"I want to ride this road forever and I'm dying to go home..."
A line in a song by Eliza Gilkeyson that perfectly encompasses the paradox of being out here-- on a daily level I begin by loving the ride and end anxious to finish. In the greater scheme of things I know I have finally rediscovered the joy of the bicycle at the same time as wishing we were back in Maine.
Mississippi has been a big surprise. My last blog post described our soaking wet ride from St. Francisville to Franklinton, Louisiana. The next morning dawned crisp and clear. In 20 miles we were out of Louisiana and over the Pearl River into Mississippi. The road was awful-- heavy traffic with a rumble strip and no shoulder, so we were forced to ride in the vehicle lane. Bubba came through for us, however, getting us off that road in less than four miles and the rest of the day was pure delight. Back roads with almost no traffic and a wonderful short (48 mile) ride to a really nice R.V. park.
A nice R.V. park? Yes, it is possible-- although this one appears to be in the last stages of dying. Three (!) toilets with showers, no interstate highway roaring past, no trains hooting by in the night, not even many R.V. tenants. The buildings are deteriorating and it is clear that the proprietor is about to call it quits but it was a pretty spot with lots of room for tents. We had a lovely afternoon in the "Pamper Zone", a good dinner, and a lovely cool evening for sleeping
Today's ride was 70 miles. The entire thing was on great roads. Bird song instead of truck noise, perfect temperatures, insignificant wind and lovely scenery. Both Louisiana and Mississippi have important timber industry (who knew?), so the ride alternated between beautiful pine forests and pastoral grazing lands. In 70 miles we went through no towns-- the only line markers were for counties-- Pearl River, Stone and Jackson. The place we have ended up is a town called VanCleave but it is pretty much just a dot on the map. In fact, that is our only complaint for the day-- as the woman said, "I doan bleeve there's ennyplace in VanCleave ta git ice cream".
Now we are in yet another nice R.V. park. Will wonders never cease?
Just spent a few hours catching up on your adventure. You guys are beyond troopers ... sorry it has been such a rough journey. Take joy in the things that go well and try to find the fun in the rest. Lots of stories to tell ... hang in there!
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