Bicycle Touring: Leesville to Greenwood State Park

We woke up this morning to a light rain and 70% chance of more to come. We packed everything in waterproof bags and buttoned up for a rainy day. After breakfast we said our goodbyes to our host and loaded up the bike and trailer. The weather was warm and since the rain was very light we both elected to leave off the rain gear. We rode into Batesburg and headed for Saluda. The traffic again was light and hwy 178 was rolling without many tough climbs and before long we pulled into a very nice Laundromat outside of Saluda.

For those who have not visited a Laundromat in recent years let me warn you they run the course of too scary to enter, to ones like this one. It was well lighted and clean with people in it that looked safe enough to make eye contact with, and before we even got the washer loaded we had company. An elderly lady wanted to know what two sane looking people like us was doing on that bike. She and Susan talked the whole time we were there and she gave us directions to a great buffet for lunch.

After eating we headed out for Greenwood State Park under some very heavy grey clouds. Tonight there would be no hotel or B&B. The signs of heavy rains were everywhere in huge puddles and dripping trees as we rode but still we had not been rained on. That did not last though.

About 4 miles from the campground it started to drizzle. Still light, but I put my rain coat on while Susan chose to enjoy the cool shower. We pulled into camp and found a site where we could stretch our tarp over the picnic table. This gave us a dry place to store stuff and sit and eat. We quickly set up the tent and we were set for a rainy night. We cooked a meal of pasta and chicken and tortillas. As we drank a cup of coffee the rain stopped and the sun came out and that was it. With the exception of it being warm it was an uneventful night.

Today’s stats:
46.0 miles
4:19hrs/mins
35.9 max
10.7 avg