Cycling Ellen

66 miles today
2358.6 total

When we had our map meeting this morning, we did the Beaver song to say goodbye to Patty who has been doing the cooking while Michelle was away for a few days.  Michelle is back in time to make the margaritas for our state line crossing into Mississippi today.

It was a different kind of ride today since we had already done the first part on our extra long day yesterday.  Another twist was that each rider could choose whether to do a shorter route that was on a state highway for a good part of it or a more scenic route that was about 10 miles longer.  After the challenges of yesterday, most riders went for the more direct route.  Forecasts of thunderstorms and threatening clouds forced that decision for many concerned with weather.

Not long after I left town, I came across most of our group clustered on a bridge.  It turns out that was the state line and there were cameras pointed both at the Mississippi sign and the Welcome to Louisiana sign that we didn’t have on our way into the state.  Seeing the crowd, I took a quick picture and headed down the road.  That’s where the official welcome sign turned out to be and there was no one there.  Score.

Our route had lots of turns (which I really like) that wandered through neighborhoods and fields.  The numbers of trailer homes was much more evident and the roads were rolling and mostly smooth.  It is definitely a poorer group of people in this area than we’ve seen anywhere else.  There were lots of old cars, trash in the yards, and rundown buildings.

Micki stopped at mile 20 for our first sag stop.  On we went through more turns and quiet roads enjoying our slow pace – a recovery ride from yesterday.  Pat and I, who both collect pinecones, spotted some huge ones on the side of the road.   We stopped and picked up many, choosing and discarding as we spotted bigger or more beautiful ones.  I’m not much of a shopper but I had fun shopping through nature’s bounty.  Eventually, I traded my 3 of different sizes (always the kindergarten teacher looking for teaching opportunities for comparisons) for one big one.  I barely got it into my bag and Pat’s was sticking out the side of her bag as well.  Score again.

In Poplarville, we stopped and did some more shopping, this time for Carol’s 50th birthday.  Happy Birthday, Carol!  We found some unique jalapeño peanut brittle (you can’t get that in Vermont) and some locally made treats.  Don’t worry.  We’ve already given them to her in case she’s reading this.  In Poplarville, we needed to decide which ride we were doing and Pat and I headed down the road for the longer route.  At this point the wind picked up but because the road turned so many times, it wasn’t too much of an issue.  As we approached mile 40 we were looking forward to seeing Micki again to fill up our now empty water bottles.  It was about mile 45 where we finally saw her and she told us she was late because she had taken two riders to the emergency room with dog bites.  Both are going to be all right but are dosed up with antibiotics and bandages.

About five miles down the road, we came across another member of our group who had gone over her handlebars.  She was upright and talking but her bike was banged up and she had a cracked helmet and significant road rash.  Since no one’s cell phones worked, I rode my fastest back to Micki who came to pick her and her bike up.  She’ll be sore for a while but seems otherwise all right.  Those threatening clouds seemed echo the mood of the day.

Coincidentally, the sun is just coming out as I write.  I hope that’s a metaphorical sun as well – enough with the accidents and dog bites.  We all want to ride into St. Augustine in less than two weeks and enjoy the rides along the way.