TheSouth2011

Day 3

Sunday, 29 May 2011
Cape Girardeau, MO to Murray, KY
97.2 miles, 7h43m, 12.6 mph
Elapsed Time: 9h50m, Max speed: 30.1mph
Total Climbing: 4215ft, Max elevation: 578ft
Total mileage: 239.2

A long, long day. Very hot. The wind was against me, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Still, by the end I was ready to be finished.

I got an early start--rolling out at 7am. It was an easy ride across Cape Girardeau on the main highway and over the river on the spectacular bridge that I could not take a good picture of.

Looking down the Mississippi from the bridge. The river is considerably wider than normal.
This was my 13th crossing of the Mississippi River by bicycle, and the last crossing on this trip.

On the Illinois side the waters had not yet receded from last month's floods.

This guy isn't gonna be doing any farming for a while. I think he uses the tractor to get
down his driveway.

The sign is probably not necessary.

Farmers pumping out the fields.

A few houses in Olive Branch, IL were surrounded by sand bags. Not sure if they
were effective, but the neighborhood is littered with the bags.

Not sure if this is a place or a prediction.

Cairo, IL used to be a big city. Now it is a small city with a lot of empty space.

The Magnolia House attests to the city's former glory.

The old downtown business district...not so much.

I was hoping to visit Fort Defiance State Park and photograph the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi.
It was under water. So, the confluence is right around here somewhere.

These are my helpers: Linda, a Dodge Durango, and my bike.
All except the bike are going away tomorrow. Sad face.

I rode across the Ohio River on the Cairo Bridge, and on to the small town of Wickliffe. I met Linda there and we grabbed some lunch at a convenience store and ate at a picnic table at the Wickliffe Mounds State Park. The breeze kept it cool and kept the bugs away.

Then there was a long 30-mile grind to Mayfield. It was unremarkable except I have to complain about Kentucky's use of rumble strips.

A two-foot shoulder with a two-foot rumble strip in it. Unbelieveable.

I called Linda and asked her to investigate the route to Murray. I wanted a nice big highway with a wide shoulder so I could relax and listen to my iPod. On these crappy little two-lanes I had to stay alert. That was getting tiresome.

I also asked Linda to find me some ice cream. She found a DQ. (Note the tan lines).

It was about 25 miles from Mayfield to Murray down the big KY80 highway. Linda brought me pizza for dinner.

I'm going to have to re-route tomorrow and skip the Land-Between-the-Lakes. It would be another 90-miler. By skipping I can cut it down to a more realistic 75 miles. I think it's supposed to be hot again tomorrow.

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