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Day 22
What goes up...must come down!

YESTERDAY                  TOMORROW

ROUTE: Aberdeen MS to Tuscaloosa AL DISTANCE: 109 Miles WINDS: Light at departure and NW 5-10 in the afternoon.
WEATHER: Superb!  High 78, light winds, sunny skies. TERRAIN: Hilly throughout the day TOTAL CLIMBING: 5400 feet

DAILY REPORT:  What could be better than yesterday?  The riding was pretty awesome, but today promised to be another great day in the saddle.  The weather was absolutely perfect...sunny skies, cool temperatures, and non-existent winds at departure.  I think the riders can sense the end is nearing as several of them seem to be a lot more laid back than they were a couple weeks ago.  But even laid back, they are moving pretty briskly down course and as the tailwinds picked up in the afternoon everyone was thinking life was good.

We had an early breakfast this morning to give us time for the challenging terrain and the excitement of entering our 8th state...Alabama.  If you think it's flat in the south, just ask anyone on this ride for their opinion.  I think you'll get a resounding, "I didn't know it was this hilly in Alabama."  Today and tomorrow are pretty good climbing days with well over 5000 feet today and 6000+ tomorrow.  After all the flat terrain we've had around the Mississippi River, the next couple days will definitely use different muscles.  There's nothing big, but there are a couple that are steep and they just keep coming at you...70 feet at a time.  A rider's GPS logged a couple 13% knee busters just before entering Alabama...I guess if it's worth getting here, it's worth working for.  Most of the riders are getting a bit tired due to the long mileage days they had last week, but now the hills are slowing them down a bit too.  Everyone seems to be pacing themselves well though...they'll need to because it's still a couple of days before the terrain will tame down.  

Our route today was almost all out in the deep back roads of Mississippi and Alabama...we had 41 turns in our 109 mile route.  Even with the navigation challenges, most everyone seemed to do much better today.  I think it was the fear of getting so lost no one would ever find them and that's not too hard to do in Alabama...so today they paid attention.  We had about 4 miles on open highway right out of the motel, but when we turned toward the east, it was difficult to even find a convenient store anywhere.  We were on roads that only have pavement because logging trucks need a hard surface to haul the lumber to the paper mills.  We saw a couple log trucks, but most of the day was pretty quiet on the road...except for all the country yard dogs we had to deal with.  Some houses had some pretty big packs to test our skill in riding around moving and attacking obstacles.  We are so deep in the back country, I imagine a lot of these dogs have never seen a bicyclist before...they probably think it's really neat to chase us.  They've got to get their exercise somewhere.

Alabama greeted us with smooth roads...a welcome fact since the last two days have been pretty bumpy in spots.  I was surprised to see so many new road surfaces this morning...but we're not complaining. As we neared Tuscaloosa, our route took us through Northport, a bedroom community of Tuscaloosa across the river.  North Port's an artsy town with lots of great eating establishments so a few of the early riders took the time to chow down before going to the motel.  The City Cafe or the Globe are great places for elegant dining on a bike ride.  After Northport, we rode right through the University of Alabama's campus and through a quiet residential area to the motel. 

Everyone seemed to enjoy the quiet back roads we were on even with all the climbing.  Much of this landscape was pine forest that is used primarily by the paper mills.  We passed several areas that had been clear cut in the last year or so.  Clear cut leaves the terrain looking like a war zone, but most of the time we were riding on tree lined roads where you could only see for several hundred yards in any direction.  It's hard to imagine only 2 weeks ago we were in New Mexico where you could see for miles in ALL directions!  Was that on this ride?

Most everyone got in by 4:30 so they should have plenty of time to rest for tomorrow...they'll need it.  We had lots of climbing today, but we have even more tomorrow.  Another day of up and down all the way...we have some tired puppies in our group, but I'm sure we'll do fine.  We'll be riding into my home town...Prattville.  I sure hope the town is ready for them...tune in and see for yourself.

 
HEARD ON THE ROAD TODAY:

"Mike wasn't kidding about that Kudzu...that stuff grows fast."

"I scraped my nose on that hill."

"I could have walked up that one faster than I rode up it."

"Even the welcome was on a hill...it was the last hill in Mississippi and the first one in Alabama."

"If anyone is looking for my insurance information, it's booting my rear tire."

"I killed an Armadillo...it takes talent to do that."  Christopher commenting on his tire.

 IT COULD ONLY HAPPEN TO CHRISTOPHER:

I'm thinking about making a permanent corner for Christopher...he's definitely a good sport and being able to laugh at ourselves out here makes the day a little brighter.  Well, today when he arrived at the state line, he handed me his camera to take his photo...as I was focusing, the low battery light came on and the camera died...what timing!  And as you are aware if you've been following my site that he's had a flurry of flats and bike break downs...a couple hat tricks to his credit already...and we still have 5 days left!  As has become a habit, he had another flat this morning...blew a tire to shreds.  He booted it and continued to the SAG thinking he'd change it out when he got there.  I was in the van today and when I got to the SAG a friend called me on my cell phone.  I was talking to him about arriving in Prattville tomorrow and setting up transportation for the riders.  I saw what was going on near the van and I told my friend that I had to go for now to help someone fix a flat.  My friend on the other end of the line said, "It must be Christopher."  I'm afraid Christopher's setting new standards and has become an icon in ABB folklore.

DAILY PHOTOS OF OUR ACTIVITY

Scott and Bill narrowly escaped the charging Kudzu that lay hiding along the roadside.  It's a common tactic for Kudzu to attack from one side to distract the unsuspecting rider while another branch from the opposite side makes the final kill.  Good job guys, I guess my warnings at Rap has paid off.

Sandra wasn't so lucky as the vines engulfed her and her bike before she could escape.  Luckily, I was there with my trusty machete to risk life and limb to extract her before she became part of the landscape.

While I was busy saving Sandra, my van was attacked by another vine.  I had to risk my life again to save the company van from being completely consumed by the voracious plant.  This stuff is relentless.

After our close calls, I figured it best to get out of there...but before I left, I warned the remaining riders of the dangers that lurked ahead.  I don't think we were missing anyone at the motel.

I've been a baaaaaaad dog.

Nope, he's too fast; nah, he's too skinny; Unh uh, she's too tough;  mmmmmm...yep, here he comes...he's about right...Yum.

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