Alabama Getaway

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Greetings from Wetumpka, AL, which is just outside of Montgomery. I decided to take a day off to rest a pained knee, do some laundry, and relax. I neglected to take any photos at Phish or Bonnaroo and only a dozen or so on the road, but I attached a few anyhow.

Bonnaroo was loads of fun, and it was nice to be surrounded by people, drink beer, and not ride a bike for a change. We managed to get my bike into the festival even though they aren't allowed because the police gave us a full search (looking for drugs and unconcerned with bikes) making another search at the gate unnecessary. I did have to store it under Jeff's van, and I when I got back on it realized one of my hoods was bent...but I got it back well enough and didn't notice any other problems.

I got to a campground in New Market, AL, for my first night and enjoyed a real shower! The next morning one of my tent poles broke, so when I made it to Huntsville I attempted to find a replacement...No luck, but I did break a hook on one pannier while navigating the crappy roads of Huntsville. In the end, I already possessed a temporary fix for the pole (a 6" metal sleeve I'd had with my tent stakes but never knew the use of), and I used a zip tie and duct tape to secure the pannier.

In general, AL has terrible roads for biking. This was apparent the second I crossed in from TN and my 8' shoulder became nothing more than the white paint the designates the lane. In the last 5 days I put on 350 some miles, though a number of those were spent tooling around towns, or backtracking to fix an error. Still not too far off schedule (not that I really know my schedule). Due to busy roads with little to no shoulder, I spent a couplle days just mapping 20 miles ahead of myself and figuring out the next step on arrival, but this added many miles often in the hills that I realize now are what I was avoiding. I certainly enjoyed it much more than cars whizzing by.

I spent one night on the shores of Lake Guntersville, another in some woods on a nice cold stream, and a third on the lawn of an elementary school (I was directed here by the local fire captain, and noticed the police checking up on me).

Yesterday I made it 86 miles and landed at an RV park I was directed was the nearest camping. Upon arrival I was denied because they didn't allow tents because of a lack of facilities, and informed that there was actually a state park 8 miles back from where I just was. The problem for me was that my knee was hurting, I was tired, and that 8 miles was either on an extremely busy highway (speed limit 65) with no shoulder, or the scenic hills which I just came through (though now I would have much more ascent than descent...damn!). After venting to my mom for a few minutes on the phone, I went to a gas station, asked the first guy with a pick-up for a lift, and was back in business. With a six pack on my handlebars, I rode the last few miles to the park, and set up camp with a smile.

This morning I met my neighbor who offered some good converstaion and left me a cooler of beer on my table. Then I discovered I've lost my cell phone charger. Small price to pay...

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