Day 22 Tuscaloosa AL (115 miles)

Today was Mothers' Day, in case anyone forgot.  We started out on the far side of Aberdeen MS at a Best Western that sits all alone except for a closed Ford dealership across the road.  It was a very tidy Best Western, but I wonder how it stays open.  There's not a lot going on in Aberdeen, and we had the motel practically to ourselves.  Often we stay at motels that are right off the interstate, because... that's where motels tend to be.  And there is a choice of restaurants in those cases.  But there are times I really like staying in a place like Aberdeen.  Off the beaten path.

For reference purposes, below is a little map of where we've been so far:

It was quite chilly this morning - the temp at departure was 46 degrees. The arm warmers were back out.  We left as one big group, and I was in the paceline trying to get relief from the wind.  It was freezing.  Early Sunday morning (especially Mother's Day morning) is a great time to bike in Mississippi.  Over the past few days, I have developed a neat biking strategy.  I try to hang with the fast guys as long as I can.  When I inevitably get dropped, Rick swings by to pick me up, and we bike in the rest of the way together.

Today was hills and more hills.  It is not like those mountains out West where you grind out for hours.  These look like you should be able to sprint up them... but it is an illusion.  We've hit a few that are steeper than anything we've encountered to date.

Once again, the scenery was gorgeous.  We are riding a lot of back roads.  No center line in many cases.  Minimal traffic.  About 20 miles into today's ride, we crossed into Alabama.  There was no official sign, per se.  But the road surface suddenly improved.  And Mike (who lives in Alabama) had spray-painted a "Welcome To Alabama" message in the middle of the road.  Mike also warned us that all of the roads in Alabama would not be like the one we were on.  We saw that later in the day.  Like Mississippi, the road surface varies considerably.  Also like Mississippi, there are no shoulders on the roads.  There are slightly fewer dogs.  However at one point, we were chased about a hundred yards by a three-legged pitbull.  He was after the guy who shot his Pa.

Our route had dozens and dozens of turns.  We were doing pretty good... until we reached our destination city of Tuscaloosa AL.  Tuscaloosa is the home of the University of Alabama - who knew?  I certainly didn't.  Rick had made it a point to wear his University of Florida biking jersey.  I figured someone would throw a beer bottle at him, and end up hitting me by mistake.  Fortunately, the school semester had just ended, and beer is not sold on Sunday.  Anyway, we did get lost.  It was coming through the University campus where several of the road signs appear to be missing (presumably stolen).  I will say that the campus did have a bike lane.  It was all of 500 feet long.  Not a lot of biking going on in Tuscaloosa.  At least it is a start.

The big news of the day is that my sister, Lynn, and her kids (Lauren, Mary and Bo) drove all the way down from Nashville to have dinner with me.  We hit Longhorn's and had an excellent meal.  It is a treat to ride in a car.  They also brought me this great book - Mike and the Bike.  It has a forward by Lance Armstrong and comes with a CD that is narrated by Phil Ligget (the announcer on the Tour de France).

Another day down, and another day closer to the beach.  I've enjoyed coming through both rural Mississippi and rural Alabama.  Both states are very clean.  It is great seeing the heartland of America.  This is stuff you miss when traveling on the interstate system in a car.  But as I've said before, seeing the US is an ancillary perk.  This trip is a challenge.  You push yourself harder than you ever imagine you could.  You ride outside of your comfort zone.  You learn new skills.  You become a better cyclist.  But for me, the best part is the people.  The staff and co-riders make the ride.