Sunday, July 16, 2006

Day 3: Atlanta to Oxford, Miss.





First, what's on my mind. Atlanta friends Zac and Steve (who showed up to greet me at the Highlander last night) were in a serious scooter accident this morning. It was the classic nightmare for bikes, motorcycles and scooters: a sudden left turn in front of them. Zac was unconscious for a while. He's in ICU with serious neurological concerns. He was wearing all of the right protective gear but he hit the SUV hard. My prayers are with Zac and his family. Steve is hurting but he's going to be OK.

Today I rode from Atlanta to Oxford, Mississippi. Mostly I followed US-278 through northern Georgia and Alabama. I had a nice 40 miles on the Natchez Trace Parkway near Tupelo on the home stretch to Oxford. It was a very hot day, almost 100 degrees in the afternoon. Unlike yesterday, I did not dump water on my t-shirt to stay cool. I just drank lots of water. At 385 miles, my ride was a lot shorter than yesterday. My neck was getting more stiff and sore. A little ibuprofen made it manageable. I need to find a gym in the morning to get some aerobic exercise; it's been 3 days without a workout, and I'm feeling a bit sluggish.

Northeast Alabama is a very economically depressed place. When I entered Alabama, the first 4 structures I drove by were uninhabited.

Top sightings today:

7. Boats and off road vehicles everywhere. It was a summer Sunday in the south, and everyone was in church, fishing, boating, or four-wheeling.
6. The $2.97 pork barbecue sandwich for lunch in Alabama. I love Red, Hot & Blue at home, but this was even better!
5. The "Bull Evaluation Center" sign in Alabama farm country. With teenagers, I could use one of those at home.
4. A bevy of "new homes" signs next to the "Travis Tritt Highway" sign in metro Atlanta. Somehow I doubt Travis would approve.
3. Pawn shops in every third town, even ones without McDonalds.
2. Family Dollar Stores in every second town.
1. Dollar General Stores in just about every single town.

Thank you, Helen, for rolling out the red carpet in Oxford, Miss. tonight. Also thanks to my niece Emilie and Shawn in Atlanta for last night. Peachtree Street really hops on Saturday night! And thank you Loriann for holding down the fort at the office and with the kids. Too often you don't get enough credit.

On the fund-raising front, it's hard to run a tally from the road because some donations are coming to my office and some are going right to CPL. The tally is growing. Thank you to all our generous sponsors!

Thanks for reading; comments are welcome. I am finding it's hard to run a good blog from the road when internet access and time are in short supply. There is time for stream of consciousness, but not for the careful editing that makes for a good read.

The Score:
Miles Today 385
Miles Total: 1230
Got Wet: 1 time total (lucky me, I have been dodging rain clouds the last 2 days)
Cheapest gas: $2.66 in Gadsden, Alabama
Dog bites: 0
Snake bites: 0

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