By PEGGY KING

peggy.king@gaflnews.com

CORDELE — Walter Dick, Arnold and Nancy Dzick and Ron Federonko have been making annual trips to south Georgia ever since Jimmy Carter was president.

The Michigan natives probably are more familiar with the back roads of Crisp and Dooly Counties than are some full-time residents.

They are dedicated bikers and they talk easily about riding on Coney, Drayton, Pateville, Williford Crossing and Franklin roads. Some of their favorite places to eat in the area are Marise’s Country Cooking, Not Just Java and Daphne Lodge.

Federonko is an avid golfer as well as a biker, and he spends the entire month of January in Crisp County every year. His time is spent riding, golfing and playing tennis.

The foursome began coming to this area because it is so “conducive to riding,” Dzick says. They have their favorite motels in Cordele, and they spend their days biking to such area communities as Hawkinsville, Fitzgerald, Andersonville and Vienna.

In celebration of Dzick’s 70th birthday this past Saturday, the group rode 70 miles that day.

On Easter Sunday, they attended Sunday school in Plains and heard former President Carter teach.

“The people here are so friendly, and drivers are so courteous,” Dick said.

It’s not everywhere, he explained, that drivers will move to the other side of the road to pass a biker.

Now that they have retired, the Dzicks live near Asheville, N.C. Dick lives in Anderson, Ind., and Federonko makes Warren, Mich., his home.

“That’s where my family is,” Federonko says. If it weren’t for that, he indicated he would love to move to South Georgia.