Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Southern Hospitality Gainesville-style Day 7







Like many of us "up north" my views of the southern states are a bit out of date...say by about 50 years or so! Yesterday really brought home this point to me.
We contacted Rob and Lynn Mullins via a website called "warmshowers.org", a long distance bicycling website where members allow cyclists to stay in their homes, camp in their yards etc.

It is customary to give a few days notice to your potential hosts that you'll be in the area and in need of a shower, etc. However, due to a little route changing on our part we were only able to give about 20 hours notice or so to the Mullins'. They gave us directions to their home, and we were on our way the next morning out of York.

We arrived in Gainesville a bit earlier than expected, and caught everyone a little off guard. But we were invited right in to their beautiful antebellum home and really made to feel welcome! After a few cold soft drinks, the obligatory toilet calls, and a little interneting, Rob and his friend Jimmy helped us load our bikes into the back of Rob's truck and drove us out to their hunting lodge. We stopped along the way to pick up an excellent lunch that Rob ordered for us at what is perhaps the smallest restaurant I've ever seen... but the food was outstanding!!

The lodge was a really cool setup, complete with a bass pond where April and Andy tried their luck... April introduced a new technique into the time-honored traditions of southern Bass fishing in the form of uncontrolled giggling! I was watching with Jimmy from the upper deck of the lodge and it was hilarious!! She was totally weirded out by the fish, but made a fairly good showing of herself none-the-less.

Supper was prepared for us by Lynn, and it was a FEAST!! Fruit salad, Spaghetti with home-made sauce, garlic bread, salads, the works... it was absolutely to die for and totally over the top!! Especially when compared to the meager things we'd brought along to eat in our panniers. Joining us at supper was their son Dane, Jimmy and his family, and the whole affair made us feel right at home and part of the family! A GREAT BIG THANK YOU goes out to the Mullins and their friends in Gainesville, it really felt good to be part of "the family" so far from home.

Everywhere we've been in Alabama we've been treated with kindness, courtesy, and respect that has been at times overwhelming. The genuine hospitality and generosity that has been consistently shown us has truly made this trip a pleasure and has really made me aware of my own mis-conceptions and biases with regard to the the deep south. Our "Minnesota Nice" seems to pale by comparison to the everyday generosity and traditional southern hospitality of the good people of Alabama.

Speaking of Hospitality, the ladies at the library in Aliceville were a HOOT! They were of course a wealth of information, but it was delivered with such personality that I was literally in tears laughing on several occassions! As Andy is a bit restless, he was doing push-ups on the stairs while we conversed, and Nelda stated that he was just like a "rat on acid"... and of course we just fell over!!! I've attached a photo of these ladies, and I'd STRONGLY recommend travelling miles out of your way to visit if you're ever in the area!

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Day 6 York




We hit the road early at 6am to avoid the heat, and made it to York in great time... not to jinx ourselves, but we're sort of getting used to the hills. We are staying at Altman visiting artist residence courtesy of Prof. Tony Wright's friends Tut and Harry Riddick. They started this amazing space about 20 years ago, and it is now absolutely full of beautiful art works of every shape size and medium. The facility is made up a several restored storefronts from the turn of the last century.

Our host is an outspoken and generous lady named Marilyn Gordon. She is a fiber artist from Mobile, and travels to York to work and collaborate with her long time collaborative and creative partner Lilly. You will be able to see their work on display at the Northland College Gallery beginning around Thanksgiving time this fall. The work consists of beautiful hand-made jackets, and other clothing items that have been reclaimed from various material sources.

After a long nap, huge supper and great conversation we're ready for a full nights rest. Its been a long day, and being as we have to be up at 5am, its lights out at 10pm.

Day 4 and 5, Butler Alabama day off


We arrived without mishap into Butler and promptly checked into the Western Inn were Andy was waiting. Andy has taken to riding on ahead and checking things out. I was going to tie an old tire behind his bike as a drag to slow him down, but this situation works out well enough!

Today we'll spend doing laundry and generally bumming around. There is no internet access open due to Memorial day, so this post will be entered later. We are also going to do a bit of bike maintenance and tuning to make sure everything is running smoothly and safely.

One cool note is that as we entered Butler, a man in a red pickup flagged us down and handed April a Powerade, and told her that he had seen us pulling out the previous morning and that we were doing great! Nice to have made some fans along the way.

On the down side, we are TOTALLY in a blank area as far as cell phone reception is concerned. We literally have the no service message and thats it... fortunately we've all got calling cards and can stop at a pay phone from time to time. However with the advent of cellular service, pay phones are somewhat scarce!

Tomorrow its on to York.

Day 3 May 26th



Stopped for lunch in the small town of Toxey. The J and K Ribs place came highly recommended by nearly everyone we spoke with! ...we were not disappointed, the food was AWESOME, no doubt made all the more delicious by the effort of simply getting there for us. Got directions and road information from an Alabama Gas company driver named Bo. You just can't beat the local input...with one exception, NO ONE ever gives you the right distance to anything! So, I've just quit asking and instead focus on road conditions and the number of big hills we'll likely encounter.

One of the big highlights of the day occured in the small town of Silas, where we stopped at the combination fabric store, flower shop, and general store run by Ms. Christine Taylor and had a home-made snow cone. They were nothing short of amazing and really helped revive us from the heat!

We spent last night camped behind the library in Chatom, and we were seranaded by an amorous bull until the wee hours of the morning. Needless to say the quanity/quality of sleep was a bit lacking...

We're going to hang out in the J & K back room until around 5pm, and then finish the push to Butler and a day off!

Article from Mobile Press-Register

Mobile Press-Register

Bikes leave Mobile to raise college funds

Friday, May 25, 2007

May 25th Day Two



We opted to stay in Citronelle last night after the wonderful (and I do mean WONDERFUL!) ladies at the Citronelle Public Library pointed out that Deerpark is "...nothin' but a wide spot in the road" And they weren't kidding!

So instead the librarians tracked down a friend "Beverly" who runs the Whispering Pines Baptist Summer Camp, and we had a nice hot shower and an entire dormitory to ourselves! We had a great early supper courtesy of a much appreciated car-ride from Prof. Tony Wright, who was passing through town on his way back to the kiln site. And I was asleep by 8:30pm and slept straight through 'til 5:30 this morning when we had to get up.

This mornings ride was 100% better than yesterday's, and we put on more miles in less time. I'm writing from the Washington co. library in Chatom, Alabama. This is as far as we're going today, but we still need to find a place to camp for the night. There is a campground "just down the road at St. Stephen" but it would mean another hour and half on our bikes in the wrong direction. Andy is up for it, so I may send him there to scout it out and then he can ride back and let us know if its suitable (just kidding!).

The heat is still a factor by 1pm, and the hills are getting worse instead of better... perfect. However on highway 17 the number of logging trucks barrelling down the road is significantly less than on 45 so that's an improvement for us. Tomorrow we will try to make it to Butler, but we may end up staying somewhere along the way depending on our energy level. I can't over-emphisize the toll that the hills are taking on us. Its literally up and down ALL day with no flat stretches anywhere. So until we just simply stop for a break, its relentless.

I'm uncertain as to where we'll find the next internet access, so it may be a few days of before I'm able to update the blog.

May 24th - Day One

We got a little later start then we had planned this morning due to us being a little unfamiliar with the packing up process... but we've got that sorted, and we were peddling by 8:30am. The locals tell us that the weather is mild, and indeed the humidity is in the 50% range which is a god-send. However... the heat is still a factor for us, and the hills... oh the HILLS! It was solid up and down hill riding all morning. I'm great with the down side, but the up side is a bit rough... all my flat-land training is out the window!

We've stopped in Citronelle Alabama for lunch at 1pm and we're going to wait for the heat to break around 5pm or so before we hit the road again. This should be our standard operating proceedure from now on: Try to be on the road no later than 7am to avoid the heat, and then take a mid day break from 1-5pm and perhaps ride for another hour or two in the evenings.

So far our equipment is working very well. April is having a little challenge with the "Bob" trailer, but is adjusting steadily. Andy is another matter, I may have to tie a log behind him to slow him down! I can only hope that when he's in his 40's he has to do this again with 20-year-olds! I seem to be paying for the sins of my youth...

My bike is holding up well, and I seem to have the panniers balanced correctly. The stability is greatly improved compared to our test ride a few weeks back.

I received a call from KTRF radio this morning and they want us to phone in daily updates, so hopefully that will drum up a little more financial support for the scholarship fund. We ran out of time fundraising and didn't have a chance to get to all the folks on our list. Soooo, if you're reading this please consider pledging a few cents per mile to help those part time students in our communities!

We are still working to get some photos up on the blog, and Andy said it WILL happen, but we've got to get some unfiltered internet access. I'm currrently writing from the Citronelle public library and they have got some SERIOUS content filters on their machines! I do have to give a shout out to the good folks of Citronelle for their outstanding bicycle path into town... Highway 45 out of Mobile was a bit hairy with regard to the number of professional truck drivers and amateur schoolbus drivers!

Well, I'm off to find a comfy chair in the library and fall asleep with a book in my lap!

Tonight we're probably hitting highway 45 again on to Deerpark, Al.

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

The big day!

Well tomorrow's the "big day". We'll be up and on the road by 7am in order to get as much mileage behind us before the heat of the day hits! Its forcast to be in the upper 80's and lower 90's for most of the route home... BUT the wind will be at our backs for at least the first week!!! It may not sound like a big deal, but it makes all the difference on a bicycle.
We had a little scare today when Simon Schmitz had a previously unknown allergic reaction to a delicious sea-food lunch in Mobile! We were graciously allowed a free visit to the on campus health service at the university (Thanks U. of Southern Al. @ Mobile!!), and Simon is going to be o.k.. And I thought all the hazards were to be found on the road...

We will not have regular internet service on the road, but I'll be updating at every possible opportunity, so please check back regularly... We'll be posting photos to the site too, but I'll have to turn A.J. loose on that technical mystery as soon as we get another access to the internet.

Quote for the day: "Live each day as a seperate lifetime" -Seneca

Monday, May 21, 2007

Monday May 21




Northland students are today participating in the loading and preparations for firing of a Japanese Anagama ceramics kiln at Montevallo college in Montevallo, Alabama. The kiln is an ancient design and it is massive! It is about 50 feet long and will burn continuously for 100 hours, using many cords of wood in the process. Dr. Scott Meyer is the artist in charge of the operation, closely assisted by Prof. Tony Wright from the U of Southern Alabama at Mobile. This is a very unique opportunity for Northland's students, and attendace was by invitation only. Most of today was spent laboriously splitting and stacking the mountains of firewood necessary for the firing process... additionally the actual loading of the bisque-ware ceramics into the kiln was occuring simultaneously. We're grateful for the "mild" Alabama weather with temperatures only in the upper 80s! Tomorrow we actually begin the firing process which is being broadcast live on the web, and from there we'll be traveling to Mobile with Prof. Wright to get ready for our bicycle ride northward.

Thursday, May 17, 2007

Ready or not...

As with any big trip you plan and plan until time ticks away and then you just go with what you've got ready and that's it... Such is the case for our bike trip, we've made route plans, tried to arrange as many places to camp as possible, read the maps, bought equipment, trained, ridden, tweaked our bikes, made arrangements to have the plants watered, etc.

But now its just about time to hit the road! Graduation is this evening, and it seems appropriate that a lot of our students are now beginning the next stage of their own big journeys as well-- good synchronicity! Tomorrow we'll pack up the van for the long drive to Alabama, and then at 6am Saturday we'll buy our last cup of strong coffee at Erl's and say good-bye to our mild Minnesota summer until probably around the 4th of July! The next time we look down main street in Thief River Falls we'll have had to earn it the hard way...

A special thank you to all of you who've supported us in preparing for this trip! Especially all of you that have so generously contributed and pledged for the part-time student scholarship fund. Tim Bergerson of Bergerson Electric was the first to enthusiastically sponsor us, and so we'll dedicate our first really sore day in the saddle to him! Also if know of someone who might be interested in pledging please refer them to the web page www.northlandcollege.edu where they can download a pledge form, or have them call Michelle Benitt at the foundation office at 681-0777 to have a form sent to them. People can pledge at any time, even after we return.