2009-04-25 I peddled another hundred-mile-plus day. That probably wasn't a smart thing to do as evidenced by how wore out I am, but I got it in my head I was going to make it to a hotel in Fordyce before dark. Today's geography was definitely a two-parter. It's amazing to me how quickly the road transitioned from flat farmland to rolling hills of forest. At the same time, it is kind of impressive how wide the Mississippi River valley is. I stopped for lunch at a grocery store in Demont. The cashier commented loudly that I would want to get out of Demont quickly. I asked what was wrong with Demont. Everybody stared at me in silence for a minute. "Have a safe ride," one of them said. One of my peddles had been acting up again. It sounded and felt like a bearing was going out. A bearing might still be going out, but the store manager in Demont was nice enough to saturate it with WD-40 so it is at least dying in silence. I saw two ladders on the side of the road today. Significance? No idea. I keep getting asked why I am biking. It seems I'm supposed to be biking for a cause. I guess you're only supposed to act like a freak if you are raising awareness for something important. Maybe I should give this some more thought.

snake gauntlet Welcome to Arkansas Mississippi River