Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Nothing hard is ever easy: A bicycle tour attempt.

This is a fun thread to follow.

Hey Mr. Rick.........sticky?

OH! hell i forgot he was going to Ark. but i wont worry about Mike, Miles Patton, will rescue him when he gets close to Conway,Ark.which i think is on his route. rio7

Naw, he should come through Beebe, which is 30 miles closer to me, and he has my number. If he goes through Conway, he will hit some big hills/mountains. Through Beebe is on the edge and mostly flat. miles

If I was Birdie, I'd avoid Little Rock like the Plague! Last time I made a wrong turn off the Interstate there, I was damn glad I was Packing.

Thing on how I understood his route through here, Little Rock will be hard to avoid without a lot more miles or a lot of hard miles through mountains. He will have to cross the Arkansas river at Conway, Little Rock or Pine Bluff. miles

Miles - can you go stand guard for him, in case he isn't packin' - and maybe even if he is! ?

Mark

I have been thinking on how he could ride through Little Rock and stay out of the hood. Not being able to go the Interstate makes that hard. There is a bicycle bridge across the Arkansas River at Little Rock but getting to it is hard as most people haul their cycles there and ride the bike trails. That leaves the Main Street Bridge or the Broadway Bridge. And 3 Interstate Bridges. I could haul him through in my truck if he wants. miles

Thanks for all the positive feedback.

Seven hours later I'm still in Linden TX, the hospitality of my hosts was such that it would have been uncalled for for me to just up and leave, so (another) gourmet meal and a few rum and cokes later I'm still here.

I got no pics from Day 5, Lake Palestine to Ed and Barbara's on account of the rain. Day 6 I stayed in place, and now 50 miles on Day 7.

Here's the road to their place, basically the sort of place ya ain't gonna find without directions unless you're lost....




Uneventful day at first, ten miles in to Gilmer then headed out towards Linden, 40 miles out. I will say there sure is a remarkable number of liquor stores in this part of the world. First I crossed the Lake of the Pines....



Then I stopped in at a convenience store/liquor store next to a where I paid $4.95 for one small Big Red fountain drink and two hits on their ice dispenser for my bottles.

Rode on a couple of hours more through beautiful rolling country.



With blackwater sloughs....



And then an unexpected event occurred...... (Forrest Gump was right)

I roll up to this roadside convenience store at this highway intersection to get water.

Behind the counter is an attractive young woman with an East Texas accent. I'll call her "Amanda" because if she weren't the light of someone's life well then she oughtta be.

Amanda, intrigued by my mission, gives me a phone number and asks me to keep her updated on my progress. I said I would on account of I was already sending group texts to family and friends and such anyway.

Amazing the power of woman: If I weren't due to stop in Linden and visit this afternoon I probably would still be at this very moment pedaling somewhere thru the Arkansas darkness about 70 miles down the road from here.

Pathetic I know

Birdwatcher

That's because most other bike riders are actually willing to wear spandex...

Actually that stuff is working really well, you sweat right through nylon and can feel breezes through it. Between the sleeves, long pants and the hat I ain't even begun to burn after six days out in the sun.

Birdwatcher

Keep it up Birdwatcher! You're doing great.

Guy

Great thread!

Do all nylon shirts provide sun protection, or do I have to look for ones that list a SPF (sun protection factor)?

The sun isn't usually that intense here near the Arctic Circle, but I do travel south sometimes -- and I burn easily! I figure somebody from Texas like you ought to know about such things!

John

Quick update Day 8.

4:00pm, at a Denny's on the Interstate maybe ten miles west of Texarkana, in Arkansas.

I left my host's place fifty miles back in Linden TX about 9am, Texarkana by noon. Stopped in a convenience store to add water and... a slow flat in the back tire. Couldn't find the cause of the flat, switched out the tube to await developments.

While changing the tube I struck up conversation with a gentleman from Little Rock, a bicycle tourer yet, who gave me helpful suggestions and a phone number to possibly meet himself and his daughter (who also tours).

Between conversing and tire changing an hour was gone, so I figured I might as well stop to eat and read the paper and make it a two hour break.

Ninety minutes ridiing again and I was around the loop on the east side on rt 67, about 140 miles of that (2 days) between here and Little Rock.

Prob'ly Hope tonight or possibly Prescott, for a seventy or ninety mile day depending.

Pics to follow.

Birdwatcher

Best get your snake bite medicine at Fulton, just before you cross the Red River. Long bunch of dry counties. miles

Did the construction on I-30 slow you down?

Running up old 67, parallels the Interstate.

Birdy.....FYI....you can always get free ice from any Mickey D's....keep trucking!

http://www.slime.com/shop/smart-bike-tubes-presta-valve/

http://www.slime.com/shop/smart-bike-tubes-schrader-valve/


birdie,try some of these,you wont have a flat again on the trip!

0keep diggin your doing good. rio7

Day 8: A 75 mile day. I'm here at the William Jefferson Clinton Hotel here in Hope AR, I have the presidential suite. I ain't touching ANYTHING.

My host Jerry and Martha in Linden last night were located through warmshowers.org, a hospitality organization serving touring cyclists. Their hospitality was splendid

Old lions: Here's Jerry and a couple of his buddies. I'm new to bicycle circles, but it was about exactly like hanging around the motorcycle crowd during my motorcycle period.



59 north of Linden. Free of chip-seal at last, the going is faster and smoother, a whole gear ratio up



One State Line down, six more to go......



That was a humongous storm in the background, heading east. I just missed it, came in behind it just as it passed

Highway 67 southwest of Hope, approaching the Red River. That is Interstate 30 what made 67 obsolete.



And here's the storied Red River itself...



Birdwatcher

Congrats! Glad to see that wide shoulder to ride on.