Day 15 - vancleave

Well, today was a lot of fun. it was everything a bike tour should be. I rode 67 miles from poplarville to vancleave, ms. I didn't even pass a gas station all day. It was easily the most rural day of riding yet, and one of the most enjoyable. after spending most of the last 2 days on the highway, it was very nice to take some back roads and skip the traffic. I was glad to be back on the aca route and off the mississippi highways with rumble strips and no shoulder.
Steve and tanya left early this morning but I was up in time to say farewell. I made a nice big breakfast and departed soon after. It was cold and hilly starting off. I felt particularly slow but I knew that if I took my time eventually my legs would warm up. Theres no point in going too hard too early when youre going to be riding all day. I probably stopped 5 times in the first 20 miles, for photos, nibbles and relaxation. I had to pay particular attention to my route today as there were lots of forks and turns.
much of the ride today went through forested area, probably either timber production or hunting land. There was also lots of red clay and sand visible from the road. I found myself thinking about the 3 civil rights workers murdered in 1964, buried at first in similar clay, and also about the murder of medgar evers. Both crimes took place within a hundred miles of here. While I appreciate the desire of anyone to preserve their heritage, every confederate flag I see makes me wonder exactly which ideas they want to preserve. However, racially charged iconography notwithstanding, it is a very pretty part of the country. some of today's ride took me through desoto national forest.
I found some really big pine cones from some really old pine trees, and did a little holiday decorating of my own. when I made it to vancleave, I stopped by the grocery store to get something for dinner. I made my way to the camping spot, and was pleasantly surprised to learn that I could sleep inside of a storage pavilion with a roof, 4 walls (actually 8) and a space heater. it is truly luxurious.
thanks to everyone who's been sending me positive feedback from the blog. I'm glad you're enjoying it. everything for the event in pensacola seems to the going forward, and the next 3 days should be quite nice riding.