JJ and the Rotary Club's CYCLE TO SERVE

Most of you know that the Rotary Club in Monroe, via Miles Luke, has teamed up with Twin City Cyclist to raise money for road signs and a bike path. JJ has asked me to be on his team since I will be riding quite a few miles between May 8 and May 22. I am no good at asking for donations, but any of you who would like to give away some money to improve cycling in our community, find JJ and give him a few $$$. I spoke briefly to the Rotary Club at their meeting on May 1 about this tour. I loved their "jaw-dropping" reaction when they heard Mobile to Niagara Falls, but anybody could do it. It's just one peddle stroke at a time, but it takes the courage to START. So I applaud Miles and the Rotary for their efforts to make cycling in Monroe more safe for us. We can do it, but it will take all of us working together--"one peddle stroke at a time."

Eutaw, Alabama to Columbus, Mississippi

I woke up this morning to the sound of rain. OH NO!! I don't bike in the rain--not on purpose!! When I went to breakfast, these women were dressed to RIDE. They were wearing all kinds of fancy stuff, things I've never seen, much less own. Then Laurie, our tour guide, gave the ok to ride. WHAT?? It was RAINING!! There was no doubt that Anne was riding. Kathy was unsure, and I didn't know what to do. Then some of the women started leaving. As I stood there, looking at the rain, I decided that I came on this tour for an adventure, and there would be NO adventure in riding in the sag wagon. So, I ran to my room, put on my new Pearl Izumi rain jacket, and got on the bike. I left with Anne and Jennifer in a "soft" steady rain. I learned a few things on this 64 mile ride in the rain. It wasn't as scary as I thought it would be. There wasn't much traffic (I guess loggers don't work in the rain), and the dogs stayed on the porch. Even they were smart enough to stay out of the rain! We stopped a few times. I had some hot cocoa once. But mostly, we just peddled on. The pace was a little slow for me some of the time, so I rode out front a lot, but we all got to Columbus about the same time and rode in to the Holiday Inn together. Would you believe it stopped raining as we entered the city limits, and by the time we got to the hotel the sun was coming out, and the rest of the day was beautiful. Tonight before dinner we had margaritas. I learned that is a tradition with WomanTours every time we cross a state line. Ummm, how many more states... Tomorrow is another rest day, so I plan to upload a few more photos to my blog, do some laundry, and buy a mirror for my handle bars. All these women have mirrors on their bikes, so I'm going to get one too. Just hope I don't have a wreck trying to use it!
63.75 Miles

Demopolis to Eutaw, Alabama

On the road again . . . what a great ride. The sun was out, the hills more gentle, and my "FRIEND" stayed home. Anne, Kathy, and I began to paceline when we got off the busy 4-lane and onto the country roads. We decided to each pull one mile (couldn't do 30 seconds, DB, we had too far to go), and it worked great. Not exactly a blistering pace, but we were moving down the road! Marilee (remember, she rode in with me on the 102 mile day) joined us at one of the sag stops. Sag stops were every twenty, and we stopped to make a few photos along the way. A fluffy dog tried to chase us, but stopped dead in his tracks when I yelled at him. The ladies were impressed, so I had to give them a lesson in how to yell at dogs. Alabama dogs, which are exactly like Louisiana dogs understand "southern" yelling. You have to tell them to "GIT BACK" in your meanest voice. So, I think I'll pack my whistle away--never had time to use it anyway.
We had a great lunch at B & N Bar-B-Q in the little town of Eutaw. Caused a few of the diners to stop in mid-chew when we all walked in. A bunch of women in lycra and biking helmets must be a bit unusual here. Oh, and the town weekly came out to interview us. Our picture is supposed to make their paper next week. (Not a lot happening in Eutaw, huh?) We didn't have internet service last night, so I wasn't able to update my blog. We could see I-20 from our motel. It made me think of Monroe. I miss ya'll, but this tour is really fun.
56.4 Miles

Jackson to Demopolis, Alabama

Log trucks are BIG in Alabama, and there are a lot of them. Well guys, I finally got my act together today on the road to Demoposis--98 miles and I WAS OK!!! Liz and Craig, David, Brian and Leigh, DB, Laurie, and Mike (of course), and TCC, all those miles we rode (usually with me hanging on by my fingernails) paid off for me today. We started early again, (I heard roosters crowing) wearing arm warmers. It stayed cloudy and wonderfully cool all day. The road was smooth, with rolling hills and very little traffic until the last 15 miles. I loved it! I am hanging in there with these ladies, and if the roads were flat. . . I met a guy in a store that used to live in Monroe. I was wearing DB's Bike Source jersey, and he asked me if I was from Monroe. Nice guy, worked with mosquito control while there. (Picture on right, near bottom.) They changed our route tomorrow, so all we have to ride is 58 miles. YEA!! That should be like a walk in the park after our last two riding days.

Rest Day, Jackson, Alabama

I have had an absolutely delightful rest day. I feel really good considering how wiped out I felt after yesterday's ride. We rotate room mates every night. At first, I was a little unsure how I would like it, but already I LOVE it. The first night my room mate was a very pretty lady, one of the younger ones, from Rocky River, OH. She races sailboats on Lake Erie with an all women crew. She has a husband and four grown kids at home, and they are all huge Cleveland "Cavs" fans. My room mate tonight is a tall, very attractive lady who looks like she could be sipping tea at the garden club instead of on a bike. She has been on five cross-country bicycle tours, and more shorter tours than she can remember. She packs and reassembles her own bike when she goes on these tours.
But wait, I have to tell you the best part about today. When we rode into Jackson yesterday, I saw the name Nick Waugh on a State Farm Insurance sign. My older daughter's best friend in grade school was Leanne Corley, and I knew that she had married Nick and that they lived in a small town in Alabama. I had NO idea it was Jackson. So today I walked to the State Farm office and asked if Nick was from Louisiana, (and he was) and if his wife's name was Leanne (and it was). WOW! So, I called Leanne at home and she came to the motel and picked me up and we had the best visit. Can you believe that!! It just made my day. She is just as sweet and beautiful as she always was.
Tomorrow we have another LONG day--98 miles to Demopolis, Alabama. Yesterday Mike wrote a comment for me to "quit griping", and that the wind is my friend. Well, I hope MY FRIEND stays home tomorrow!

Bay Minette to Jackson, Alabama

Today started early. Breakfast was at 0615, and everyone seemed in a hurry to get started. They planned for us to take the long way around to Jackson, Alabama--102 miles because we could only cross the Alabama River where is a bridge. I had planned to ride with Anne and Kathy again, and learned later that they wanted to ride with me too, but none of us communicated with each other, and we didn't leave together. I went back to my room after breakfast to brush my teeth, and saw a big group leaving. When I realized that Anne and Kathy had gone on, I set out to catch them. It took me 7 miles to catch Kathy, and we thought Anne was up ahead. She told me later that she had stopped at a store for Powerade, and saw me ride by. Anyway, we all finally got together when we stopped to make pictures of a really pretty swamp. I just thought the Cheaha Challenge that Mike and I rode last Sunday was hard! TODAY was without a doubt the hardest ride I have ever done. No Mike to push me up the hills. No Bryan and David to draft behind. No DB and the Thursday group to echelon to keep me out of the wind!! There was one hill after another! The last forty miles were straight into an unrelenting head or cross wind. We got chased by two groups of dogs. I didn't have time to blow my new whistle, so I still don't know if it works, but I yelled at them and we managed to get by without anything bad happening. Then a big group of us missed a turn and had to go four miles to get back to where we were supposed to be. Lunch was great, tho. Patty, our cook, set up a wonderful picnic for us and we all ate in the shade in a cemetery. We all left together after lunch, but soon the hills and the wind started to take it's toll, and I ended up riding with another group of ladies. Two of them had never ridden a century before today. At our last stop at a convenience store, I had a coke and Advil, and it helped. With 15 miles to go, Marilee and I headed out into the wind again, and cranked our way up more hills--one with an 11% grade. After the most grueling ride of my life, we rolled into Jackson ahead of the pack. Some of the ladies who have Garmin computers said we had 4200' of climbing. All I know is that I am WIPED OUT. I am SO glad that tomorrow is a rest day. Mike told me that I need to go on an easy 15 mile ride tomorrow like the guys in the Tour do. Do I look like a Lance Armstrong type? I don't think so!! I may just stay in bed all day!! Besides, there ARE NO easy rides around here.

Mobile to Bay Minette, Alabama

After breakfast and the group photo this morning, I was just so ready to get the show on the road! We left Mobile under clear, sunny skies and got over that big bridge with no problem. I was in the front group but rode most of the way to Spanish Fort with Kathy, a firewoman from Dublin, California. We found the first Sag stop after about 18 miles of easy rolling hills at BuzBee's Fishing Camp. Mr. Buzbee came out to talk to us. He was a delightful old guy who wanted to know "Where ya'll goin'?", then didn't seem too surprised by our answer. I asked him what he caught in the river there and he answered "fish." After a few photos with him, we headed on down the road toward our first flat. Thank DB, it wasn't on my bike, but three of us stopped to help. I watched and was the official flat photographer. Kathy found the problem right away, and she and Anne fixed the flat like professionals and then pumped the tire up with a BIKE PUMP. I was VERY impressed. I don't think I could get 10 lbs of air in a tire with one of those little things. (I plan to use quick-fills if I ever have a flat.) WE got into Bay Minette around noon and were talking about finding a place for lunch when we saw a family selling Bar-B-Q from their front yard. You couldn't have passed that up either!! Ribs, Sausage, and Chicken with potato salad and baked beans. Yum! Our first day was fun, a little warm and humid, with very little wind, and just enough rolling hills to keep it interesting. Check out Mr BuzBee ---> 36 miles today.

MOBILE! Let the Games Begin!

Oh man, what WAS I thinking six months ago when I signed up with Woman Tours to ride my bike 2000 miles from Mobile to Canada!! I've got to admit that when I got here and met these women who will be riding with me, I felt a little intimidated. There are only about four of us who have not done multiple tours with this company, many of them riding across the country from California to Florida. They all can fix flats, and pump up their own tires, and think NOTHING of riding 60 miles a day, up hill, into the wind, AND in the rain!! Well, maybe that is a little bit of an exaggeration, but really, they are an amazing group of women. I have fixed ONE flat. And, I hate pumping up my tires!! I need MIKE HARTT!!! But, after meeting and talking to some of the women, I began to feel better again. Laurie, our tour guide, had a flat-fixing demo for some of us after orientation. I think she is going to be great. And, every woman I talked with said they won't pass me by if I have a flat. They are all willing to help me change a tire and get rolling again. So, I guess I'll take Mike out of my duffel bag. He was having a little trouble breathing in there anyway. I just hope those new tires that DB at The Bike Source in Monroe put on my bike will keep me from having a flat--then I won't have to worry about it. Tomorrow is our first day to ride. We have to go over a HUGE bridge on the way out of Mobile. We'll only ride 36 miles to Bay Minette, so if I make it over the bridge, I should be ok. I'll let you know tomorrow.

Hiking in Smoky Mountain National Park

Before going to Mobile to start my bicycle ride to Canada, Mike and I hiked in the Smokies with our hiking club for three days, and had a great time. There were not many wildflowers yet, but the mountain streams and waterfalls were spectacular. Mike is so crazy. He has been watching way too much "Man Verses Wild", and kept yelling "Yo Bear" as we hiked up to Mt Le Conte to make sure we didn't surprise a bear along the way. The lodge on Mt Le Conte was so much fun--log cabins with kerosene lanterns and no running water. It's the only place I've ever stayed that gives you a tin bucket at check-in. (Yeah, for WATER--I was thinking the same thing, too, since there were no bathrooms in the cabins.) The cabins were an experience, too. They had double bunk beds, so some of us slept with two people on the top bunk and two on the bottom bunk. Every cabin had a front porch with big rocking chairs. I just loved it! It was so good to park my bike and stop all the "training" I've been doing to get ready for this bike tour, and just spend some time looking at those beautiful smoky mountains.