Day 22, Livingston Alabama to Greenville Alabama
Sunday, October 02, 2011 Category: Bike Ride
Today was an interesting day. For some reason, I have had some Gastro-intestinal issues. I was up for a good part of the night, using the bathroom. Susan gave me some Imodium this morning to see if that would help. This morning at the beginning of the ride, my stomach was doing flip flops, and I had some thought about stopping after the first rest stop at 28 miles. I talked to Lon Haldeman, and he gave me 3 Pepto Bismol tablets, and 5 tums. I took all of this and headed off again. After some time, my stomach issues started to moderate. I was good for most of the ride, but the last miles were a struggle, probably due to the lack of sleep the night before.
The ride today was really great in many respects. The day started out with temperatures in the 40s, and it was cold! I had extra clothes, which were dropped off at the first SAG. The temperature highs were in the 70s, and the day was cool and windy for most of the day. The climbs were good, since they were more gently rolling hills. I really like those kind of climbs! Of course, we had about 4200 feet of climbing for the day, and some of the larger climbs were close to the end of the day.
The road surfaces were better today, and we seemed to travel less over chip sealed roads. Chip seal is a pavement surface treatment that combines a layer or layers of asphalt with a layer or layers of fine (sometimes not so fine) aggregate. Chip seals are typically used on rural roads carrying lower traffic volumes, and the process is often referred to as “asphaltic surface treatment.” The problem for bicycles is the aggregate, which makes the roads rougher than smooth asphalt surfaces. These roads are the biggest contributors to numb hands!
We passed through some very beautiful country. Traveling on backroads, we go through a lot of small towns. I have seem plenty of mainly Baptist churches. Traveling through rural countryside also provides plenty of loose dogs that love to chase bicycles. Today, I was chased by a dog who was running ahead of me while I was doing close to 30 mph. Fortunately, he tired before anything serious happened.
Tomorrow, we travel to Eufaula Alabama. It will be a 112 mile trip with about 4900 feet of climbing. We have two more big climbing days, with the last two days being much more moderate with regard to climbs. Can’t believe this will all be over in 4 days. It has been one fantastic “Epic Journey”.
Click here for today’s pictures
The ride today was really great in many respects. The day started out with temperatures in the 40s, and it was cold! I had extra clothes, which were dropped off at the first SAG. The temperature highs were in the 70s, and the day was cool and windy for most of the day. The climbs were good, since they were more gently rolling hills. I really like those kind of climbs! Of course, we had about 4200 feet of climbing for the day, and some of the larger climbs were close to the end of the day.
The road surfaces were better today, and we seemed to travel less over chip sealed roads. Chip seal is a pavement surface treatment that combines a layer or layers of asphalt with a layer or layers of fine (sometimes not so fine) aggregate. Chip seals are typically used on rural roads carrying lower traffic volumes, and the process is often referred to as “asphaltic surface treatment.” The problem for bicycles is the aggregate, which makes the roads rougher than smooth asphalt surfaces. These roads are the biggest contributors to numb hands!
We passed through some very beautiful country. Traveling on backroads, we go through a lot of small towns. I have seem plenty of mainly Baptist churches. Traveling through rural countryside also provides plenty of loose dogs that love to chase bicycles. Today, I was chased by a dog who was running ahead of me while I was doing close to 30 mph. Fortunately, he tired before anything serious happened.
Tomorrow, we travel to Eufaula Alabama. It will be a 112 mile trip with about 4900 feet of climbing. We have two more big climbing days, with the last two days being much more moderate with regard to climbs. Can’t believe this will all be over in 4 days. It has been one fantastic “Epic Journey”.
Click here for today’s pictures
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