Breast Cancer Ride Day 10 Clarksdale MS, to Memphis, TN

Clarksdale, MS to Memphis, TN

Distance 91 miles
Travel Time 10 hours
Ride time 7 hours
Speed 12.8 mph

Ground Zero in Clarksdale, "the Crossroads", birthplace of the Mississippi Delta Blues

On occasion, there is a day or a ride, where everything flows together in a harmonious whole. The road surface is good, the weather fine, fellow riders are in good humor, the sights are interesting, the SAG stops are neither too close or too far in between, there are other interesting stops, the terrain is varied enough to prevent white line fever and the miles just click off while the feet dance on the pedals.

Today’s ride was such ride.

Perhaps we were all feeling relaxed knowing that this was the last really long day for a while and that there was a rest day in Memphis coming up. Maybe after three 85 mile days back to back followed by a 120 mile day against strong headwinds, and then another 65 across hot, fields and levees without shade but with continual moderated headwinds, everyone was trained in and feeling ready and able to tackle this relatively “shorter” long distance with confidence and ease. Whatever the cause, each and every one of the women remarked on how good a day it had been.

At the route and map meeting last evening, the highlighted comment of 1.5 mile hill begins at mile 77.7 was met with dismay and discouragement. Everyone was so fixated on this hill that the guide decided not to mention the three or four steeper shorter hills early on in the ride. By this time I had done enough playing with granny gears to be only mildly disconcerted by the slopes and managed to get up them in reasonable form without having to resort to the lowest and easiest of my granny gears. It also helped that they were shady and that it was early in the day, still cool and quiet traffic wise. For a change, at least in contrast to the Natchez Trace hills, these actually had down slopes and it was possible to reach some really heady speeds in the highest gears with a minimal of effort. I tend to be a coward at anything above about 25 mph and start braking and slowing as I start to fantasize just how far an errant piece of gravel or road sludge could throw me at those speeds, but even my timid 24 mph was thrilling.

Early morning in a cypress swamp

My riding companion Linda and I were so intent on getting in some serious miles while it was still cool that we started out relatively early with the middle of the pack. We stopped briefly to admire sunrise on a cypress swamp, and again at the SAG wagon which was parked across from a ranch with a yard full of “public art” cutouts of cows, giant roosters, cowboys, sheep, a life size 3 dimensional dinosaurs and a line of about 30 old tractors circling the field. It was obviously a local tourist attraction as cars were pulling off the road all around us to look and take pictures.

"Public Art" at a local "tourist attraction"

Our next break was in the small town of Drew. Typical of most of the small towns we have passed through on this trip, the main street, running parallel to the train tracks, was only partially functional with many boarded up store fronts and neglected structures. Also typical of many of the small towns, our arrival was noted and locals sitting on porches and stoops wandered over to the gas station to check us out. Several called other friends who suddenly developed an urgent need to buy gas or moon pies and hastened over in cars. One of the women in the group, who arrived just after us, is of Northern German heritage and has been being introduced to all things southern by various ladies. When we heard that she had never had a moon pie, we of course had to buy one for her. 6 of us spent a pleasant half hour sitting on the rail road track (the only sit upon surface other than our bikes that was available), in the shade, eating moon pie, drinking “cocola” and chatting with the locals. The guys all wanted to know “why?” The women all seemed wistful about maybe being able to do something similar “someday.”

We gathered our resources and headed off up the road to the aforementioned and dreaded 1.5 mile hill, which turned out to be a long gradual highway on ramp, not nearly as difficult or as painful as we had been led to believe. In fact, I got through about three quarters of it without ever shifting down into the lower gears. I did shift out at the last little incline up onto the overpass, but the general opinion was that the earlier hills should have been mentioned and this one ignored in the notes. On a side road next to the overpass there was a small country store, gas station. We took our last SAG break here, sitting on the porch, eating pickled eggs and playing with a little kitten that lived under the porch with his littermates. All four ladies of the group, myself included, were cat owners and feeling in need of a kitty fix, so the kitten got thoroughly loved, cuddled, petted and photographed.

Linda Pietras, a riding companion from Rhode Island, getting a kitten fix

Janet Bee, another riding companion from Sacramento, CA, getting her kitten fix

We had been warned to ride as a group into Memphis, as the locals felt we were going in through some of the less desirable areas of the city, so the four of us paced ourselves to remain as a group for the last 25 miles. The winds were truly behind us, the road was level with an occasional gentle roll, most of the way the surface was as good as any we’ve had, and there was enough of a shoulder to get out of the way of traffic. It was truly a blissful, easy 25 miles. We joked and laughed, took turns riding lead and tail, and let our feet dance on the pedals.

After pausing at the bridge over the river, the state line and the town limits, for obligatory photos, the last 5 miles or so were through suburbs. It was mid afternoon on a Sunday, church was out and people sitting out on their lawns and porches waved, hollered hello, and gave us thumbs up.

The downtown traffic on Third Street was a little fraught, but with four of us, we could take a lane and maneuver easily enough through the stop lights. . So much noise, traffic and civilization were a bit of shock to the system after the peace and quiet of the fields and levees. We knew that we were within sight of the hotel, showers and food, so nobody was much upset by it. I found out later that the national junior leukemia benefit triathlon team had just finished its’ regional competition and there was a congratulatory jubilation of music and bands in the heart of downtown. Plus it was a beautiful Sunday afternoon to just hang on the street and people watch.

That is the end of this ride, but not of future rides. My sister and I are both already signed up for the Underground Railroad Ride, from Mobile, Alabama to New Town Ontario, next year at about this time. Having done this ride and wishing I had signed up for the whole thing, I have hopes that next year I will feel confident enough and strong enough to do the whole 1929 miles. We’ll see. In the meantime, I wouldn’t have missed this experience for anything.

Jan, Janet and Marni "crossing over" at the Memphis City Limits