July 1-4 Update
Caution to the Reader-I will mix our adventures with my own personal reflection or noticings, so please be patient as you read.
We left Mobile, AL at 6:00 am hoping to avoid as much humid heat as possible. Our “official” start point was at the corner of Royal and St. Louis. This was one of the busiest slave markets in the South. There wasn’t any markers at the site—just a couple of banks. The importation of slaves was banned around 1808, but the law was poorly enforced and the practice continued for 50 more years in Alabama. In 1860 an event occurred when a ship called Clotilda tried to bring slaves into Mobile, but the Feds were waiting. The slaves were dispersed, but later emancipated. After the Civil War the”freed” slaves settled in what is called Africatown. We rode through the town and cemetery on our way to the Cochcrane-Africatown Bridge. It is always “dicey” as the engineers who design bridges never think about bike traffic. We made it over and traffic was generous with their wide sweeps to avoid us. Then it was on to the next series of bridges of land and steel. Yes as we went over Tensaw River we rode on islands connected by bridges! Whoops!!! as we started over the bridge by the USS Alabama Battleship the tire on “Bob” blew. Yep-blew out the side wall of the tire. Duct tape to the rescue until we get to a bike shop in Spanish Fort.
A side bar bike story at this point…we get to Spanish Fort. Bike shop is not open yet! We call Wal-Mart for a 16 inch tire. They tell us “Yes.” We go 3 miles off route. Now in a car that is not an issue, but when you are on a bike in Alabama with humid heat---it is a big deal. At Wal-Mart the clerk lets us know they don’t have any, but could order one??? (right!) We back track and now the bike store is open. We buy the tire and tube to be on our way. Also on our list for our next bike shop will be a new derailer wheel and quick release.
I am so enjoying one of my favorite drinks—Sweet Tea. I have been ordering it at every stop we make. I just love it.
One of the interesting things we are able to do on a bike ride is to observe our surroundings. Crepe Myrtle trees are so common—they are gorgeous with their bright delicate pink blooms. I am also counting the number of Egrets I see each day. Historical Markers along the way identify events such as the Montgomery Baptist church which contains a slave gallery or reminders of the history indicating where plantations used to exist.
We decided to “skip” going to Bay Minette as planned and head to Stockton. There is a campground and food close by each other that sounds appealing. As we pulled into the campground on Tensaw Lake we were greeted by the owner (Paul and Angel) with COLD water. Most of the day we have been drinking warm water and gator aide. They let us camp free! It was a noisy night between the ATVers and the Cicadas.
Stats at end of day 1 Got into campground at 6:00 pm. Lots of breaks in the humid heat.
57 miles 10.6 mph 5 hours 24 minutes 2700 elevation
July 2
We were up and breaking camp at 5:30 am and leaving the campground at 6:25 am.
Since our days on the road are long and slow we chose things to count. I am going to count the number of Presbyterian Churches I see along the way. This will be for Greg, my son-in-law, who is in Seminary School. As of today I have seen 5. (Holy cow I must have seen 20+ Baptist.) We have the opportunity of seeing dead animals or road kill. Today we see a “squished” Armadillo!
Today we are biking from Stockton to Grove Hill. It is turned out to be a challenging day. The humid heat is really “sucking “our energy. We are finding out the heat is worse from 11:00 am to 2:30 pm. We are taking more breaks than usual because of the heat. The terrain today is tough because we climb 400’ go down 200’ back up to 400” etc. By the time we get to Perdue Hill the sky is clouded over and we can hear thunder and see lighting. While we are in the store the power goes out because of the lighting. The storm is in the direction we are heading. We study the sky as it begins a wonderful gift of rain!!! We are thrilled and ride off down the road in the rain. It poured and poured, but when it is 90 degrees it felt so good. The lighting was off in the distance around us.
One of noticing is the demise of “Mom and Pop” local cafes/stores and replaced by gas station with fast food. It is something we miss as we enjoy eating with the “locals” to find out the latest events in the community. We are finding in large communities (3000+ population) Burger Kings, Hardies, ` Churches` or KFC. Yes I am eating fast food on this trip—can’t find any other food.
I am thankful for the Shiloh Baptist church on this trip. We had a difficult day! Out in the middle of nowhere when we were really spent—there was this church. We lay on the front door mat for about 45 minutes to recoup and refresh ourselves. Now I know why there are so many Baptist churches!
Bruce and I had a meeting after our Burger King dinner regarding our next day. It is suppose to be a 94 mile day. We knew that we could do it, but at what cost? We talked with the hotel manager and he suggested we not follow the route (he tells the other bikers the same thing) He suggested we take another route which is only 42 miles. We were sold!
SHOUT OUT TO OUR DEAR NEIGHBOR TERRY REDMOND ON HER BIRTHDAY AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ALETA PARKER ON HER 65TH BIRTHDAY.
Stats for July 2
6:45pm arrival time in Grover Hill 77 miles 9.6 mph 8 hour ride time 4500 elevation
July 3 (New Plan)
We left the hotel in Grove Hill at 6:10 am. We have decided to cut our day in half due to terrain and humid heat. We are going to Linden today as planned but shorter distance. July 4 we will go to Livingston for our day. July 5 we will make it to Aliceville, July 6 Aberdeen.MS and July 7 Fulton, MS. Until we acclimated to the weather conditions we will make adjustments. We are also finding fewer campgrounds on route, so we are hoteling it. One city park would let us stay, but there was not a shower. I guess we are getting a little picky.
I did not realize that there was a large logging industry here. Some of the “old timers” talk about working in the “woods.” We were told to watch out for logging trucks, but we have not seen too many. (The truckers have all been wonderful.)
As we move farther from Mobile we notice the fading away of the Pine trees being replace by Kudzu. Kudzu is a vine that was introduced into the south as a ground cover. I swear it grows overnight! It covers electric poles and line, trees and native vegetation. When you look over the landscape covered with Kudzu it looks like someone threw a net over the trees, bushes and ground.
Cockroaches are prevelant. I was in one “Mom and Pop” stores and went to the restroom. There in the stationary tub was a cock roach. He was trying to get out! Man those insects can jump! I was washing my hands and keeping my eyes on him. Life on the road.
We are starting to see evidence of the tornado. As we came into Linden we saw downed trees, sheet metal stuck in trees and snapped trees. Talking with the hotel owner she told us that some of the rooms reserved are for workers doing repair damage.
We are staying in Linden. Hal’s Lake is near here, but is inaccessible. Hal’s Lake is named for an escaped slave from Mississippi who lived by this lake undetected. He recruited other slaves to his hideout. Part of the Underground Railroad system.
Before we went to bed (no we are not going to bed before Esther’s bedtime!) a huge storm passed over us. Wind started blowing; rain came down sideways for about 45 minutes. We were grateful to be in a hotel room and not on the road.
Stats for July 3
42 miles 11.6 mph 3 hour 36” 1500 elevation gain
7 Egrets
5 Presbyterian Churches
July 4 Happy 4th of July
We left Linden at 6:10 am to the quick stop to grab breakfast. Yes, we got one of those packaged glazed doughnuts with 390 calories of which 91% is fat! I can’t believe I am eating it, but there will be no food today until we arrive at Livingston, AL.
Coasting takes on a new meaning when we tour. When we are training for rides Bruce (the captain) does not like to coast at all. Joy comes on a tour when I hear Bruce say “coast.” Coasting down a hill saves energy and the breeze cools us off. So nice to coast!
One of the noticings we have had is the changing demographics that we are seeing. We are seeing a greater population of Middle Eastern folk. Two of the hotels where we have stayed are owned by Middle Eastern families. The families moved to these small communities of 1000-3000 from Chicago and New York. I asked “why”—they said because of the crime and business opportunity.
Waving! Yes we are able to observe different “waves” from drivers. There is the pointy finger wave over the top of the steering wheel. Four fingers lift on top of steering wheeling is another wave. Then there is the full hand and arm out the window wave. The weirdest one is the person talking on the cell phone who lets go of the steering wheel (while talking) and waves a full hand wave. I myself use a Lakefair “wave” or princess wave to acknowledge the “wavers.”
Another kind of critter we see is turtles. They are moving slowly across the road—we are so slow that we can avoid them. Just part of our day!
As we came closer to Livingston we found a Sonic Drive In. STOP the bike—my favorite drink a Cherry Limeade. Hmmm so good on a hot day.
We stopped at the University of Western Alabama. In 1835 Livingston State College was an all female college began by the Presbyterians. 1883 Julia Titwiler worked with the Legislature to fund it. In 1907 it became a normal school, 1929 teacher’s college and in 1957 the name changed to reflect a broader course and degree offerings. Go Presbyterians!
We are ending the 4th of July with Nature’s fireworks. We sat outside watching thunder and lighting until the rain and wind drove us in. We may go to bed at Esther’s time tonight as we will need to get up at 4:30 to get breakfast.
Stats for July 4th
Arrived at 10:45 am
37 miles, 11.4mph, 3 hours 17 minutes, and 1300 elevation gain
7 Presbyterian Churches
10 Egrets
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