It was an emotional time when I finally left for my trip this morning. My wife and our dogs and my parents were there to see me off and we all got a bit teary eyed. When I finally rolled away and rounded the first bend I definitely felt really nervous and was second guessing myself. But as it happens I had to pass back by my family again on the other side of the river on the highway. I waved and shouted goodbye one last time and they did the same. I was well and truly gone now and I rode for a long while in contemplation of the journey ahead. Every familiar landmark I passed by I kept thinking "won't see that again till fall" and this thing I'm doing seemed too big to wrap my head around. So I tried to focus on taking things one step at a time. Just keep the cranks turning over one pedalstroke at a time. As much as I tried to relax though my heart rate was much higher than my level of exertion would indicate. Still nervous. I felt great though, very well rested and the weather was lovely all day. I had to ride a long section of highway 28 which was somewhat busy. Everyone was courteous but I got tired of all the loud motorcycles quickly. Eventually I turned off onto some back roads and joined up with the Trans America Trail route which I will mostly follow all the way to the coast. Had to dismount to deal with some very large and aggressive dogs, a huge pitbull and an even bigger great dane. Eventually I worked my way past them and soon after I climbed Upper Tuskeegee road which was about 800 foot of elevation gain in about a mile. Unrelenting 12%. Pitches up to 15%. Midway up I was beginning to get hot climbing so slow with the sun on me. I stopped at a nearby small creek beside the road and dunked my head and arms in. It was freezing and felt great. I didn't stop long and continued on, my heart rate still higher than I thought it should be. I crossed the Appalachian Trail at the top, which I view as a milestone on a ride of any length. On the other side after an equally steep descent, was Yellow Creek Baptist Church which had a faucet with cold, tasty water. I took the opportunity to cook a small meal here of rice and beans as I was craving the salt. I really tried to dial back my efforts after that steep climb even though I actually felt pretty good still. Didn't want to push too far too early. I passed by a few great free campsites on Santeetlah Lake but pushed on a bit because I knew of some good ones further upstream on the creek. So I rode on to Forest service road 81, first dirt road in a long while, and camped at a lovely spot by the Santeetlah creek(I think) with a picnic table and at the right price; free.