DAILY BLOG

Jared and Justy having fun in Sparta, GA:

We started off this morning from Fayetteville to the eastern side of Georgia. Greg Rogers joined us for the first 17 miles, taking us through some beautiful countryside. After that, he had to head to work, while we continued going east on Hwy 16.

Starting out the morning

Rich, Jared, Greg, and Jordan in the morning

Jared began feeling bad, so he headed into the van to rest, so I spent much of the rest of the day riding alone. Eastern Georgia is filled with up and down hills, up and down hills, and up and down hills. I was anxious to get done with the ride today, so I began riding with a sense of urgency, going all out on the uphills and trying to maximize my speed on the descents. For the times in which I have had to ride alone, it definitely gets lonely out there after awhile, though I can’t complain much because Kim and the boys are always nearby in the support vehicle.

Rich riding solo for a good part of the day

Do I hear the Atlantic Ocean yet? Please!???

The (rather silly) highlight of the day (other than riding with Greg) was riding to Sparta, Georgia. The boys, thinking of all of those Sparta movies and stories, have been looking forward to Sparta the entire tour so they could shout “THIS IS SPARTA!” Anyway, when we arrived at the town sign, we had fun reenacting a Spartan battle.

Georgia, at least the part we went through in the central area of the state, seems better off than its western neighbors—Alabama, Mississippi, and Arkansas.

Tomorrow, we head into our final state—South Carolina. We have two more rides—tomorrow which is 95 miles and Friday which is a short 55 miles into Charleston. I’ll do more reflection on the entire trip in the days ahead, but for now, we are starting to be thankful that the tour is almost over. We have totally loved it and it has been the adventure of a lifetime, but the non-stop activity is taking its toll on us physically. We’re getting worn down!!! With God’s grace, however, we remain in great spirits and are still having so much fun as a family.

Rich getting some work done

July 22 was one of our busiest days we have had on the trip. We had end to end commitments, which made the day a major challenge. However, we also got a chance to get to know a great family—Greg, Karen, and Meredith Rogers—and became fast friends with them!

Jared relaxing before the day heated up

Rich riding through Alabama

The day started with a radio interview with a Christian station in Birmingham at 7:15am. After that, we scurried out of the city and got on the bikes ASAP. We had to hurry because of three things: (1) we had a 6:00pm BBQ at Providence UMC Church in Fayetteville, Georgia, (2) we were meeting up on the road with Greg Rogers of Fayetteville who was going to ride with us for the afternoon, and (3) we were losing an hour due to the time zone change.

Rich and Jared

Rich and Jared

We started off outside of Birmingham, Alabama. One great example of the hot temperatures we have been riding through…Jared braked hard during a late morning break and the rubber actually came off of a section of his tire onto the road!

Jared’s tire—victim of melting!

After lunch, we crossed over into Georgia, and a few miles later, we met up with Greg, who was riding from the other direction to us. Greg is an attorney, member of Providence UMC, and former competitive road bicycle racer. He actually found out about the bike tour this spring and contacted me via Facebook. Since then, we’ve conversed over email, so it was great getting a chance to meet him in person. We ended up riding the last 45 or so miles with Greg. It was great riding with him and was a psychological boost to us.

We’ve arrived in Georgia!

Greg Rogers

Meeting up with Greg Rogers

Greg, Jared, and Rich

We got to Greg’s house, where we met his lovely family, Karen and Meredith. They hosted us for the night. We then headed over to the church for the BBQ event. There were 140 or so people there for the family dinner, put on by the men’s ministry. Since it was a family event, I ended up focusing my talk on the issue of family unity.

Rich speaks about family unity

Kim talks with people at Providence UMC

Rich signing copies of his book (notice the tan lines on his hands)

After the event, we got a chance to spend a special evening with the Rogers watching the Tour De France and getting to know them.

We had a busy day yesterday—full riding day plus an evening event. I did not get a chance to write the blog entry, so we’ll have full details and a photo later tonight of both Stage 21 (yesterday) and Stage 22 (today).

With our blessed rest day over, we headed out this morning from the Tupelo, MS area to Birmingham, AL. Actually, instead of Tupelo, we drove down south about 20 miles to the town of Amory, because we suspected the roads from Amory to Birmingham would be much less traveled than the busy-as-an-interstate 78 East that goes from Tupelo-Birmingham.

Many rolling hills today

Another state

Not complaining, but the day was once again dominated by the heat. To qualify, we fully expected this when we scheduled a ride across the southeast in July! Triple digit temperatures again—this time with its dreaded cohort in the south—high humidity. I think today we were impacted by the temperature the most since Day #3 in Arizona—although this was still better than those awful days in the California desert.

Rich beating Jared up a hill

After about 20 miles in Mississippi, we crossed the Alabama state line. I was struck by three things on my first day riding in Alabama. First, of all of the states we’ve gone through, Alabama drivers seem to be the most impatient of bicyclists. It was interesting that literally as soon we crossed the state line, we began to have several drivers honk at us in irritation if they were delayed by even a few seconds. The honk was apparently their sign of disapproval of us being on the road. We had maybe 1-2 drivers do this in Oklahoma, but drivers have generally been great along the way. Fortunately, most of the drivers were fine and all of the semis gave us enough room and were generally patient.

Second, on the Alabama state highways we went on, there was litter everywhere—miles and miles and miles of it. Really sad. They need to have those sponsor-a-mile of highway programs for Hwy 18!

Third, there are more churches per mile in Alabama than any other state we’ve gone though. It is dizzying how many small churches there. I hope that these churches are ministering the many in need in this part of the state.

Jordan had some good miles today

Vines taking over the hills in this region of Alabama

The rest day had its intended positive effect on me. In the morning, my legs felt as strong today as they had since Colorado! However, by afternoon, the heat had taken its toll and it was a definitely a challenge to finish up today. The scheduled milage today was around 112 miles. We ended up having to cut short the last 15 miles in order to make it into Birmingham by the evening.

Rich trying to get a few more miles in before the end of day

Here’s one thought I have had since Oklahoma and finally remembered to blog. Small town America, at least in the Great Plains and South, is in a sad state of decay. We’ve ridden through town after town through Oklahoma-Arkansas-Mississippi-Alabama and have seen one abandoned home & store after another. It seems like all of economic development is taking place in the bigger cities, suburbs, and occasional small towns. But many many small towns are hanging on for dear life. I’d really like to read a book on this whole issue.

A couple really funny moments of the day. We came across a church called Little Hope. Why would they have chosen that name? Jordan’s immediate comment: “It’s like they just gave up!”

Second, we came across a store called Swampdaddy. We took a picture of the memorable sign.

Here’s a brief YouTube clip of Justy sharing the story of the Swampdaddy.

Today was our final rest day of the tour. We began the day at Tupelo First Baptist Church, where I gave the morning message at their two services. We were blessed at the opportunity to get to know Pastor Randy Von Kanel, his wife, and the rest of the congregation at First Baptist. We felt immediately at home and decided if for some reason we ever move to Tupelo, we’d make it our church home!

First Baptist Church made us feel at home today!

Cindy & Randy Von Kanel, Rich & Kim

In the afternoon, we had a chance to relax as a family and take in a movie. At dinner, we ate dinner at Applebees. I got into a conversation with the manager, who was father of three teens. I ended up giving him a copy of my book. It was one of those encounters that was surely engineered by God.

We drove by the birthplace of Elvis, which is the big thing that Tupelo is known for. Since none of us really cares about Elvis, we made it a 2-minute drive-by. (I know that is sacrilegious to some people!)

This landmark is a huge deal to some people.

Tomorrow, we begin the final push to Charleston as go from Tupelo area to Birmingham, Alabama. It actually is going to be a very challenging week. Many miles. Deep south humidity. An evening program on Tuesday. And a loss of an hour when we hit the eastern time zone. But that will come tomorrow. For now, we are enjoying a day of rest!

When we were in Oklahoma City last week, we stopped in at The Oklahoman newspaper, the largest daily in the region. Here’s a link to the article.

Also, here’s a link to a brief audio podcast interview.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds.
— James 1:2

Cycling on the Natchez Trace

Today was supposed to be the day that we were going to set our non-wind-aided time record for 100 miles. Our goal was 5 hours, which would work out to 20mph average. The route seemed like a perfect one for the attempt—low winds, low traffic, little hills, and good roads. The problem would be with that last assumption—good roads. The Natchez Trace pavement near Jackson is perfect, totally smooth and easy to reach a consistent, steady pace. Unfortunately, we discovered this morning that the quality of the pavement in the mid-section north of Kosciusko was awful. For the first 40 miles of the day, we had to fight the constant vibrations coming from the pavement, leaving our seat and hands quite numb and pained. “Consider it pure joy!”

Getting water from the support vehicle

I was pushing hard in the lead, but I was having trouble going much beyond 17-19mph. Crazy how inefficient the rough road is on translating energy/effort into speed. (Interesting science experiment!)

The heat is getting to Rich

Jordan, Jared, and Rich

Jared was really struggling during the first 70 miles today. He was not feeling well, but was bound and determined to finish the full distance. So, in spite of the fact that he slowed down for awhile and had trouble keeping going for about a 30-mile stretch, his perseverance paid off and he made the complete 100 miles today into Tupelo. Good job!

Breaking for lunch

All around, it was a good character building day. Because of the initial rough roads and general fatigue, I was in pain the entire ride—legs, seat, hands, etc. Some days riding is a pure joy, pain is minimal, and the challenge of riding a long distance is an amazing experience. Other days, like today, the pain of riding requires you to simply will yourself to finishing, in spite of the discomfort and in spite of the desire to want to lay down by the side of the road in the grass. “Consider it pure joy!”

Kim loves her cell phone on the trip!

It was hot & humid today! Temperatures reached 98 degrees, which is the highest we’ve had in awhile. Still, we’d take these humid temperatures over those 115 degree temperatures we experienced in the desert.

In the end, it took us 5 hours and 51 min, which is an average of 17.2mph. Overall, we were pleased with that given all of the challenges.

Jordan had a good riding day, including a very strong morning stretch. Justy rode for a bit this afternoon, but he seems to be preferring being cameraman to bike rider these days. That’s ok—he’s doing a great job as chief photographer.

Jordan and Justy get some miles in

Tomorrow is a rest day! Yeah! I deliver the message at the First Baptist Church of Tupelo in the morning and then we’ll have a free afternoon together. One of the best things about rest days is not having to pack and unpack on that day.

Today was a most unusual day for us. Our original plan was to travel from Little Rock, AR to Jackson, MS yesterday, going essentially as many miles south as we were going east, so we could pick up riding this morning on the Natchez Trace Trail, a scenic byway that goes across Mississippi. However, late yesterday, before we left Little Rock, we found out about a chance to meet the folks at Family Life, Dennis Rainey’s organization in the morning. So, we changed plans and stayed in Little Rock last night.

“Enough Paparazzi”, Justy exclaims.

This morning, after my time at Family Life, I was going back and forth on the best way across Mississippi to Tupelo, where we are scheduled to arrive on Sat. As I mentioned, the original plan was was to take the Natchez Trace, which was highly recommended for cycling across Mississippi. However, the more direct route would be to go due east from Little Rock to Helena in eastern Arkansas and then on to Tupelo. In the end, we opted for the more scenic route, even though it meant an extra drive south to pick up the Natchez Trace near Jackson, MS.

Riding on the Natchez Trace

The flat roads and little wind made for some strong average speeds today

After the drive down to Jackson, we started riding. The byway is great for cycling—quite pretty, nice smooth road, relatively easy traffic, little wind. Tomorrow, we have 100 more miles on the byway until we get to Tupelo. We are going to try and make the distance in 5 hours, which would be a good non-wind time for us.

Jordan explores the swamplands

Here’s an example of relying on GPS technology too much. We are staying in Kosciusko tonight, a small town of 5,000 or so. When we arrived this evening, we used Google Maps to find out what restaurants were in town. Not much except fast food. However, it should that just 8 miles out of town there was a Lone Star Steakhouse. After riding, Lone Star seemed like a great option. I remember thinking that the location specified seemed like a weird location, but who am I to question Google? So, we began to drive using the directions provided by Google Maps. Things continued to seem strange as we headed out, because the road was a country road with farms and little else. I kept thinking that it must lead to an interstate exit area or something, but when we got the supposed destination of Lone Star, all that we saw was a grassy field with cows in it! Needless to say, we backtracked and headed back to Pizza Hut instead. The kids got a kick out of that one!

Funny Store Names we saw in Arkansas: The Mad Butcher, Hillbilly Realty

Today, we had a chance to ride in the Ozark Mountains in Arkansas. After several days riding across Oklahoma, we were looking forward to Arkansas as a change of scenery and roads. Last night, we also decided to tweak the route so we could get the most challenging climb in the area we were going through—Mt. Magazine, which is the highest point of the state at 2,700 feet. So, we focused on riding the Mt. Magazine Scenic Highway that runs from Ozark-Paris-Havana.

Justy got off to a flying start!

Rich, Jared, and Justy riding through the Ozarks

The ride was scenic through the Arkansas countryside. Lots of small, rolling hills before the biggest climb of the day. Jared was back in business again joining me for the full ride today; he was feeling much better after his illness over the two previous days. Justy and Jordan each rode a good amount of miles today as well—Justy at the start and Jordan at the end.

Rich and Jared

We could not find the Eiffel Tower and no one spoke French!

Nice scenery today

Rich treading on through the heat

Not the Rockies, but pretty nonetheless

Rich and Jared cross a bridge

The weather was hot and humid—a sure sign we have hit the south. I am sure we’ll have many more days of humidity before we hit Charleston.

Pushing hard to the top

One of the expectations we had before the tour was that we’d have picnic lunches each day, finding a nice shady spot along the roadside. However, maybe it is just the roads we have taken, but we’ve rarely been able to find good lunch spots along the way. The typical scenario has been pulling along the roadside in the hot sun and no shade, and eating in the A/C van. However, today, we were able to find a great picnic spot. At the top of Mt. Magazine, they had a really nice picnic pavilion as part of the state park. Since it was a weekday, it was deserted, so we had the place all to ourselves.

Rich takes a nap at lunch

Justy defying gravity at lunch

After the bike ride was over today, we had originally planned to travel from Arkansas to Jackson, MS, essentially traveling south the equivalent miles we were heading east. This plan was so we could take advantage of riding the famed Natchez Trace Trail, which runs southwest to northeast across Mississippi. However, before we left Little Rock, we got a call about a meeting at Family Life, the Christian ministry which is located in Little Rock. So, we are staying in Little Rock tonight, going to the meeting tomorrow morning, heading to Mississippi as soon as the meeting is over tomorrow morning, and then we’ll hopefully be on the bike by lunchtime on the Natchez Trace Trail. Busy schedule!!

Jordan, Rich, and Jared ride in the afternoon

Our dinners out at night are proving to be interesting in terms of how many refills that we’ll order. After a day of riding on the road, we are always very very thirsty, no matter how much water or electrolytes we drink. Our record is 21 total soda refills, which we set in McAlester, OK.

Our daily schedule is almost non-stop. We get up usually at 6am and try to load the van/eat breakfast/get out by 7am, although we don’t always get out on time. During the mornings, we try to get as many miles in as possible, so that after lunch, we can just wrap up the day with 40 miles or less. We get in to the hotel by late afternoon, usually by 5pm. After unloading the van, we rush off to supper by 6pm. In the evenings, we then get laundry done, write the blog, upload the photos, and sometimes swim at the pool. The goals are to get to bed by 11pm (an incredibly early time for Kim and I!!!!!). However, in spite of this non-stop routine, none of us are getting tired of the tour. I asked the boys about it tonight. It’s still something we are all excited about and look forward to the next day.