Hello Alabama!

Day 21

Saturday, October 1, 2011
Kosciusko, Mississippi to Livingston, Alabama
115 miles
5,500 ft. of climbing

It was very chilly morning - just 40 degrees when we started riding, but the crew lessened the chill by making us blueberry pancakes for breakfast.  Started out wearing my jacket, arm warmers and long-fingered gloves (plus, I had two big cups of hot tea with breakfast, which, in retrospect, was not a great strategy).  Today's route consisted entirely of rollers - medium to big rolling hills.  Thanks to the hills, I was warmed up by the first rest stop at mile 24 and was able to shed my chilly-weather gear.  By the early morning, we had 70ish temperatures with clear skies and sunshine.  Absolutely perfect biking weather.  Rode through some very pretty rural areas in Mississippi - Edinburg, Laurel Hill and Hope.  The only big town we rode through today was Philadelphia (to avoid confusion, I might suggest Mississippi follow Arkansas' lead and name the town "Missadelphia").  Our lunch stop was a nice little spot in DeKalb.  The temp warmed up to 74 degrees by the time I reached our lunch stop, just after noontime, but with the wind, I got a little chilled just sitting there.  Once I got back on the bike, I was warm again in no time.  Rode through many nice residential areas.  Saw many local people today out walking or in their front yards.  The dog-chasing situation remains the same, although I think I'm becoming desensitized to it (I'm now on the lookout for alligators).  Crossed into Alabama somewhere around mile 95.  In all, it was an another absolutely spectacular day of riding. 

The Yockanookany River

Me - after the morning warm-up

Lon with our map of progress

The Dogs (and Alligators) of Mississippi

Day 20

Friday, September 30, 2011
Indianola, Mississippi to Kosciusko, Mississippi
100 miles
2,040 ft. of climbing

Despite starting the day with the discovery that my rear tire had gone flat overnight, it was another glorious day on the bike.  A quick change of the tire (which I changed myself, with helpful coaching from Art), and I was on my way.  Today we would be heading to Kosciusko - a town named after the General Tadeusz Kosciuszko of the Revolutionary War.  (There is bridge on the I-87 north of Albany which is named after Gen. Kosciuszko).  For the first 23 miles of the ride, we had a strong tailwind as we headed mainly south from Indianola to Belzoni.  (Flat terrain + a tailwind = 22 m.p.h. average speed.  Some of the faster riders were averaging 26 m.p.h. for that 23-mile stretch.)  From there, we headed east and it became more of a crosswind, but it wasn't bad at all.  It was a gorgeous day - clear and sunny and about 76 degrees.  In Belzoni, once we made the turn and crossed the Yazoo River, the terrain changed from flat to rolling hills with beautiful rural scenery the entire day.  Rode by many cotton fields again today.  A few of my fellow riders spotted an alligator off the side of the road.  I did not see the alligator, but, in any event, I am glad the alligator was not into chasing people on bicycles, as are most of the dogs we've encountered on this trip.  Southern dogs seem to have way too much free time on their paws.  One dog chased me today for such a long time that another rider referred to the dog as my "escort."  The local people, however, have been wonderful to us - waving and greeting us as we pass by. 

 

The Yazoo River

Me - out of the saddle

Cotton fields

Hello Mississippi!

Day 19

Thursday, September 29, 2011
Monticello, Arkansas to Indianola, Mississippi
107 miles
688 ft. of climbing

Today was another milestone day - rode into a new state, Mississippi and we crossed the Mississippi River!  Out route was about as flat as could be.  Rode through the Mississippi Delta and many cotton and rice fields.  The weather was hotter and humid than we've had in the past few days, but still a beautiful day of riding.

Jerry, Art & Ron - before breakfast

Causeway over Lake Chicot

Me, Christopher and Gerhard

Me & Art - at the 2nd rest stop at mile 56

Art crossing the mighty Mississippi River

Cotton fields

"Logging" in the Miles in Arkansas

Day 18

Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Arkadelphia, Arkansas to Monticello, Arkansas
98 miles
2,600 feet of climbing

Another spectacular day of riding. We had a relatively easy day - only 98 miles and only 2,600 feet of vertical - most of which were rolling hills.  Saw several logging trucks.  Beautiful tree farms on either side of us as we rode.  Had lunch in a lovely shady park.  Reached our destination in Monticello by 2:30.  Had a nice relaxing evening and lots of time to rest our legs for tomorrow's ride.  : )

Art leading the pack

A beautiful spot for our lunch stop

Logging trucks - they were very kind to us
as they passed us on the narrow, two-lane roads

Bike - adelphia

Day 17

Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Queen Wilhelmina Lodge, Arkansas to Arkadelphia (Caddo Valley), Arkansas
101 miles
3,800 ft. of climbing

Today's destination is Arkadelphia, located at the foothills of Ouachita Mountains in Clark County.  I kept referring to it as "Philadephia" as a joke, but then I couldn't say it right, even if I tried.  That's what I get for being a wiseacre.  : )
We had a exquisite breakfast overlooking a gorgeous vista in the parking lot of the Queen Wilhelmina Lodge.  The crew outdid themselves and made us cooked-to-order omelets for breakfast.  The morning temp was a mild and comfortable 60 degrees.  For the first 12 miles of today's ride, we finished up riding the Talimena Scenic Drive, with a few more climbs and then a speedy and fun descent into Mena, Arkansas.  From there, we had beautifully scenic rolling terrain pretty much the entire day.   Much less intense than yesterday's ride.  We passed  many small towns with signs that indicated populations of less than 1,000 (e.g., Norman, Arkansas, pop. 423).  I was intrigued by a big sign that said "Redneck Smokehouse" next to a tiny house on a hill.  I wondered if they didn't have a television and therefore didn't know that people routinely make fun of rednecks in this day and age.  Today's weather was 84 degrees and sunny.   The dogs chase just as much in Arkansas as they do in Oklahoma, but none have caught us (yet).  We all really appreciate the perfect biking weather that we've been blessed with so far.  Feeling strong and having a great time.  It just doesn't get any better than that!

Breakfast at the Lodge: front row seats to a majestic view

Art riding by the DeGray Dam

Making progress every day!

 

Hello Arkansas!

Day 16

Monday, September 26, 2011
McAlester, Oklahoma to Queen Wilhelmina Lodge, Arkansas
100 miles
7,549 ft. of climbing

These past few days, I learned a couple of things about Oklahoma that contradict my prior assumptions: Oklahoma is neither flat nor boring.  Not even close.  In fact, Oklahoma is quite mountainous and scenic, and today's ride proved it.  I consider today's ride a great accomplishment; we biked the Talimena Scenic Drive - a 50-mile national scenic byway that stretches from Oklahoma to Arkansas, and consists of significant, steep climbing.    (Hint:  Anytime the word "scenic" is used to describe a road, that road is sure to be extremely hilly.)  Ever since Day 1 of the tour, there had been much chatter in our group about the "Talimena" day; that it would be the most difficult day of the tour.  (I will admit it was a difficult day of riding due to the degree of climbing and the many sections with steep grades.  But, in my opinion, the first day of riding through the desert was far more difficult.)  The first 50 miles of today's ride (before we hit the Talimena) consisted of big sweeping rollers - long, but not all that steep.  It was a good way to wake up our legs for what was ahead of us in the 2nd half of the ride.  We gained a few thousand feet of elevation before we made the turn-off to the Talimena at mile 58.  From there, the road immediately climbed steadily and steeply for several miles, reaching grades of 10 to 13%.  There were places where the road leveled off, which allowed for some rest for the legs.  The scenery was absolutely spectacular.  There were many marked vistas just off the road to pull into and take pictures or just take in the scenery (and rest your legs).  The traffic was very light - maybe a car or a motorcycle now and then, but for the most part, we had the road to ourselves as we climbed.  By the time we reached our lunch stop at mile 70, we had climbed 4,400 feet and still had quite a bit to go.  I've noticed I go through the same routine when when the road folds up into a 10% or higher grade and it feels like, all of the sudden, someone has just hitched a trailer to my bike.  First, I desperately look down at my rear cassette with faint but fruitless hope that maybe, just maybe, I still have a gear or two that I haven't used yet.  Regardless, I just keep the pedals going around, and eventually, I make it up and over that steep section, and I amaze myself.   As a reward, I take a bite out of the granola bar I have in my jersey pocket.  I repeated this routine numerous times today. : ) 
We ceremoniously crossed the border into Arkansas at mile 93.  (By "ceremonious," I mean I took a picture of the sign that said "Welcome to Arkansas.")  Our destination hotel was the Queen Wilhelmina Lodge in the Queen Wilhelmina State Park - a gorgeous lodge located right in the midst of the beautiful views of the Talimena.  We all had dinner together in the Lodge's dining room - an "all you can eat buffet" for $10, which included a dessert table.  I don't think the Lodge knew what it was getting into when it offered that deal to our group.  I believe we did as much damage to their revenue margin as we did to the dessert table.  We had another great day.  Today's ride was a beautiful ride - one that I will always remember for its majestic views and challenging climbs.

The steep and twisty Talimena Scenic Drive

Art helping me fix my dropped chain, which I somehow managed to jam between my cassette and frame.

Me & Art - all smiles, just a few miles from the end of the day's ride.

Still Rollin' OK in Oklahoma

Day 15

Sunday, September 25, 2011
Purcell, Oklahoma to McAlester, Oklahoma
111 miles
3,743 ft. of climbing

Today was a repeat of yesterday's rollers, only less of them.  It was another picture-perfect weather day.  Although it was cool and slightly overcast when we started riding in the morning, it soon turned bright and sunny and the temp never got much higher than the mid-70's. We had a strong crosswind for most of the day as we headed east.  After lunch, the crosswind became a headwind as our route curved to the northeast.  The good thing is that we all seem to be feeling stronger.  Our route brought us through several small towns and rural residential areas . . . with dogs . . . that like to chase bicycles.  This one dog & I were having a very nice conversation while he was chasing me, until Art yelled at him to leave us alone.  Based on my dog observations of the past few days, I've concluded that the smaller the dog, the more aggressive the chase.  To wit, a chihuahua will chase and bark up to 57% longer than a typical mixed-breed medium-sized canine.  Ergo, a really big dog, such as New Foundland, will just stand there and stare at you as you ride by.  So, there you have it.  Moving on . . . The local people we encountered were very nice - many would asked us about our ride.  There were numerous motorcycles on the road.  Many motorcyclists do not wear helmets here (its not required).  It seems so odd to see a person riding a motorcycle without a helmet.  I wouldn't dare get on my bicycle without a helmet, let alone my motorcycle - for the simple reason that your head is the one part of your body you'd miss the most.  Be that as it may, we had a nice early 3:40 p.m. arrival at our destination hotel in McAlester.  Even had time to do our laundry.  After dinner, we took a good walk to an ice cream shop.  What a great day.  : )

Charley & Art

Me - rollin' along

Art in Konawa, OK

More big rollers today