Molson Bike Tour (North): Savannah, GA - The March...err...Pedal to the Sea

The bike tour headed south this past week to see some more of the greatest country in the world and embrace its history; most of which I slacked on learning about in my youth. The destination was Savannah, Georgia.

The first thing that pops into your head when Savannah is mentioned is the end of the civil war and Sherman's march to the sea where he and his troops demoralized the area, helping to bring an end to the war. My initial intention of the trip was to learn more about this but while doing so found a beautiful city and some good people who love their St. Patrick's Day celebration; an understatement if there ever was one. I'll get to that shortly.

I settled into town Sunday night, two days before St. Patrick's Day, however, everybody in town was already in full green/celebration mode. Who needs a calendar to tell you to wear green? The locals tell me the celebration was going all weekend with the grand finale coming Tuesday. A friend of mine who lives in Augusta, Georgia told me they take their St. Patrick's Day pretty seriously down here but compared to my Mississippi experience a few years back where nobody acknowledged it, I was pessimistic. I was wrong.

A history lesson was on the docket Monday morning as I took a guided walking tour covering mainly the civil war but also some nice information on the city. I was curious how the tour guide (and the city itself) would speak of General Sherman and what he did to the city but I was surprised they spoke of him in somewhat positive terms. I always thought Sherman came into town, destroyed what he could and got the hell out of there but learned that he was in town for about a half a year, staying in a local's house (noted below - nice place) and minding the store until it was time. My favorite story from the guide was the church bell that resided near the home. Sherman, known to love his whiskey like his superior, U.S. Grant, did not like the fact that the church bell rang at 6 AM every day. The legend has it that Sherman arranged to have the bell removed. The locals were not amused so he had it returned; sans the ringer portion of the bell. Nice move general.

After the tour, it was time to cover some ground and what better way than on a bicycle! A local shop rented me a nice Schwinn to use for a couple of days; $20. Nice deal and off I went. I first ventured a bit out of town to see Savannah State University. The only famous Savannah State alum that came to mind was football player (surprise) Shannon Sharpe. I'm sure there are some famous non-athletes that went there as well but you have to remember who is writing here. My brain has a lot of sports knowledge crammed into it and not as much non-sports knowledge. While I didn't see any Sharpe statues outside the football complex, the campus itself was beautiful.

From there I "zigged" and "zagged" (not words) back to the heart of Savannah. A gold star to the one who designed it way back when. The streets are lined with 100+ year old oak trees dripping with Spanish Moss, giving almost a tunnel effect when pedaling down them. Every square block has a park/square with a fountain or statue in the middle. I even got to see where they filmed the Forrest Gump scene where he is waiting for the bus, telling his story (picture noted below).

The Monday ride was outstanding which lead into Tuesday's St. Patrick's Day celebration. The civil war guide warned that every park/square would be packed and he was not lying. Party tents were everywhere. Savannah is no amateur in party planning as they had wristband booths set up days ahead so individuals could walk the streets with adult beverages and not get a ticket. A local charity gets some funds from the wristband sales ($5) and the police don't get carpal tunnel writing tickets. A win-win if you ask me. The police had a presence but weren't in riot gear looking over your every move. The culmination of the day's activities was the parade. Yeah......no. I'm sure the parade planners did a fine job in putting it all together and looking at the large number of groups getting ready in Forsyth Park (big, beautiful park), I'm sure it was a great one. Waving at people I don't know walking down the street while I am crammed on the sidewalk just doesn't do it for me though. With that, I pedaled south out of town to see some more sights and got the heck out of there until the last tuba player was done marching.

The party didn't end after the parade, however. This town can party like I've never seen since maybe New Orleans. As I was on the early celebration shift (just can't do a double celebration shift these days), said writer was in bed early, as usual. The "woooo!!!" girls outside near the hotel, however, were going well past three in the morning. A gold star to them but based on the vomit on the stairs walking down to the lobby on Wednesday morning, I'm thinking the "woooo!!!" eventually became "ralph!!!!" Too bad.

Thank you for the hospitality Savannah.

Trail Head