A Long Ride

I rode through western Alabama and across Mississippi yesterday. The biggest city I went through was Tupelo (birthplace of Elvis), because I stayed on backroads as much as possible. There's a lot of cotton fields and churches, including some that look like the cover for a blues album. The cotton fields stunk from a chemical that is used to kill off the plant so that the cotton can be harvested. It smells something like burning plastic for hundreds of miles.



This was the first place I've ridden where the kids would point and run after me. It scared me the first time, then I got used to it, even expected it when I went through very small towns on very small roads. Everyone I talked to was very friendly but a little incredulous when I told them how far I've ridden.



I saw the aftermath of an ugly-looking wreck between a motorcyclist and a Volvo, and I didn't stop to look further. There are a lot of dangerous roads through here. People drive 60-80 m.p.h. on narrow roads with driveways and sudden intersections. I don't know how many times I was surprised by a stoplight because it blended in with the clutter of signs on the edge of a town. Yes, mom, I'm riding very carefully!