Day 47 My campground neighbor got back home at 12:51am. I know that because the noise of his motorcycle woke me up. An ambitious bird woke me up at 4am with his singing. I fell back to sleep till 5am. At that point I decided to go to the store to clean up, grab a sausage biscuit and coffee and look over my map and route for the day.I packed up and pulled out. I had to ride through a lot of Columbus to head south to Aliceville. Before getting out of town I pulled into a store to make sure I was still on route. I met Roger who also bikes and is the Publisher and Editor of The Columbus Packet. We talked about biking and my trip. He then introduced me to Ed who works for Coke and he told him about my ride. Before I left Roger gave me one of his papers. I will read over it. As I was almost out of town I spotted Shipley's Donuts. I had to stop. If you ever watch the Food Network they clue you in to watching out for unique local places. This seemed to be one of those places, so I stopped. Awesome donuts! I figured the carbs would be good for the long day ahead.
I was finally out of town and heading toward Pickensville and Aliceville. For the first time I can remember I was yawning quite a bit as I rode. I guess the previous long days of riding and the lack of sleep the night before was getting to me. I passed on through Pickensville but stopped for lunch in Aliceville. I went to Piggly Wiggly to get some watermelon chunks. After picking out some good looking watermelon the smell of the deli lured me that way. I had to get some of their good southern cooking so I got two pieces of chicken with some creamed corn, green beans and cornbread. I went outside to eat. As I was eating a lady stopped to ask about my trip.
She introduced herself as Poncho and she said, "no I'm not Mexican". Poncho actually is a sweet African American woman. We had a good chat. She was excited about my trip. She went inside to shop and I continued to eat. She finished her shopping and before she pulled out of the parking lot she rolled down her window and asked how long I would be in Aliceville. I told her once I finished lunch I was heading to Demopolis. She said she was going home to fry up some fish and would love for me to have some but she understood that I needed to go. Poncho is just one of so many hospitable people God has introduced me to.
The ride to Aliceville wasn't bad and the rest of the day to Demopolis wasn't too bad but the hills were back. The nice thing about these hills is that they included some long flat stretches after a good downhill. This allowed me to be reintroduced to my large gear on the front. I stopped in Eutaw for some ice and a cold drink. I took my time to avoid some of the muggy weather that had been climbing all over me the hours prior to Eutaw. After Eutaw it was a bit cooler and I hit a 12 mile stretch of rode that was new asphalt. Awesome!
I made it to Demopolis in good time but I could tell that the pushing I did to get there took a toll on my quads. Celeste booked me in a Holiday Inn Express so I could do laundry and have access to a desktop computer. It was a nice place in a good location. There was a plaza next door that had a Chinese Restaurant. I was craving Chinese so I decided to go get some and bring it back to the room. When I came out of the hotel it was raining lightly. This was a surprise but not a problem. I went and got my food then came back to the room to eat and check on the weather for tomorrow. For the most part I have been blessed with good weather so I wondered if rain was in the forecast for my ride tomorrow. I finished my awesome dinner and then checked the weather. It might rain tomorrow afternoon.
I got my laundry done and a lot of my computer work. I also got some good reading done. Hebrews 13 was very encouraging. I think I will camp out there for a bit. Tomorrow the plan is to ride to Jackson, AL. After Jackson it is on to Daphne, AL and then PENSACOLA FLORIDA!
I can't believe I am this close to Florida. As I ride I think back to the days in Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri...and think to myself, "how in the world did I get all the way here to Mississippi and Alabama?" The obvious answer is God and consistency. I testify to everyone I meet that the prayers of the saints daily have gotten me to this point. I just pedal. Prayers are the power so thank you, thank you, thank you!
As always, keep on praying!
bob g
