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Day 18
Our Last Leg

YESTERDAY                  TOMORROW

ROUTE:  Ft Smith to Conway AR DISTANCE: 125 Miles WINDS: West 10-15
WEATHER: Cloudy and mild...75 high, 59 low TERRAIN: One big hill on departure and rolling the rest of the way TOTAL CLIMBING: 3300 feet

DAILY REPORT:

Welcome back...we're at it again.  We're on our last leg of our adventure across the southland.  Most everyone enjoyed the much needed rest day yesterday.  The day was spent cleaning bikes, visiting the local bike shop, washing clothes, a little sightseeing, and mostly just lounging around resting and watching TV.  The staff spent the day preparing for the last 10 days, catching up on bookwork, and welcoming 2 new riders...Robert Finney and Steve Fleschner.  We also had some routing issues out of town to check out and a couple bikes to ship to riders who have departed.  But now is a new day and this morning everyone was ready to get on their way.  We were finally loading the van and everyone was scurrying around tending to their bikes when all of a sudden I turned around and everyone was GONE.

Boy, it just don't get any better than this!!!  We had a kicking tailwind all day and mostly smooth, straight, and flat roads to zoom us toward Conway.  Well all were flat except one teensy little bump (right) they had to negotiate about 3 miles from the motel.  I say it was just a little bump of about a third of a mile and just under 19%.  That got their legs ready for the rest of the day's tailwind push.  I'm sure I'll hear about that one tomorrow at rap.

Today we rode in our 6th state...Arkansas.  We are definitely in "Hawg" country as we witnessed a sign (left) of a Razorback on the side of a mountain after we crossed the river in Russellville.  Although Oklahoma had some beautiful terrain, I think the riders are glad to finally get off their back roads.  Oklahoma should get the recognition for having the roughest roads on this trip so far.  Most of the time when we were on quiet country roads, the surface was pretty bone jarring...things have to look up, we'll see. 

Our departure from Ft Smith was pretty easy especially since our motel sits right on one of the busiest streets through town and there is little or now room for a bicycle.  So yesterday we scouted out an alternate plan that bypassed the busiest part of the departure route.  By the time we got back to our scheduled route at 5  miles, the traffic thinned out and we picked up a nice shoulder for most of the day except for the short section when we crossed the Arkansas River at Russellville and when we entered several small towns where the shoulder disappeared. 

By the time we got to the first SAG, almost everyone commented that it was a perfect day (by then they'd forgotten about the 19% hill), perfect roads, and perfect weather...we had TAILWINDS, sunshine, and temperatures in the mid 60s...what could be better?  We moved our SAG to a small store (Big Reds in Paris) and the owner Janice was nice enough to let us set up.  I spent a few minutes talking to her about our trip...you meet the nicest people out here which really adds to the adventure.  Thanks Big Reds...we'll see you in a couple years when we come through again. 

At the end of the day, someone asked what it would take for us to have this type of day for the rest of the trip.  Unfortunately, there's usually a payback somewhere, but we'll take it when we can get it.  The terrain today was gently rolling at best, but we amassed a total of 3300 feet over the 122 miles.  Although our terrain was gentle today, we could see the Ozark Mountains all around us.  And spring has definitely sprung all around.  We're seeing more trees and green pastures dotting the landscape between the high ridgelines and along the Arkansas river. 

Although today was a relatively long day, we kicked it out pretty quickly with the nice tailwinds and favorable conditions.  Everyone was in by 4:30 in spite of the long distance...great day after a day of rest.  Tomorrow is a short day and the winds are supposed to be favorable again.  I hope they don't get used to this...but it sure is nice.  See you then.
HEARD ON THE ROAD TODAY:

"If you get sucked up in a spinning vortex, don't call me."

"That hill's not nearly as bad as it looks."
"Yeah, it looks like 40%."

"If you knew that hill was there and I didn't have you ride up it, you'd been mad at me."
"Yeah, but we'd gotten over it."

"That toaster doesn't toast the bread...it just irritates it with a little heat."

"I was watching the weather channel yesterday and the "beeps" went off for a weather warning...'Strong storms with lightning in your area,' it said.  I looked out side and sure enough, it was really coming down.  How cool was that?  They were spot on!"  It doesn't take much to impress Christopher.  I didn't have the heart to tell him the forecasters were just looking out their own window down the street.

"This was a world class day."

"There's never been a recorded successful road crossing by an Armadillo."
"I certainly have seen a lot of them along the side of the road.  I wonder what it would take for one of them to be successful?"
"Interval training."

 BICYCLE BRAIN BOO BOOS:

Today Scott A. was sitting at the first SAG at 41 miles but his computer had already registered 83 miles...yikes!  While he was delving into the goodies, his speed was registering 28 miles an hour while his bike was leaning against a tree.  "Hey Scott," someone exclaimed, "Do you think that flashing light you have on the front of your bike may have something to do with your computer's functions?"  "I don't know,"  replied Scott.  He turned off the light and presto...his computer settled down to reality.  "Darn," He said, "I rather enjoyed having an average over 30 for the morning...and I didn't even break a sweat."  I'm glad they got that figured out or we may have had to have that stuff they pump into his knee checked for EPO.

DAILY PHOTOS OF OUR ACTIVITY

 As Mark and Ben rode into Paris, they were looking for the Champs-Elysees, but all they found was the Rue de la 22.

Robert was thinking, "What a place for a SAG!"

Christopher is so in to jerky that he didn't even flinch when he nibbled on the strips of 10 day old roadkill I'd found 5 miles back and was saving in a jerky bag for an experiment next week.  "This is the best yet,"  He said.

A new Armadillo World Record...this one made it to the center line.

What was my FIRST clue they would turn in here?

We sought out a bike shop in Russellville...neat place.  It's not often you see a TREK bike displayed with a Stihl Chainsaw.  You can get your lawnmower repaired too while you shop for that perfect bike. They also have posters of Lance and Chippolini right beside fan belts. 

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