Jane and I participated in the 23rd annual Great Peanut Bicycle Tour, September 6-9, 2001. This tour is sponsored by the Emporia Bicycle Club of Emporia, Virginia near the North Carolina border. We were first clued in to the Great Peanut Tour by Wendy and her Weekend Warrior stories.

Jane and I drove to Emporia on Wednesday and set up camp at the Jellystone campground about 14 miles north of the main campgrounds for the ride at Cattail Creek. We thoroughly enjoyed the tour and made some new friends. The rest of the story is in the pictures below. If you see yourself in a picture and want to add your name to the caption, or if you want to correct an error, send some email!

	We arrived at the Cattail Creek Campgrounds, just before noon on Thursday. The registration desk wasn't quite ready to open. Cattail Creek Campgrounds is the ride headquarters for the tour. Rides start from here, meals are served here, and entertainment and souvenirs are available here. Many people camped here, but Jane and I registered too late to get a spot.		While we waited, I unloaded my bike and got it ready.
	We ran into Wilf, whom we had met on the FANY ride in July.		We admired this oversize bike and the tour banners.
	I'm a peanut!		Jane's a peanut!
	One of the SAG wagons - flying a Virginia Tech pennant - because someone on the SAG crew is an alum?		There were lots of things for sale.
	Including peanuts in just about every imaginable form - salted, unsalted, shelled, unshelled, boiled, cajun, brittle,...		There were lots of watermelons for thirsty riders.
	And even more are being unloaded.		More essentials for a big ride!
	Bobby Wrenn, the individual responsible for the wonderful organization of the Peanut Tour, arrives.		And opens the registration tables. There were many riders who rode only a part of the tour so the registration tables stayed open from Thursday afternoon through Sunday morning.
	Once we've registered, I get ready to do Thursday afternoon's 25 mile ride. I'm rider number 933 out of around 1200 or so. The ride turned out to be 26 miles and I rode from Cattail Creek Campgrounds to Jellystone Park Campgrounds where Jane and I were staying, a total of 41.2 miles for the day.		The first rest stop - only about five miles or so into the ride!
	Another rest stop. I didn't really feel the need for any more rest, but I did stop to take the picture. The same rest stop was in action the next day, and I did enjoy some of the goodies then (but didn't take a picture).		Yet another rest stop. At this stop, the hosts serve, among other things, fudge (with peanuts of course) and a concoction of peanuts and chow mein noodles held in clusters with butterscotch sauce. I had to tear myself away. Each rest stop is marked with one of the peanut icons.
	Riders arriving at the rest stop. The Peanut Tour is famous for its many and unusual rest stops. Apparently, many of the rest stop hosts develop a "signature" snack and try to outdo each other. It's pretty hard to lose weight on this tour!		Thursday evening there was a spaghetti dinner. For some reason the line was long. (On the other days, the line was much shorter.)
	The line from the other end - happy campers?		An accordion player entertains during Thursday dinner.
	After dinner there's a big campfire.		And a marshmallow roast. That's me on the right.
	On Friday, I did the Lake Gaston, North Carolina, ride which turned out to be 80.6 miles. Here's a view to the west from the bridge heading in to Roanake Rapids. I believe this is Roanoke Rapids Lake (not Lake Gaston).		The view to the southeast. I believe that's a pulp mill on the right.
	Riders crossing the bridge to Roanoke Rapids.		More riders on the bridge.
	Here I am on a causeway with Lake Gaston in the background. Picture by Sue.		Riders on the causeway.
	A rest stop near Lake Gaston. The rider sitting on the left (number 579) is actually sitting in a "racing wheelchair." He is a double amputee but didn't let that stop him. He did the whole ride in the wheelchair using his arms!		One of the causeways across Lake Gaston (from the rest stop in the previous photo).
	Riders heading across the causeway.		Another rest stop. Peanut butter and/or cheese and crackers are served here.
	Another rest stop. Cupcakes and cookies are served here.		Bikes parked, including a faired recumbent, and riders coming and going at the rest stop.
	Augie, another of our friends from the FANY ride in July, enjoys the shade at the rest stop.		Back at our camp, I have a snack before showering and heading for dinner.
	Friday's dinner was fried catfish (with peanut breading, naturally) or spaghetti (for the vegetarians). The bag pipe player entertained during dinner. And no, that's not an optical illusion, he really is about seven feet tall. We figured he probably had to be that big to keep down the off color comments about his "skirt."		One of the dinner tents on Friday night. In addition to dinners on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings, breakfasts were served Friday, Saturday, and Sunday mornings. Pancakes and sausage, Friday and Saturday. Bagon and eggs, Sunday.
	The after dinner entertainment Friday night was country leaning to rock. After the concert, another marshmallow roast.		During the day Saturday, Jane took some pictures of our camp, about 14 miles north of ride headquarters.
	The bear himself.		Our tent with other gear in the background.
	Some of the gear including our fly and "love seat."		One of our neighbors at the campground. They are on their way to Florida.
	On Saturday morning I did the Greenville County, Virginia metric century, which turned out to be 70.1 instead of the cue sheet 64.4 miles. With the 13.2 mile Peanut Tour in the afternoon, it was a total of 83.3 miles on the day. Here's the marker for the first rest stop.		The hosts at the rest stop. They had lots of goodies including homemade peanut brittle and three different kinds of cookies. Their daughter does the "cucumber stop."
	Another rest stop marker.		Our hosts. This might be the "cheese sandwich stop" as they had cheese sandwiches, ice cold lemonade, and many other items.
	Rest stop marker for the next rest stop.		Our host at the "tomato sandwich" rest stop.
	The next rest stop marker. I started taking pictures of all these markers so I could remember who the hosts are. Unfortunately, not all the markers are legible.		The "cucumber" stop. You get cucumbers any way you can think of! The couple in front prepare the cucumbers and set up the stop in the yard of the lady on the left who started the cucumber stop in the early years of the Peanut Tour. Eventually she "retired" from the tour and passed on the stop to the next generation!
	Another marker.		Our host, in the green shirt, talks to a rider. This rest stop has watermelons and water. The rinds are discarded in the wagon at the left. Do you suppose they're used in the watermelon pickle stop the next year?
	The marker for the "watermelon pickle" stop.		Ginny and Sol Wrenn at the watermelon pickle stop. Sol is Bobby Wrenn's brother. They serve watermelon pickles which are pretty much like sweet pickles except they're made from watermelon rind instead of cucumbers. They also make a relish of the pickles and mix the relish with cream cheese for spreading on crackers. Really good!
	Meanwhile, back at the campgrounds, Jane snaps a picture of a future cyclist.		Here are some cyclists returning from Saturday morning's ride. The green shirt is the 2001 Peanut Tour Tee Shirt.
	Cyclists beginning to congregate for the group photo. With the ride being 6 miles longer than advertised on the cue sheet and spending too much time at the watermelon pickle stop, I was 3 mintues late and missed the photo. But Jane made it. The cherry picker on the right is used to give an aerial view.		After the photo shoot on Saturday afternoon, the actual "Peanut Tour" starts. This is a 13 mile loop with two stops. It's a group start from the photo shoot. Here are some riders on the Peanut Tour.
	There are two stops on the Peanut Tour. The first is this super rest stop which had all sorts of goodies featuring peanuts as well as lots of other treats. Peanut cookies, peanut fudge, peanut clusters,...		Here are bikes parked and riders coming and going on the driveway leading to the mansion hosting the rest stop in the previous photo.
	The second stop on the Peanut Tour is at an actual peanut farm where a retired farmer tells a little about the local crops. Here he's talking about cotton.		Riders looking at the signs posted on the barn. I believe these were an explanation of why everyone should sign the petition urging higher price supports for the local peanut crops.
	Here we learn about peanuts.		During Saturday morning's Greenville County ride, I decided to get a picture of each of the prominent local crops. Here's a peanut field.
	Cotton - the bolls are just opening.		Soybeans.
	Tobacco.		The corn crop had already been harvested.
	There were quite a few tree farms. I believe the trees are used to make wood pulp. There were a lot of logging trucks on the main roads (fortunately, not very many on the roads of the tour).		Hmm... this must be one of those dirt farms.
	On Saturday afternoon, between the end of the Peanut Tour and dinner, we wandered around the main campgrounds at Cattail Creek. Here are some of the tents.		More tents.
	And even more tents.		Saturday's dinner was barbecued chicken (again with spaghetti for the vegetarians). A harpist entertained.
	Mark and Sue. I first met them on the causeway over Lake Gaston. (See earlier picture). It turns out that Mark is training for a marathon (in Italy! I think) so the next day, he jogged the 25 mile route while Sue slowly biked along side him as his support crew!		Wilf enjoys his custom ice cream sundae - an extra treat following Saturday's barbecued chicken dinner.
	Saturday's after dinner entertainment featured this country (leaning towards gospel) singer.		Again, there were campfires and marshmallow roasts.
	On Sunday morning, I did the 25 mile ride. Longer rides were available, but we had to drive home Sunday. This ride features some of the same rest stops as the ride on Saturday. In fact, this ride is so famous for its rest stops that many locals come out just for this short Sunday ride! Here's Sunday's incarnation of the cucumber stop.		This is the marker for a stop that wasn't on Saturday's route.
	Later in the day there would be a "Low Ground HoeDown" in the fields at this rest stop. (One of the street signs shows a Low Ground Road!) It's put on by the singer who performed Friday night. Unfortunately, Jane and I had to get on the road before the hoedown started.		Here's the actual rest stop. Lots of cookies and other goodies are served here.
	Here's the watermelon pickle stop again. Actually, You get to go to this stop twice: once going and once coming. So, on Sunday's 24.4 mile ride, there are four rest stops altogether. That's only five miles between stops!		A bicycle club from Virginia poses in club jerseys.
	The rail line parallels I-95 and in fact about 14 miles down the tracks runs right by the Jellystone Park Campgrounds where Jane and I camped. For some reason, every train that went by let loose with long blasts on the whistle!		On the way home from the Cattail Creek campground, it was only a short detour to the watermelon pickle stop and we stopped there so Jane could see it (and taste it!). That's me (in the blue shirt) on my third visit of the day and fourth in two days. Do you suppose they got tired of me?
	Riders are still enjoying the watermelon pickles.		A good time was had by all!