as i already said, i didn’t get the best night’s sleep, and when i woke up at 6:00 and it was still light out, i had no interest in trying to break camp in the dark, so i rolled over and went back to half-sleep until 6:30, when i could actually see. camp broke (eventually) and i headed back on the road.
although my route took me back into texas for a while, it wasn’t so bad. for the record, east texas is better than north texas. plus, i was only there for 100 miles or so before i broke into arkansas.
unfortunately, my knee didn’t even give me 45 minutes of peace before i started noticing it, even after i popped some ibuprofen. i was starting to get a little bummed about the possibilities, but then i had am accidental revelation. i was adjusting my riding position, which i do somewhat frequently, when i was getting very annoyed with the butt pads sewn into my riding pants. the problem is, the way my pants fit i always end up sitting on half of the pads, which isn’t comfortable. they aren’t great even when they’re in the right position. so i took a quick stop to readjust and get them out of the way entirely. lo and behold, i was instantly ten times more comfortable. the next gas stop i cut them out of my pants entirely. they’re in a trash can at a valero outside of texarcana arkansas if anyone wants them. and, as things tend to happen, this helped my knee. i think it’s because i’m not shifting as much, which means less pressure on my knee. don’t know if it’s a permanent fix (we’ll see how it goes tomorrow), but it sure felt good today.
arkansas is beautiful, by the way. i had a great ride through the southern part of the state, which mostly consisted of nice winding roads through lovely forest. most of the ride looked like this:
and i occasionally crossed some nice rivers that looked like this:
this one was in the felsonthal national wildlife reserve. pretty nice.
after a quick lunch stop in crossett at a southern-denny’s equivalent (huddle house, with a surprisingly good cheeseburger), it was a rather short ride into mississippi. and would you believe it, there was no spot for a picture of the river, unless i wanted to stop in the middle of the highway. suck. rest assured that i will write a strongly worded letter to the mississippi state government about this oversight.
then, heading through leland, I was suddenly very, very sorry it was sunday, since that meant this place was closed:
i didn’t know i was going to stop in muppet mecca, but there you go. (just as a side note, this is so far the first and only roadside attraction that has actually drawn me enough to stop. surprised? you shouldn’t be.)
a lovely evening in indianola, the birthplace of bb king, which included a tour of church street, the happening spot for delta blues in the 60s, and some new developments by the housing agency my dad helped start in the 70s. some good bbq ribs rounded things out nicely, and i got to try some genuine mississippi white lightning, which wasn't bad. kind of like irish poteen.
after making my no-camping decision, i decided to reevaluate my route for the next two days, since all i have to do is get to orlando on tuesday. i decided to stay on 82 through alabama (allowing me to see more of the state) until i hit I-75 south straight down to orlando. depending on how far i make it tomorrow, that will give me a short day into orlando and besides, i’ve heard there isn’t much to see in the florida panhandle.
so tomorrow i’m just going to ride until i need to stop and find a motel. i’m hoping to make it to at least albany GA, and maybe all the way to I-75, but we’ll see. with an early start, i should be pulling into orlando nice and early either way on tuesday, leading into my rest day and the halfway point of my trip!
does it seem like this is going quickly to anyone else?
rftc,
scott
in other news, i seem to be down one pair of socks, MIA on the road.
"they’re in a trash can at a valero outside of texarcana arkansas if anyone wants them."
ReplyDeleteFavorite line of the trip so far. :)