I've been following the Bicycle Ride Across Georgia (BRAG) on Faccebook. I'd really love to do a multi-day ride like BRAG at some point, and watching the posts on FB is a great way to get a feel for what to expect.
The photo above (by BRAG participant Stacy Johnson) is from a gymnasium in Swainsboro GA, where riders stayed overnight. Looks pretty comfortable compared to not having to deal with the unpredictable weather when outdoor camping. However, the photo has me wondering...did it get weird after hours when the lights went down?
By weird, I actually mean the "night noises". These people are all sleeping in very close quarters without even a tent between them, which means that you can hear EVERYTHING. So I'm thinking that once people started to fall asleep, it became a Symphony of Snores. At some point someone is also going to fart...loudly.
I wouldn't have thought about this at all if it weren't for attending the Atlanta Cycling Festival Bicycle Camping event earlier this year. The event was amazing. Forty five of us rode 35 miles out on the Silver Comet Trail, then camped and did the return trip the following morniing. Most people fell asleep and slept soundly, but not me. I was awake for most of the night for various reasons, so I was exposed to my first Symphony of Snores. I've never heard anything like it. Every single tent had one or more people sawing wood like it was some kind of contest to see who could be the loudest. In the brief moments that I fell asleep, I am sure I contributed. Part of why I was awake was that I had lost my mobile phone, so I was panicking, walking around outside the tent thinking about how rad it would be if I could record the snoring. Unfortunately I did not find my phone until morning when people were waking up (it was under my pillow...doh!), so I did not get to record any audio. But I'll be prepared next year.
Anyway, BRAG riders have the option of not staying in the group overnight areas, by finding a hotel or other accommodations, but from what I understand, if you stay offsite you are on your own getting your back to the daily ride start location.
The rest of the photos I've seen so far look like everyone on the ride is having a great time!
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