Day 3 Wrap-Up

 Day 3 is coming to an end. Here are pa's stats from today. It was 25° out this morning. Pa rode 71.7 miles in 5:49:50 with an average speed of 12.3 mph and a max speed of 29.2 mph. His total ascent was 3,103 ft and his total descent was 3379 ft.

We started back at mile marker 322. Sorry about the photo my dad took it. I was snoozing in the truck at the time of this photo.

We crossed into our final state and the hardest state to spell, Mississippi, today.

At first glance, this little hill looks like the world’s most unmotivated mountain — it tried to grow up to be Everest, but decided halfway through that a nap sounded better. Maybe it’s a retired dirt pile, living out its golden years watching over the field, judging all the flat ground around it. Or perhaps it’s hiding something exciting — treasure, alien artifacts, or just a very confused groundhog with big dreams. Either way, it’s the kind of mysterious bump in the landscape that makes you want to climb it, strike a heroic pose, and declare yourself ruler of “Mount Mildly Impressive.”

Todays joke is Mississippi themed here it is:

What’s the Mississippi river's  favorite game?
Hide and go creek!

And finally a word from Pa: 

We cut across the northwest corner of Alabama today.  The topography changed a bit . This part of Mississippi is rather flat.  I think I am going to be riding in the wind for the rest of the trip. I learned at the first of two Indian mounds that I saw, the sign said it was used for ritual purposes.  We have a mound about an hour or so from where we live in Georgia and came away thinking it was used primarily for burial purposes.  The second mound I saw said the same thing. The purpose of the Marietta sign would be something everyone in the family could explain. Over 30 years ago I began to talk about a machine I wanted to develop. It would enable transport to any town or city of the same name. Had it been functional for this trip we could have gone to Seth and Fletcher's house for dinner and to say a quick hello.

I have had a question about the Trace Parkway for months.  There is a detour due to construction that encompasses some of tomorrow's travel.  If the shutdown was over I could have had my question answered at the Visitor Center for the Parkway which is located south of Tupelo.  As I was riding south, I passed a group of 4 cyclists heading the opposite direction.  Because they had gear on their bikes I assumed that they were camping their way along the Natchez Trace.  The last person had separated from the others. I was able to get her to stop. Alex was able to tell me that the area is still closed although the website said the construction was supposed to be done by the end of October. She described the detour as being very bicycle unfriendly with logging trucks and no shoulder.  I will be happy to hitch a ride with Seth for this part.

Finally, I was not happy with the amount of traffic today as we got to some more populated areas in the state.  I guess that means that as I get towards Jackson I should expect something similar.  The weather is about to turn warmer which will be fine by me.  We left my bike out last night so it was covered in frost and one of the water bottles was left and was filled with ice.  It thawed by the time I arrived at our camping site.  After a good night's sleep I will be ready to Keep Pedaling!