are dwarfed by this awesome ship.

A quick turn at the bottom of the bridge and we wound our way through beautifully shaded neighborhoods.  An hour of zig-zagging through neighborhoods, we decided to hit the straight road.  Again there was no shoulder on Highway 17, but traffic was at a minimum,  so it was a good choice.

Over fifty percent of our ride was through the Francis Marion National Forest, so not a lot to see and very narrow shoulders.  The shade of the trees kept the temperature from climbing too quickly, but did nothing for the humidity.  The air was thick, our sweat actually chilling us in the wind we created by riding.

At forty two miles, we stopped for the only available food we would get for the remainder of the ride.  We looked forward to resting in some air conditioning, but the sandwich shop had no table or chairs, so we stood and ate and pushed away thirty minutes later.  Around noon, the slight southeast breeze picked up to our speed adding a little assistance to our pedal.  We would need all the help we could get to pedal over the bridge into town and for an iced tea stop.  A short pedal through the “Historic District”,waterfront and neighborhoods of Georgetown, then to our hotel.  Directly across from our hotel, we enjoyed dinner with a view.  It was a nice finish to a bland scenery day.  Today’s ride was really a destination ride, not much in between, but a means to an end…..a good, but long end; 68 miles was a bit longer than expected.