Thomas County represented in Bicycle Ride Across Georgia

Published 8:00 am Wednesday, June 21, 2017

THOMASVILLE — Nine Thomas County residents were recently part of a week-long journey across the state of Georgia.

The 38th annual Bicycle Ride Across Georgia took place from June 4-10, with the long trek taking riders from Athens to Brunswick. The event consisted of around 1,000 participants from 232 towns and cities from 32 states and four foreign countries.

The event began in 1980 with a trip from Savannah to Columbus, and was the idea of Pat Morris, who was inspired by a similar tour in Iowa. This year’s event, which covered 370 miles, had overnight stops in Washington, Thompson, Louisville, Metter and Jesup. Thomasville has been a stop twice, in 1994 and 2003.

All of Thomas County’s representatives had participated in the event before. This year, Dr. Jim Story rode across the state for the 24th consecutive time. Other repeat participants from Thomas County’s team included Jesse Chastain (18 years), Robin Ballard (15), George Washington (13), Jerry Reagan (11), Vickie Reagan (11), Beth Sayers (10), David Washington (9) and Ginger Tendl (3).

Five members of the team received medals from BRAG executive director Franklin Johnson: Story, Chastain, George Washington, Jerry Reagan and Vickie Reagan.

“You’ve gotta be a little crazy to do it,” Story said. “You get hooked on it and you can’t explain it. It’s a lot of fun.”

The journey showcases much of the nature and communities Georgia has to offer. It also contains a lot of obstacles in the form of the geography, and sometimes the weather conditions. While this year’s ride was blessed in the latter category, the terrain can sometimes be challenging.

“It’s interesting to see who’s able to do it,” Story said. “It’s amazing what people can do if they try. It’s satisfying to do that over a week. It’s quite a challenge with the weather sometimes and with the terrain. It’s interesting to see what we have in Georgia.”