Training Wheels Issue #6

Hi Folks
      We’ve been out of reach, but thinking of you.

      Anyone planning to connect with us in BHAM, can call us at Rosemary’s 205-967-5092 from Thur 9-20 to Sun morning 9-23. On Thurs, 9-27, we will be at Bill Ray and Nancy Perrine’’s in Statesboro,GA and on Sat 9-29, the journey will be complete at Tybee Island. Rooms are still available. We would love to see you Each day we think and talk of you.

NEW CYCLE TERMINOLOGY :

• Squaw Duty-the task of riding with Alinda
• Sqauw Escort-one rider in front of the squaw, one rider behind the squaw-usuallly performed in high traffic areas.

Who is Johhny Jordan?
      Also known as “Tommy John”. 24 year old bachelor who is compassionate, helpful, knowledgeable, a great driver, a real catch, a new convert to Heart Zone Training and a future roadie. Thanks for all your help!

Who is “Sleepy”John Howerton?
      An Adventurer at Heart, a comedian by nature, and a man full of experience and laughter. His quote from Andrew Jackson has become a part of the trip “I feel sorry for a man who has so little imagination that he can spell a word only one way.”

"Que Pasa" (what's happening):

• Sept 6th Rest Day & Transition Day in Tulsa
        Saying goodbye to Rebel and Torula was tough. “Medicine Woman Torula” made Alinda a pappose and placed Pappose in Alinda’s bladder (Camelback worn for water thruout the day.) Torula made Nick an “artsy”cup, and presented Bobby with the herbal mix “Bobby Booster.” The goodbye to Rebel was sad. She had been involved for months----planning, routing, implementing, organizing Training Wheels, everything! But Furman University awaits. She had ridden over 650 miles in 2 weeks!Great job.
        However, a new chapter began-Johnny Jordon, Nick’s boyhood school mate flew into Tulsa (sponsored by Power Properties of B’ham). Johnny became sag man. Prior to leaving Tulsa, Bobby spent the afternoon at Bikes of Tulsa with Pat Coyle trying to get a stronger back rim. (This is Bobby’s 3rd rim on the trip.) Pat gave us prompt service but the rim has not been the solution.
• Sept 7 th Ft Supply, OK>>Hinton OK 118 miles Our new mileage record. OK has dealt us every type of wind-Headwinds (mostly), crosswinds, tumbleweed twisters, but this afternoon, we were blessed with a tailwind. At Hinton, we camped in the beautiful Red Rock Canyon State Park-protected from a strong wind. Johnny and Nick built our first camp fire and then we were visited by a raccoon. The scenery in OK looked like TN, rolling, green, then it became a dust bowl. The dust was thick, we were covered, but in the canyon, we were surrounded by lucious green and no wind. Red Rock Canyon is definitely on the “return” list.
            
  Cyclists, OK has great roads, nice shoulders & friendly drivers. It is a real treat!

   

• Sept 8th- Hinton, OK>>15 miles East Tecumseh,OK Dist. 92 miles A great morning ride full of rolling hills. Then the shock-Norman, OK, home of the OK Sooners-Home Football Game-OK vs North Texas U Everyone from northern TX and OK was there! Rt 9 actually joins I 35 and we became a part of the mass. The police sirened us to get off the interstate, Bobby had a flat, and Johnny manuevered the “sag” thru tons of traffic. Past Norman is a large casino. The rest of OK was there. We “threw in the towel” for safety sake. Thunderbird State Park was home for the night-nice lake. At this point, Bobby removed his front pack because his castings were tearing and shifting was diminishing. However, during this day, we visited Tuttle, the site of the Chisholm Trail first settlement and school site. Chisholm trail was the pioneer trail used from 1870 to 1930.
            
  
• Sept 9 th- 15 East Tecumseh,OK>>Whitefield, OK dist 118 miles A great day for riding-cool 65 degree morning, blue sky, cattle and horses in green pastures, no traffic, great shoulders, and a midday milkshake. Thoughts of the WV MS 150 riders-We are proud of all of you! Congrats to the first timers-Christi O’Neil-Lynch, Alain Guet, Betsy Wiles.( These are the ones we know about)
            
  
• Sept 10 th- Whitefield, OK>>Mansfield, AR Distance 78.5 miles From rolling hills to steep rolling hills of AR. Crossed the Arkanas border into Hartford, first home of Hartford Music Co. Population 750. All towns in Ar have population signs. Lots of chicken houses. Valleys are wide but there are mountains on both sides.
        Before leaving OK, Scout Nick make a wrong turn and “scouted Fort Smith, AR” We waited for him (2 hours) in Poteau, Ok. Making good use of her time, Alinda talked to a few OK folks and learned of Dorthea’s in Wister, OK (about 8 miles out of the way). Dorthea’s is a beauty shop specializing in Frankoma pottery-an OK specialty. As Alinda put it “ I need 30 minutes and a Visa card” Two hours later with significantly less cash, we departed Dorthea’s. Dorthea and her brother were a treat -both born and raised in Wister , they were a mark of OK.
            
  
• Sept 11th- Mansfield, AR>>Perryville, AR Dist 105.82 Riding from Mansfield, a passerby pulled over, rolled his window down and said” Have you heard the news?” Nick said “What news?” The man told us of the attack. We were shocked. Later, we stopped at a gas station/ laundry and watched TV. It was hard for us to mentally focus. We thought of our immediate families and friends in DC, Atlanta, Belgium, NY. We prayed for the people who lost families, we talked about our nation. Bobby told us we must focus and ride. We were solemn.
• Sept 12th- Perryville>>Cotton Plant, AR Dist 102 ALINDA’S 45th Bday!!! From the hills to the cotton fields, the roads were good. A bee stung Alinda, but didn’t slow her. Still talking of the nation, we began to realize we were in the “Eat, Sleep, Cycle” mode. Slept in a gravel truck lot and ate a stirfry dinner and cookie dough. A birthday to remember.
• Sept 13th- Cotton Plant, AR>>Sledge, MS Distance 92 miles Parked for a Rest Break and met Bill Henderson, an AR gentleman who showed us his fish pond. Bill called us “Neighbor” and we enjoyed his Arkanas humor. At a dilapidated old grocery in West Helena, we rested and met Sandra Beckwood. When we told her of our travels, she exclaimed “It is something to do.” Then she proceeded down the street to investigate who was to be sentenced at the court house, assuring us that it was not her. The police wanted us to move on and we proceeded to cross the MISSISSIPPI! Big bridge, big river, little shoulder.
        Then the Shocks: The State of Mississippi has NO shoulders, only large yellow gravel. A cyclist’s nightmare. MS drivers think they are “Mario Andretti,” and on a race track holding the white line. Rednecks are real! Discourteous. At least 1 in 4 drivers were dangerous! Even grandmas. Some of the roads on the map do not exist.
        Therefore, Chief Bobby renavigated and we tried the county roads where folks were slower. At this point, we decided to try to get out of MS fast and in the shortest distance possible.
• Sept. 14th- Sledge,MS >>10 miles North Okoloma, MS Dist 106 miles Sardis Dam Rt 315 was closed due to the nation’s emergency (US Army Corp of Engineers); however they allowed us to pass. Thanks guys. As WV mountain folks, we found the only hills in MS and rode them. By this time, Johnny our sag man, has ridden the bike 350 miles during his stint. He had never ridden a road bike.
• Sept 15th- 10 miles North Okaloma>>Amory, MS Rest DAY Dist 33 miles Scout Nick has decided to ride to BHAM and visit a Pocohantas. He left early and rode 125 miles.
        Alinda, Bobby, and Johnny put in a morning prior to “WalMart “ rush hour and then kick back at a Days Inn, pool, big shower, creature comforts.
• Sept 16th- Amory, MS>>Aliceville, AL 93 miles At 7:30 the official change of the sag. Johnny Jordan hands the keys to John Howerton. John, partner in Power Properties and a guy that can get you a great deal on a vehicle, computer, etc takes over. We have only one worry… Will John sell our rig?
        Crossing into AL early, this is one of the Best rides of the trip. AL has good roads, pretty towns, courteous drivers. American flags and red, white and blue ribbons pepper our path. At Carrolton, a smiley face is painted at the top of the Courthouse. (Supposedly to replace the imprint of a man who was to be hung and was struck by lightning as he peered thru the pane on the night preceding his impending death---from the tales of the 13 ghosts of AL) John is full of AL history.
        Alinda’s cable breaks and she rides 20 miles with 2 gears.
• Sept 17th- Aliceville, AL >>Maplesville, AL Distance 102 miles Great road, old homes, small county jails, but rolling hills. We thought these areas would be flatter. No luck. John keeps us entertained…by mistake John has taken Tyenol PM in the middle of the day and keeps falling asleep, but an ice cream perks him up at the old country store at Sprott. Nice folks there.
            
  
• Sept 18th- Maplesville>2 miles east Roanoke, AL We are ahead of schedule. Nick meets us in Alexander City, home of Russell Athletic Clothing. Nick rides from BHAM and together we travel toward Roanoke. We learn the Piedmont hills are real hills. Toward evening we decide to head to BHAM where we will restock, do laundry and stake out at Rosemarys.

WHAT IS UNIQUE ON THIS TRIP?
      A sign in OK at a Beer/Gas Station:

God Rules, Jesus Saves, Satan Sucks

• Bobby identified by red sun strips on his bald head (helmet strips)
• Alinda -the “brown nose” no tan on upper face
• Nick-who knows where the tan lines are….he washes his clothes by jumping in the pool

Physical findings:
SCIENITIFIC RESEARCH CONDUCTED DURING TRIP
Written for the optometric followers
      “The Effects of Useage of a Cycle Helmet Mirror on the Extraocular Muscles and Visual Adaptation” With Bobby as the subject, Alinda was back to her days of “optometric clinical trails.” After 3 weeks, Bobby began to notice, lateral rectus stress of the left eye. Alinda suspects overusage of the lateral rectus due to continuous concentric contraction with eccentric contraction of the medial rectus. Result: Stress of the extraocular muscles and difficulty with frontal gaze. Solution: Discontinue use of the cycle mirror until extraocular muscles have recovered.
      This was a great subject between squaw and chief for a couple days. Lots to talk about on the road. Ha!

CONCLUDING THOUGHTS FOR THIS ISSUE :