Above...People fishing on the Pascagoula River in the Pascagoula Wildlife Management Area near Vancleave, MS.Below...My typical view of day 7...pasture and lots of it.
Toughest day so far and part of it was my fault. But first, the riding conditions. My first day experiencing Mississippi roads on my bicycle will not be remembered fondly. The roads are rough and bumpy with no shoulder to speak of. There were times when the road had a 12 inch or more drop off right where the white line ended (when there was a white line). Weather played into the tough day also. Day 7 will also be remembered as the first bad wind day. Strong gusts were coming from the North and by the end of the day out of the West. As luck would have it, those patterns followed today's route. Now for my fault...And it was a HUGE rookie mistake. Although I didn't get lost I totally misread the map in assuming that after Vancleave there were two other towns on the route before reaching my final destination of Poplarville. I was wrong...there were no towns. This rookie mistake translated into me pedaling the last 73 miles with no food. In Vancleave I had a banana and a pear. I almost ran out of water but came upon a church that had an outdoor water faucet which was somewhat of a life-saver. By the time I reached Poplarville, I was spent. The last 30 miles was brutal. The wind was fierce. I was tired and hungry. I've already packed away a few granola bars so this doesn't happen again.
After it was all over I pedaled 125.54 miles. Total miles for the trip: 727.61. Tomorrow I'm taking it easy with a 50-60 mile ride.
Saddle time: 54 hours, 19 minutes, 10 seconds.
2 comments:
At least you made that mistake now, and not in the middle of Arizona or New Mexico
Looks like good riding weather. Could you post your Facebook link and tell how to pledge a per mile amount or the best way. Ride safely.
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