‍I left fairly early and headed over the back way to Fayetteville and then the bike lane of 54 to Jonesboro. Contrary to normal early morning riding, the wind was already fairly high from the east so I battled a bit of a headwind. I did a few dead ends along the way crossing under I-75 and then over I-675. The sun rose just in time to ride through the little old railroad hamlet of Rex in Clayton county. I got there just as a train was passing through although I didn't get a good look at it as I was in a nearby subdivision. The bridge over the creek where an old mill was once located has been bypassed completely by a much larger and longer bridge way up above, carrying the main road which is now a local arterial. The old bridge had road closed signs blocking it and said it was closed to bikes and pedestrians even. The bridge was still intact and spanning the creek and it was easy to go around the barrier and get across just the same. After Rex was a long series of dead end roads in hilly subdivisions that was very slow going. It was mostly cloudy which I was glad for since I was mostly heading east and the low sun in the direction of travel is always something that causes a bit of anxiety in me. As well as being annoying. As I went east the density thinned out a bit and I finally stopped for the first time at mile 85 at a Dollar General. I had brought a lot of water and still had about a bottle and a half. Since I knew a park with bathrooms was coming up in the next 15 miles or so I decided to just get a soda and some chips. Not long after my stop I did a few more very hilly subdivisions and then turned onto the Rockdale River Trail. I spent some time exploring the new trails at the community park. I enjoyed riding these even though I was on my gravel bike. It was dry enough to ride but the soil was still a bit tacky and grippy from all the rain from last week. Right after these trails along the path was another park by the South River that had a spartan bathroom but with sinks and flush toilets. I had noticed from my recon that it had water fountains as well. But of course they were turned off or broken, so I had to make do with sink water. And it was the kind of faucet with a spring loaded on off button instead of a valve. Very slow. Anyway I filled everything up even though the next stop was in only 25 miles or so. Grab it while it's free. The clouds thinned out a bit and the sun poked through sometimes and the day warmed up to the mid eighties. Still not really all that hot of a day. It was definitely warmer than i'd like but cooler than the average summer day. At the monastery the path ended and I had to ride HWY 212 for a bit till the next turn but it wasn't too bad. The momentum sucking steep dead end roads and crosswind really drained me by this point but I crept along making progress. I stopped at another Dollar general by the South river. Got a powerade and one bottle of water since I already had a good bit. Also got an ice cream snickers which was really great. The gravel road that runs through the Henry county water treatment spray fields was really slow as it had a lot of very loose gravel. As were all the other little gravel roads in Henry. Way too much gravel. But at least I had solitude. As I went back west I battled the wind less but the traffic picked up. I found another license plate on a fairly quiet road east of McDonough and I quickly stashed it in my frame pack. I rode through downtown McDonough which was packed with cars although I had no trouble navigating easily through here. After McDonough though I had to ride on several roads that were fairly busy and I managed ok. Some people passed a bit too close but nothing too bad and I was very diligent to keep watch and be prepared to bail if someone didn't give me room. I stopped for the last time at a Racetrac by I-75 on Jodeco road. I bought a soda and some more chips to tide me over the rest of the ride and filled by bottles at the water fountain by the bathrooms. I really wish that I could stop at more of these since they're so good, they have good bathrooms, water fountains and self checkout. Mostly though they're by interstate exits and really busy highways. One more bad section on South Mount Carmel road but that went by quickly as now the wind was blowing from the northeast. After that I was heading south towards Hampton on very quiet roads as the afternoon gave way to evening. The temperature faded to pleasant as the sun went down a bit. The trip down Upper Woolsey road to Fayette county was fast and pretty deserted. I had decided to take the most direct way home down Goza and Bernhard and by this time in the day I almost had it to myself. I got home right around sunset. 👏 106.39 new miles 🏘 Completed 75% of Arabia Mountain Heritage Area -- From Wandrer