Day 15, Sunday, September 22
Mena, AR to Arkadelphia, AR -- 84 mi, 1,000' climbing
Tom from Minnesota mocks me in the morning for always hitting the road before breakfast is over while James "Fendre Boy" from England lends moral support. |
Today was probably one of the most peaceful landscapes we've ridden
through. It looked very rustic, with steam rising off of little ponds in the
morning and calves running around on the tree-covered hills, playing with each
other and nuzzling their moms. In the afternoon we spent several miles winding
through a pine forest, whose trees sheltered us from the wind. We also rode
over a dam. There was a lake on one side and on the other was a river with a
water line significantly lower than that of the lake. The water looked very
refreshing, with small boats puttering around.
Today was short. It's nice to have extra time in the evening to catch up on
stuff but I don't feel particularly rested or recovered. I could really feel
what little hills we had today. People seem to agree, however, that the route
cards tend to underestimate the amount of climbing we do. At dinner Charles
said that someone's altimeter registered 10,000' of climbing yesterday
rather than the 7,300 on the route card. I believe it; it felt more like
10,000 to me. I think we should get a pool together and buy Lon a new
altimeter.
I took advantage of the extra time at the hotel this afternoon by putting a
new set of tires on my bike. The old ones were pretty cut up, and Lon agreed
that it wouldn't be overly decadent to change them. Some people have had up to
three different rear tires on their bikes by now. It feels good to have that
done. I also washed a bunch of clothes in my room (it looked like there would
be a wait for the washer and dryer downstairs). I've been washing out my
cycling clothes in the sink every evening, but tonight I even washed my
"evening wear" (shorts and tank top) because they were starting to smell less
than fresh and my pajamas, since they were covered in ice cream drips and
mustard stains from all of the Subway sandwiches I've been eating. I had to
upgrade from the sink to the tub to handle the extra volume of clothes. Also,
the vent from my air conditioner is working great as a dryer. I even stretched
a little for the first time in days.
While I'm catching up, when I'm riding during the day I think of stuff that I
forgot to put in previous reports, so I'll include them now:
- In New Mexico and Texas, some sort of wild squash grew by the side of the
road. It almost looked like it had fallen off of a produce truck and started
to grow there, but Susan said it was just native to the area. That was kind of
neat to see the vegetables just growing by the side of the road like that.
- Yesterday we passed into a new state, Arkansas. I think it's our sixth
state. I don't care enough to look back at our route sheets to verify that,
though, so I'll just call it "new."
John "Biker Legs" from Placerville |
This is the only photo of Peter that I have. |
Tom "Team Optimist" telling me yet again what a great day he's having. |
- Last night at Subway in Mena two very giggly teenage girls thought that us
cyclists passing through was just about the most exciting thing that had
happened in the town since Race Across America passed through earlier in the
year and they almost got to be on television. One of them said to John from
Placerville, "I could tell by just lookin' at your legs that you were a
biker." John was very modest about the incident but I could barely get my bite
of sandwich down I was trying so hard to keep from laughing.
- Peter from Maryland insists that the proper pronunciation of "Chickashaw",
where we stayed a few nights ago, is "Shickashit." I can hardly remember the
place the days are starting to blend together so much, but I've adapted his
technique and started calling my odometer, which keeps stopping working on me,
an "Avoshit" instead of an "Avocet." It's not quite as funny sounding as
"Shickashit" but it makes me feel a little better.
- A couple of days ago people were talking about how inconsiderate drivers
from the South can be. Tom from Minnesota, though, told a story about how once
he was riding somewhere in the South and a redneck in a pickup truck passed
him in the opposite direction, yelling out "Toikey!!" to Tom as he passed
(that's "turkey", for the rest of us). Tom thought the insult was a little
excessive since he hadn't been doing anything, but a few minutes later he came
across a bunch of wild turkeys crossing the road. It turns out the redneck had
been trying to warn him about the obstructions rather than harassing him.
- One of the things I've learned doing back-to-back cycling like this is that
there are always ways in which things could be worse. The second thing I've
learned is that if things have ever been worse Lon was probably there to
experience them. For example, on our 160-mile day into Socorro with a head
wind I asked Lon if that was the hardest day the group has ever had there. He
said that the colder it is the more of a head wind there usually is, and one
year it rained for most of the day and the head winds were twenty- to
thirty-miles-per-hour instead of ten- to twenty-miles-per-hour. He and Susan
ordered take-out pizza for every one because by the time they got to the
hotel, cyclists were too tired to get food for themselves. Lon and Susan also
had to throw all the cyclists into their own shower because people's hands
were too cold to open their hotel rooms for themselves. Another example is
that a few days ago we rode over some of out worst pavement yet for about
twelve miles. Everyone was shook up and talking about it for the rest of the
day. Lon, however, said that he once did a stretch of road like that on Race
Across America in the middle of the night with stuff falling off of his bike.
I guess if you experience enough hard stuff it would be easy to have a sense
of humor about just about anything.
- My goals for the trip are to
- get home safely;
- ride every single mile
of the trip;
- have fun; and
- figure out the meaning of life.
I've started
conducting research for Goal Four by polling other riders. One said, "Enjoy it
while it's here." Another said, "Bring joy to other people." I also asked E,
who is a Methodist minister. I figure that that's kind of what his job is, to
figure out the meaning of meaning of life and help other people full fill it.
At first he stalled, and then he said that he had several answers but that he
was too tired to explain them to me at the time. I'll keep working on him and
other riders. Once I collect a full set of data and analyze the results, I'll
be sure to post an update with the answer.
I'm starting to feel a little bit road weary, so I'm hoping that means I just
need a few more easy days on the bike. The days seem a little repetitive. Two
toes on my right foot have been numb for the last couple of days, but it's not
uncomfortable so no big deal I guess, it's just not the way my appendages
normally work. Yesterday the skin on my right ear started to peel from
sunburn. Also, I'm starting to lose track of things. I can't find a pair of
long tights I'm sure I brought with me. I can't find the bags of powdered
drink mix my brother and his girlfriend shipped to me last week -- I'm not
sure if I left them behind in a hotel room or if I just used them up faster
than I thought. I keep losing my comb then finding it again -- last time it
showed up in the bag with my cycling shorts.
Before I left I was afraid that I would miss specific things, like seeing the
Pacific Ocean or Monday night yoga class at the gym, but I'm finding more that
I have a general feeling of missing things that are simply familiar. I mean,
I'm in Arkansas, for crying out loud. How random is that? Especially since I
have to make my way through Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, and
South Carolina before I can find my way home again. That will be only ten days
from now, though, and there's a lot more to see, many more miles to ride, and
many more hills to climb, so I may as well keep an open mind to whatever
happens and enjoy it while it's here.
Quote for the Day
Bryce: So, time to save the universe again then, is it?
Lara Croft: Absolutely.
-- Lara Croft: Tomb Raider
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