Mile After Mile
Sunday
We got an early start to the day. The weather was cool and humid. The sky was clear.
We took secondary roads through southern Alabama. We on the way to Montgomery we passed forests and hills. There was little traffic and the ride was very peaceful.
We attempted to take a coffee break at this McDonald’s. The staff was focused on serving the drive-thru customers. There was no one at the register. Beth attempted to use the kiosk, but it wouldn’t take the payment and spit out a receipt for someone else’s order. We gave up and left. It’s getting harder and harder to stop in at a McDonald’s, order a senior coffee and sit down for a few minutes. That’s why we are looking for Dunkin’ restaurants.
We had lunch at a rest area.
We passed through Birmingham.
The afternoon was plenty hot with temperatures in the low 90s. We were able to get an afternoon cup of coffee at a McDonald’s in a Love’s truck stop.
The station was very busy – we had to wait to get a pump. While I was getting gas, a car pulled up to a pump across from me. The family got out and went into the store. They didn’t get gas; they just parked there. How much ruder can people be?
We pulled into our hotel mid-afternoon. We covered about 380 miles today.
We were able to park in front of our room.
Last night we took our hosts to dinner. Tonight we had leftovers from last night’s dinner. Such a bargain.
Monday
Here’s a short video with scenes from today’s ride.
It was sunny and not too warm as we left our hotel in Tupelo, MS.
We had coffee at a McDonald’s. This store was not crowded and had a person at the cash register to take our order.
We were moving along really quickly on 4-lane roads. We made it through Memphis without too much trouble. We had 300 miles to cover, but it looked like we’d get to our hotel around 1 p.m., so we had some time to kill. We stopped for lunch at a nice mom ‘n pop restaurant in Hardy, AR.
There was free parking in the municipal lot. Beth figured, “While in Arkansas, have the chicken fried steak!” The portion was massive but delicious. I chose a bacon and cheese omelet.
The afternoon was very hot – close to 100 degrees. We did a little shopping at Walmart, then checked into our hotel in Mountain Home, AR. Showers were tops on our list of things to do. I had a beer and a nap. After dark we had a dip in the swimming pool.
On to Oklahoma tomorrow.
Thanks for the video! It was fun to ride along! 👍👍
You’re welcome.
Love the blogs but especially liked the video. Thanks for sharing.
You’re welcome. I may do a couple more videos, but they take a long time to create.
You were an hr 15 min from us in Mtn Home!! That’s our ‘go-to’ for vitamins, eat out, dr, etc. lots of my family lives there. Beautiful little place with lots of good people. Lots of retirees move there. Thanks for sharing your ride.
Mountain Home looked like a popular place. The lake is an attraction for sure.
Thanks for the video
👍
I really enjoyed the video Tim,as well as following along on your adventures!My wife Debbie and I are planning a trip to smoky mtn bike week at the end of sept in Maryville.Your website really helps me .Stay safe&Hi to Beth!!
Thanks Mark. Enjoy the Smokies.
Love the video. Passing those big truck was scary.
Scary is why I included those scenes, but it’s not really any worse than passing in a car.
Cool Video, so many epic miles you have gone on your bikes!
👍
I love the various forms used to share your info–quite interesting! We like traveling the back roads too, where some great people live…who really know how to cook!! Have fun!
Thank you.
Thank you for the ride. What type of video camera do you have and how is it attached to the bike? Does it run all the time?
The camera is a Insta 360 X-5. I bought the motorcycle kit that includes a handlebar clamp. I added a selfie stick and a remote control. I put it in a 5-minute loop mode. It runs most of the time.