We had a great day off yesterday, but if we'd ridden, it would have been the best day since we left Minnesota.  Of course the winds were out of the north for the first time all ride and at least 15 MPH, the humidity broke, and it didn't get above 80 all day.  We stayed in a Best Western motel in the heart of downtown which made sight seeing pretty easy with lots to do within easy walking distance from the motel.  The thing I noticed neat about the motel was the fact they constantly played 60s rock 'n roll music in the lobby.  I guess Elvis is not dead! The main sight seeing attraction was Mud Island and it's replica of the Mighty Mississippi River with a museum that portrayed life on the river.  They have a quarter mile scale model of the river complete with topographical information and bridges.  Several of our group got the "grand tour"...wonder if they still want to ride it?  It was interesting to "walk" our route in just a few minutes and see how the river meanders along and has changed course over the years.  If you ever get to Memphis, don't miss this attraction.

Today we start the last leg on our journey to the Big Easy...New Orleans.  We started later than usual this morning...we didn't load the luggage until 9:00.  Most everyone was ready to get on the road when we finally opened the van, but it was a good thing we had a late load since Denny's didn't seem to be in any big hurry to serve several us this morning.  Most of the riders got in before the morning rush happened and were served in a timely manner, but the ones that waited to eat late found service to be a bit slow.  I warned everyone that restaurants in the south give an entirely new meaning to the term "fast food."  Actually, in the south, fast food would be a deer that avoided a car driving 55 MPH.  The riders are learning.

This morning, on our way out of town, we rode right past Graceland so a many of them stopped and took that tour.  Even though it was only a short riding day, it seemed to be a long day because everyone was so spread out.  I didn't get in until the time I set for a bike skills clinic at 2:00...then do the clinic, then get to the motel just in time for rap at 5:00...then dinner...then start the website at 7:00.  I thought this was supposed to be a short day.  

Today was another great day on the road.  We only rode 37 miles today so at 2:00 PM we spent the afternoon in a church parking lot practicing bike handling procedures.  At left, I demonstrated how to turn a corner using the counter steering technique.  About 13 riders attended and we discussed and practiced several skills to make them all better bike riders.  We were lucky that the temperature wasn't too bad and the humidity was fairly low too.  I think everyone that attended the clinic felt it was a worthwhile exercise.  It can never hurt to practice sound bike handling techniques.  I had them practice 4 drills to include straight line riding, scanning, quick turn, and an emergency stop procedure.  I also demonstrated the 3 ways to turn a bike and how to counter steer.  We'll probably have several of them riding off into the kudzu tomorrow while trying to practice some of the procedures we went over today...hope not.

Tonight at rap we discussed the possibilities of the ride being affected by Ivan.  It looks like it may be bearing down on New Orleans about the same time we are supposed to get there...we're keeping our fingers crossed.  After rap, we had a pizza feast at Pizza Hut (Yea!!! Hernando doesn't have a Ryans!)...not much happening in Hernando.  Tomorrow we venture on a longer trek into Clarksdale.  Much of the route is new and on quiet secondary roads with so much flat terrain they'll have sore butts tomorrow night...see you tomorrow.