I took advantage of being off work for the July 4th holiday to enjoy a nice bike ride. Even though Mother Nature threatened to interrupt my nice afternoon bike ride with a few sprinkles of rain, I decided to go ahead with it anyways. My destination for today was the nearby city of Lexington, Georgia. I parked at the courthouse square and hit the road.

Lexington, Georgia sits about 15 east of Athens in Oglethorpe County. The name "Oglethorpe" refers to General James Oglethorpe who founded the Colony of Georgia in 1732. Oglethorpe County was created in 1793 and was the fifth county to be established in Georgia.

The city of Lexington was founded in the late 18th century and incorporated as a town in 1806.

Shortly after its founding, Lexington became the Oglethorpe County seat. The courthouse dates from 1887.

Oglethorpe County Courthouse from 1887.

Clock tower at the Oglethorpe County Courthouse in Lexington, Georgia.

The monument for General James Oglethorpe is one of two monuments at the courthouse square.

The second monument at the courthouse square is dedicated to Confederate soldiers from the area.

Confederate Soldiers monument at the courthouse square in Lexington, Georgia.

Like many small rural communities, Lexington seen its share of good times and not-so-good times.

Lexington is a small city with a population of around 230 people that sits about 15 miles east of Athens. US Route 78 is the main thoroughfare through town.

The historic downtown area features an array of cafes and antique shops.

The building in the photo above is the Lexington Antique Mall and dates from the late 19th century.

The building seen in the photos above and below sits next to the courthouse where I was parked.

I'm not 100% certain what this building is/was other than abandoned, (judging by the grass, it's been this way for a long time). One source I examined listed this as an old gas station from the early 20th century.

Abandoned building next to the courthouse in Lexington, Georgia.

Another antique shop in downtown Lexington, Georgia.

Today's ride followed the same "giant loop" pattern I always use. I turned right heading out of the courthouse square and headed east on US Route 78. Five subsequent left turns onto Georgia Rouge 77 heading north, Sandy Cross Road heading west, Lexington-Carlton Road heading south, Georgia Route 22 heading West, and US Route 78 heading east would bring me back to the courthouse around 18 miles later.

Heading north on Georgia Route 77.

Mother Nature looked like she was about to unleash some rain on me. I wasn't smart enough to bring an umbrella with me. So I pulled over next to a place where I could stay dry if need be.

Even though the sky is clear in the distance, dark clouds decided to hang around toward where I was heading. I decided to take my chances and started pedaling again.

Mother Nature spit a few raindrops at me at first. But the clouds moved on and the skies cleared. I was dry when I arrived at my first left turn.

The photo above looks back from where I had just come from. Somehow, I missed the rain.

I had arrived at the first of five left turns along today's route.

Turning right at this intersection would take me south into the middle of nowhere, (at least that's what it looked like on the map).

I turned left onto Sandy Cross Road heading east.

This was definitely the best choice from a weather standpoint.

This stretch of pavement turned into Watkins Farm Road after a few miles.

Soon I had arrived at the second intersection where I would make another left turn.

I turned left onto Lexington-Carlton Road.

Looking toward where I was heading, I had to wonder if I would encounter bad weather.

The clouds were getting dark again. But since I couldn't do anything about it anyways, I pedaled onward.

A few miles later, I had arrived at my next left turn intersection.

This is where Lexington-Carlton Road intersects with Georgia Route 22.

I turned left and headed south back toward Lexington.

So far, I had been quite lucky with the weather.

Following Georgia Route 22 south pointed me toward Lexington. But just outside of town, I encountered a very long uphill and needed a breather.

The Kudzu vines provided a great distraction during my stop.

I had no idea what Kudzu was when I first moved to Georgia. I had never seen it before.

I did some research and discovered - surprise, surprise - that Kudzu is an invasive vine.

While beautiful to look at in a setting like this, it is incredibly destructive in that it smothers everything in its path, including buildings !

Kudzu appears to be the south's version of Crownvetch, something I frequently saw in Pennsylvania. If you have one seed, one grain of dirt, and one drop of water, you'll have a field full of the stuff in 6 months !

Continuing south on Georgia Route 22 brought me back to US Route 78, where I once again turned left and headed into Lexington. I happened upon a couple of abandoned buildings just outside of the downtown area. I don't know what the building in the photo above is/was other than abandoned.

Another abandoned building sat next door.

This is an historic residence that was for sale.

The Smith-Turner House began life as a 425 sq-ft cabin in 1798.

Eventually, it was expanded into a 2500 square foot house.

At the time these photos were taken, the house was listed for sale on various historic property websites for $65k.