Lucky Old Sun: PAC Tour Livingston to Greenville, AL (22)

Today      128 miles      4,800 feet of elevation gain            9:45 elapsed time 42 - 77 degrees
So far    2,428             94,300                                       8    12:06

Another beautiful (but long) day in Paradise. More great roads, pleasant temps and southern scenery. Today most of the scenery was farms, ranches, timber stands and small decaying towns. Some towns take a great deal of pride in their public facilities, but there is simply no use for the vacant storefronts. The best owners provide some decoration to liven up the view, others just leave the remnants of the last occupant. America is changing, but then it always has.

We've seen a lot of dogs in the last two days, the whole ride really, but especially the last two days. Dogs that chase, dogs that bark, dogs that yawn when you ride by and dogs that stare.  We've all become adept, out of necessity, at dealing with dogs. So far we've had no incidents except for one confused dog found wandering a busy road chasing anything that moved. He was turned over to animal rescue.

Today, because of the climbing and the length of the ride, was focused on getting the ride done. Fewer excursions and fewer adventures. I do have to comment on the end of today's route. The last 28 miles, we were on eight different roads. That's a lot of turns compared to normal. I looked at the route tracing on my Garmin upload and magnified the end of the route to the street level. It was a masterful piece of routing to provide scenic and smooth roads while keeping us of busy roads. Having mapped out club rides, I know there is an art to producing that kind of result. Kudos to Lon on a great route.