Sunday, May 25, 2008

JJ and the Rotary's "Cycling to Serve"

Just wanted to give you an update on the Monroe Rotary Club's fundraiser. I was on JJ Dixon's team and rode a total of 739 miles in the two weeks between May 8 and May 22.

"Hello Mike - pass the word to Sondra - we did a total of 1,072 miles for the two weeks - the Rotary Club raised apprx $5,000 for bike trails in Oua Par - great start for bikers and a big thanks to Sondra - I have been reading her reports - I even tried to leave her a note - but I failed to make it work - JJ"

Morganfield to Henderson, KY


The hills we've been riding everyday have made me wish for some flat land, and today I got my wish. We rode an easy 27 miles, almost all flat, through more farm land in the Ohio River valley. We had a little wind, but the roads were smooth with almost no traffic. We had a SAG stop in a church parking lot in Geneva about 10:00, and the pastor came out and invited us to join them for church. One of the ladies told us she read in their newspaper that we were coming through their town. Womantours sends out press releases to the towns we stop in for the night. The people we meet along the way have been one of my favorite parts of this tour. They are always so nice, and are very interested to hear where we're from and where we're going.
We got to the Comfort Inn in Henderson before our rooms were ready today, so some of us went down to their Riverfront. The Ohio River runs right by their downtown, just as the Ouachita does in Monroe. It's a beautiful day here, and people are out enjoying their long holiday weekend. John J. Audubon lived here in the early 1800's, and my photo today is of a bronze statue of him studying a white pelican. We had lunch at The Diner in downtown Henderson, then came back to the motel and sat by the pool for a while. Kathy and Anne both got in the water, but it was toooooo cold for me. After yesterday's hard 87 mile ride we are all happy to have a lazy afternoon of R&R. We have another 90 mile day on Tuesday.
27 miles today - 852.8 total miles - 13 days of riding - 3 rest days