Today 111 miles 5,200 feet of climbing 9:35 elapsed time 54 - 81 degrees
So far 2,539 99,500 8 21:41
Ho-hum. Another blissful day in Paradise. I know its repetitive, but its true. We had great weather and great roads again today. Nice big rollers out of Greenville and throughout the day up until we got close to Eufaula. There we enjoyed a nice downhill into the river valley, which, I'm sure we'll get to climb out of tomorrow morning. As we have ridden east from the Mississippi River the land has gradually gotten more green and productive. We're still travelling through farming areas with a lot of cattle farms. But as we head east, the population has grown denser and the roads more trafficked. Today we started on a quiet country road and finished on a busy four-lane US numbered highway. Part of which is due to location of our hotel, but partially due to increased density. Remember the day in Arizona where the route sheet had a turn out of the hotel lot and the next turn was into the lot of our destination? Well, now we make quite a few more turns each day.
I've long held that in the Northern tier of the US, people are more private, less open on the East coast and gradually become warmer and more open as you head West. I'm thinking of Boston, Chicago and San Francisco Bay. I think that's true of the Southern tier as well. I've noticed fewer people outside, even though the weather is great, as we move East. Seeing a woman alongside the road out walking yesterday was almost shocking. Further West you see people walking and jogging alongside the road, but not in the South. Two things seem to define social contact in Alabama: religion and football. There are lots and lots of small churches as we travel the state. There are lots of cars with flags, houses with flags and business signs that say either Auburn or Alabama. And, I can assure you, both are taken quite seriously.
The friendliness of people and courtesy of drivers throughout our ride has surprised me. People wave when you wave to them. Men, women, kids, old and young, they all wave. And they give way. Particularly in Mississippi and Alabama when I'm climbing a hill and a vehicle approaches behind, invariably they wait for the no passing zone to end before thinking about passing. I return the favor by waving them around once I can see the road ahead is clear. They wave or honk with appreciation.
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| Today's defunct gas station/store |
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| Brahma |
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| Climb ahead |
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| Pea River |
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Morning road
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