Stage 5 Report: Whistlin' Dixie

Wednesday, May 31, 2017
Start: Gadsden, AL
Finish: Russellville, AL
Bike Mileage: 100.1 mi
Cumulative Bike Mileage: 494.5 miles

We got off to a late start this morning from Hampton Inn in Gadsden, AL. Departed at about 10:30an after a hearty breakfast at the hotel. All three bikes on the trip needed a thorough cleaning after yesterday's rain; muck and debris coating the essential components, chains and gears. Patrick needed to take Mike's carbon LiteSpeed bike (brand name) to Chattanooga, TN where the rear derailleur hanger piece was replaced and his rear wheel trued (aligned) to a straight rotation. While Patrick was off in the van with Mike's bike, Mike and I continued onward. He rode Vik's bike this morning until Patrick met up with us in Cullman, AL at about 56mi into today's stage.

Unfortunately, there is no great direct route westward across northern Alabama that would be considered bicycle-friendly, as we quickly discovered.

We exited Gadsden onto Rt 278W/Thompson Bridge Rd, with a major grinding low-gear 2-3mi climb upward through a mountain pass. At the apex was a simple gas service station. It was already pretty toasty outside. The young woman at the counter, after introductions, was quite amazed at our journey's plans and offered free nourishing potato fries that were absolutely delicious and much needed for fuel and salt replacement for yet another sweaty day ahead. I was developing the disciplined habit now of reapplying a mix of Chamois cream and Vaseline to my derrière to heal and maintain comfort, critical for the long haul on my aero bike seat.

A note about filling water bottles at service stations: a nice attendant back in Sparta, GA taught us that if the soda dispenser didn't have a water button then instead of needing to buy bottled water all the time to simply fill your reusable insulated water bottles one could simply put ice cubes from the soft drink dispenser into the bottles and then press the hot water button on the coffee dispenser. Voila! You have ice and water as you wish at no charge! Works great every time!

The next 40mi were a series of PUDS (persistent ups and downs) rollers. It is fascinating to see these rollers unfold from a distance along a straight road. Being able to pace your energy and then time the next climb's peddle-power needed to maintain a steady pace to the apex. Repeat, repeat... About five different locals warned us to be careful on this Rt278W stretch. They were right. Limited shoulder was available (maybe 4-6in) adjacent to a rumble strip to alert drowsy swerving drivers. This road was well traveled by countless tractor trailers (unfortunately, through these parts, it appeared they couldn't give a damn about sharing any road space for us cyclists). It made for a harrowing next 3-4 hours of travel.

One AL local woman screamed at me from her car, "Find another damn road!" We outraced a number of pit bulls or other mixed country mutts darting from homes and pastures into the road unleashed with fury. Oh, Alabama, we're just passin' thru! Can honestly tell y'all that Mike and I are looking forward to crossing into Mississippi by tomorrow. Be nice to us GA bulldogs, please!

Note to experienced (and perhaps a little nuttily brave) cyclists: if you have a slight downhill ahead and a tractor trailer is coming up behind you, as it passes you and you jam peddle as fast as you can, then you will find yourself just behind the trailer's bed, in its vacuumed air wake, which then propels you forward effortlessly, a welcome surge of acceleration. It is quite the thrill! Lasts about five seconds until the trailer reaches escape velocity.

We continued dodging tractor trailers through small towns - Walnut Grove, Snead, Holly Pond, and then a stop in Cullman at mi56 for lunch. We went for a little Italian spot once again (carb cravings setting in?) at Carlton's on 3rd Ave; very tasty baked spaghetti and meat balls as well as four Pepsi refills got me energized and re-hydrated on another steamy day with limited cloud cover. Patrick returned from Chattanooga, TN and dropped off Mike's fixed bike. After riding Vik's for the morning as well as the previous afternoon and evening he was sore from the whole experience. At least I was hoping some of the #@&$€# chatter would quiet down a bit now

We exited Cullman via Rt31N and then onto 157NW towards Moulton. Evening gradually approached and, with it, the heat burned off as we hit a fast paced groove for the next 30mi into Moulton, sun setting in our faces as I imagined witnessing the last sunset from the Golden Gate in San Francisco only a few weeks away. This one was comforting, teasing, challenging me to race it down the road to Moulton. Who would win? We will, of course, and so Mike and I pushed at racing speed as I jammed listening to music from my rigged speaker system attached to my bike aerobars. Once again in the coolness of the evening breeze I entered an intensely focused mind-zone - no leg pain, no fatigue, just pure happiness and vitality and joy from shouting out "Good Evening" to the cows and seeing them veer and raise their heads and then wag their tails. Works every time. All you need is to just be friendly with our milk-makers and they give you a little love in return.

There was one long climb along this Rt157 which then lead to a screaming straight descent. I'm not one who tends to mind a nice wind in my face and a little adrenaline rush. My tires and breaks seemed to be fine. No rain today. No cars coming behind me. Solid road pavement. Hmmm... let's do this! The descent reached 42.7mph on my bike by the time the road began to level off. Celebrated surviving with a very satisfying little Snickers bar that I kept in my back jersey pocket (shout out and thank you to Julia Couch, close family friend of my daughters and fellow Appalachian Trail hiker, for stocking me with Snickers for the energy to climb any mountain, any obstacle, any weather, any hardship! Isn't that right Julia?!)

Arrived at the outskirts of Moulton by mile 92, turned L on Morgan St, then L on Church St through old town area of Moulton, which continued west as Rt460/Old Hwy 24. Quiet country road. Dusk ahead. Fireflies out. Flat resting farm fields to each side. Yet more dog chasers. With no more light to ride in we decided to finish with another century ride in the books. Stopped at 100.1mi for the day at 8:30pm. Another long adventurous day. Patrick tracked us down along the country road, we boarded the van, and headed a few min drive into Russellville, AL.

Most restaurants close at 9:00pm. We were hungry. The guys said there was a great local place that should be quick with real tasty cuisine I might enjoy and it happened to be right across the street from the Best Western Hotel we'd be staying that night. Well, food was tasty (albeit I was hungrier than an Alabama country pit bull!). I enjoyed the "Power Mediterranean" Chicken Salad followed by a Grilled Chicken Sandwich. Added the "Natural" Lemonade to re-hydrate. Food in belly. Yes indeed! We waited for awhile and I was expecting the waitress to come around, of course, for niceties and plate clearing. Never happened. The boys told me they don't do those things at...
Wendy's.

Note to reader: I'v never stepped foot inside a Wendy's in my life. I've only ever used the bathrooms at McDonald's or Burger King and the like near highway off-ramps over these past many years. Not a fast food guy. But tonight, got to say thank you to Wendy and her staff. Piece of advice to Wendy - you might want to open more than one local shop than just here in Russellville, AL?!

Another note: Best Western's and Hampton Inn's generally are the nicer of the roadside chains. Cost a few $ more but I think the cleanliness, nicer rooms/bathrooms, and their tastier breakfasts are worth it.

On to Oxford, Mississippi tomorrow. Weather report looks promising.

Stage 5 Bikeoo

"Find another damn road!"

Alabama woman told

Love(do not hate), cyclist glowed

Stage 5 Indexes

Weather: (8)
Hot, somewhat humid, no rain

Terrain: (2)
Mostly along high-speed roads today dodging tractor trailers and debris on side of the road and rumble strips which can punish your bike tires and make you lose your balance. Like riding on top of a jackhammer. The polar opposite of yesterday smooth sailing on the Silver Comet Trail.

Scenic: (3)
Seen nicer countryside but still alright. But we did get to enjoy some friendly cows.

Wildlife and Roadkill:
W-pitbulls and other mutt mixes

R-muskrat, variety of different colorful snakes, lots of opossum and armadillo (poor guys!), rabbits, squirrels, skunk, red-tailed hawk (see photo), and innumerable furred unidentifiable small animals in varied states of decomposition that would require a forensic Veterinarian to ID. sad. Just too many tractor trailers in these parts. These guys didn't stand a chance.

Endurance: (10)
Was able to maintain a Zen Zone the last 30-40mi!

Bike Report:

M-has his bike back in working order.
D-lost a bolt that secured my left peddle to the shaft. My peddle fell off twice while riding. It has two other bolts holding it in place so was still rideable with tight alignment of the bolts and enough pressure applied to keep them from wiggling free. It's a simple fix but may need it looked at in Oxford, MS tomorrow at a bike shop. Hope it holds up for tomorrow's ride.

Injury Report:
M-road abrasions are scabbed and healing well; sore ass and hips from using Vik's bike
D-nice violaceous contusion to my L buttock (from my fall during Stage 3), slightly tender; chaffing is minimal now (thank goodness!!!), some L scapula area muscle tightness

Still Having Fun: (10)
Pit bulls and all. Road goes on...

Photos

Didn't take many photos today. Always something scenic glancing at farm land but we were on more dangerous roads - needed to concentrate on other matters.