Days gone by

Day 26 Savannah, TN (64 miles)
And on this day, we found out what it means to rain. As we biked along, we started seeing and hearing the approaching thunderstorm. It was really quite spectacular! But of course, it was necessary to find shelter. So when it really started downpouring, we found ourselves running into an old abandoned barn. We scrambled to climb over a tall fence, leaving our bikes at the entrance. We ran 50 meter down the path to the barn, and climbed another tall fence to get into the barn, where we were dry… but it was also a little eery inside there. There was stuff everywhere, including a huge thresher (large machine with ~8 circular claw-like things on top). Here’s a picture of Vandy and I watching the storm from inside the barn (Thank you Emily Burress):


Day 30 Waldenburg, AR (82 miles)
We didn’t actually stay in Waldenburg that night, we camped at Lake Poinsett State Park. While the night was probably a beautiful one and the lake was probably peaceful, we were really too busy killing off mosquitoes by the slapful to realize any of that. I’ve never had such a run in with those pesky insects. Even the mosquitoes in humid & hot Houston couldn’t even put up a fight with these guys—and that’s saying a lot! We tried everything we could to escape them, bug spray, jeans, exterminating the tent before going to sleep… but there was just no way to get them all. I got bitten ALL over, legs and feet, arms and hands, face…and my butt. Ugh! In our itchy delirium the other night, Melanie and I attempted to count our bites. On just one leg, I had over 120. Yikes. And I’m really starting to like concrete gym floors.

Day 31 Mountain View, AR (35 miles, but supposed to be 102 miles)
This day was supposed to be our first official century day (riding 100+ miles). As we rushed away from Lake Poinsett to flee from the mosquitoes, it started raining. And as the morning progressed (from 6:30am to 9am), it continued raining and visibility became questionable. The locals expected the storm to stick around all day, so play it safe, we stopped at a gas station at mile 35, left our bikes, and shuttled people 65 miles to our destination. It was the first trip in the van for many of us (minus the day we were shuttled 5 miles down an interstate), and it was made more difficult to swallow as the sun came out later that day. It was hard wanting to ride, but not being able to for the betterment of the group. Riding in the van down those pretty hills gave me a new appreciation for biking. All I could think about was getting on those roads again. I think it’ll be hard to ride around in a car much after this summer!

Mountain View, Arkansas, was a very unique little town. It proclaimed itself the “Folk Music Capital of the World” and lived up to it with live bluegrass music playing on every street corner. On some street corners, in front of shops, and under gazebos, there were chairs lying around on which people could sit and mingle. It really made for an open door community that encouraged chatting among people. As for music, there was 1 family bluegrass band, but other groups were just a random mix of people from around the country that get together in Mountain View to share music and good times. I very much enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere there, and spent the evening writing postcards and listening to the jams.