Short Route-Rally Day #1: 24.42 miles
Comments: Ride Time was 1 hour 43 minutes, average speed: 14.1
We packed up the bike and headed south driving past New Madrid where we saw our first field of cotton. At first glance the fields appeared to be filled with newly fallen snow. We crossed the Mississippi River into Tennessee at mid-morning and reached our destination in Alabama just missing the 1:00 p.m. scheduled ride start but we needn’t worry as I printed the Friday route sheets before we left home. We readied our bike and set off introducing our Rans tires to their first Alabama roadway. Since we approached the remote start in Oakland before reaching our hotel in Florence, we decided to ride the mapped route first and then check into our hotel room.
As we biked, we had plenty of opportunity to see more cotton fields. I had a sudden urge to experience what it would have been like to pick cotton as the slaves did in the old south. The bike came to a halt and I jumped off and quickly plucked some souvenir cotton begging forgiveness as we continued down the road. After the 24-mile ride, we packed the bike back in the van and navigated to the Marriott Shoals Hotel & Spa in Florence, Alabama. This hotel could have been called the “Ritz”. The complex sat on a hill above the Tennessee River and we had a gorgeous view from our window. We settled into our room and then went looking for the rally registration table.
We learned that a social event was planned for 6:00 p.m. at the Alabama Music Hall of Fame. It was here where we had our first flavorful taste of Alabama and boy was it good—Chess pie and banana pudding! This was such a unique social and we were so welcomed by the staff of the Music Hall. Only tandem riders were allowed in the museum at this time. The main attraction was the touring bus once used by the group, Alabama. The bus was placed in the Hall before completion and the walls were then built around it.
Following the social event, we drove back to the hotel to get ready for our next day of riding in Alabama. We are excited to view the forecast predicting ultimate biking conditions for Saturday—no wind and mild temps!
Comments: Ride Time was 1 hour 43 minutes, average speed: 14.1
We packed up the bike and headed south driving past New Madrid where we saw our first field of cotton. At first glance the fields appeared to be filled with newly fallen snow. We crossed the Mississippi River into Tennessee at mid-morning and reached our destination in Alabama just missing the 1:00 p.m. scheduled ride start but we needn’t worry as I printed the Friday route sheets before we left home. We readied our bike and set off introducing our Rans tires to their first Alabama roadway. Since we approached the remote start in Oakland before reaching our hotel in Florence, we decided to ride the mapped route first and then check into our hotel room.
As we biked, we had plenty of opportunity to see more cotton fields. I had a sudden urge to experience what it would have been like to pick cotton as the slaves did in the old south. The bike came to a halt and I jumped off and quickly plucked some souvenir cotton begging forgiveness as we continued down the road. After the 24-mile ride, we packed the bike back in the van and navigated to the Marriott Shoals Hotel & Spa in Florence, Alabama. This hotel could have been called the “Ritz”. The complex sat on a hill above the Tennessee River and we had a gorgeous view from our window. We settled into our room and then went looking for the rally registration table.
We learned that a social event was planned for 6:00 p.m. at the Alabama Music Hall of Fame. It was here where we had our first flavorful taste of Alabama and boy was it good—Chess pie and banana pudding! This was such a unique social and we were so welcomed by the staff of the Music Hall. Only tandem riders were allowed in the museum at this time. The main attraction was the touring bus once used by the group, Alabama. The bus was placed in the Hall before completion and the walls were then built around it.
Following the social event, we drove back to the hotel to get ready for our next day of riding in Alabama. We are excited to view the forecast predicting ultimate biking conditions for Saturday—no wind and mild temps!
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