Day 19 & 20, May 9 & 10, 2014.

  On Friday, May 9th we rode 114 miles, leaving Arkansas and spending the night in Senatobia, MS.  The ride was forecasted to be our first opportunity to be really miserable by getting wet.  We woke up to rain puddles and overcast skies, a storm front having passed through the area over night.  Jere and I had our fenders on our bikes and our rain jackets in our back pocket for the inevitable percipitation.  But, our preparation did its job and other than some early morning misting on the eyeglass lenses, the rain held off; I even had a sunburn by the time I got to the hotel.  

  I have now crossed the Mississippi River twice by bicycle, there will not be a third time.  All traffic is funneled  to the few bridges crossing the river.  The roadway is two lane, with virtually no shoulder, and what shoulder there is, is covered in all manner of road debris.  I took a few quick peeks at the river, but mostly concentrated on the roadway, as there was no margin of error to dodge left or right for a pothole or road debris.  After we crossed the river into Mississippi, the roadway for the next 8 miles was cement with expansion joints giving a bumpy ride and no shoulder.  Traffic was heavy and nerve wracking, but the drivers were considerate and either slowed until they could safely pass or gave us a wide berth.  The wind was blowing out of the south-east, our direction of travel, which made the ride through the low country harder than it should have been.  The closer we got to Senatobia the terrain started to undulate and we found ourselves in some small hills.  Outside the town of Crenshaw, Ms http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crenshaw,_Mississippi Jere was amused to see a sign by a roadside produce stand advertising "Cold Ice".  If you wanted "warm" ice, all you all would be out of luck.

  Senatobia is an exit off of I-55 with Memphis about an hour north and Jackson, Ms, about 3 hours south.  There is no reason to ever, ever go there.  The Days Inn was our worst accommodations to date, but I saw no cockroaches and to my knowledge haven't encountered budbugs.  

    Sat, May 10th was an epic day for Jere, Dave and I.  We rode 139 miles, our furtherest distance ever, and we rode about 137 of it with the Kiwis.  The course took us on the mostly rural roads and to all our surprises, the backcountry of northern Mississippi is hilly and beautiful.  The weather today was gorgeous; bright blue sunny skies and a light breeze, although often in our face, a head breeze is child's play after the head winds we endured. About 25 miles into the ride we passed a local church setting up bake goods at a corner lot at an intersection.  One of the Kiwis bought brownies for all of us.  Two of the three ladies working the stand were from Pennsylvania, one was from Hellam; small world.

  Sunday has us leaving Mississippi already and spending the night in Tuscaloosa, Al, home of the University of Alabama.  Tomorrow's milage is scheduled to be 117 miles with more rolling hills.  Forecast weather is similar today.  Can we make another 6 days without getting wet?