Day 10 -Tuesday 6/7/22

Grove Hill, Alabama to Linden, Alabama 60.4 Miles

We were all taught that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. What I’ve found as a bicycle tourist is that there aren’t many straight lines between two points. And, if there are, it’s sometimes impossible to take advantage of them. The Adventure Cycling Association, as the name suggests, wants its members to have an adventure. Sometimes I’ve had enough adventure and would like to get to my destination quickly without meandering in all directions. A check of the map the night before revealed that I’d begin riding 21 miles to the west, before arcing back to the northeast to finish in the town of Linden. Linden happens to be exactly 40 miles north of Grove Hill and linked by a divided highway with a wide shoulder suitable for cycling. When I considered the wasted effort of going west to go north, I ditched the ACA’s suggestion and got on Highway 43 to Thomasville.

With two lanes of traffic in each direction and an excellent riding lane for Ishmael, things were going well immediately. There was plenty of clearance between me and the traffic, and I felt more at ease because potential threats were a safe distance away.

I traveled the 15 miles to Thomasville in a little over an hour. After breakfast at McDonald’s, I discovered a mystery device outside an antique store. Not sure of its purpose.

My straight-line progress came to an end in Thomasville. The divided highway reunited, and the wide shoulder to ride on disappeared. So, I’d have to get on the back roads again and see what I could come up with. Google Maps is a useful source of information for figuring out where I am relative to where I want to be. The only thing it can’t tell me is the current state of the chosen road. When riding on rural roads, some may look like they’re exactly what you want, but can turn out to be sand, gravel or closed. I found a choice that looked promising called “Bashi Road”, which went to, you guessed it, Bashi, and headed west.

Some things are impressive because they can’t be identified, or their purpose is unknown. “Yes” to both

When the country was still young, the Indian tribes were arguing with each other to establish who owned what land. A monument at a back road intersection gave the result of an early sporting contest between the Creek and Choctaw tribes.

When Ishmael and I are working together cycling is easy. There’s always effort involved in moving down the road, but nothing that would overtax my abilities. I’d been hearing the sound of truck tires from a distance all morning, combined with the sound of their engines. Oddly, now I was hearing the scrubbing sound of a truck tire, but without the expected engine noise. Plus, I was feeling it was a little harder to pedal on the flat and up the hills.

When I started feeling a rhythmic “thump-thump-thump” as the wheels turned, I almost didn’t want to think about it. It either meant the pavement had regular imperfections or the tire had lost enough air so that the valve was impacting the road. When I pulled to the side and felt the rear tire, it was flat. After acknowledging this event with a few words that immediately came to mind, I wheeled Ishmael into a clearing and got to work. This involved taking all bags from their mounts, as the rear wheel had to be removed to make the repair. Twenty minutes later we were rolling.

Following a timely refreshment stop at an Exxon station in Sweet Water, the scenery continued.

After adding twenty miles to what should have been a forty-mile day, I was in Linden, Alabama. I checked into the Best Linden Inn, which earned that title by being the only hotel in town. When I asked the owner for dinner suggestions, they were “Jacks’s, Mexican and Subway, that’s all we got.” I cleaned up and walked downtown to Jack’s for a grilled chicken salad and a decadent chocolate shake.

Linden is attractive in places, but like all smaller towns has trouble convincing people to live there. The most prosperous looking stores I saw were Dollar General and a Family Dollar\Dollar Tree combination. Along the main street were a mix of vacant or heavily damaged buildings, combined with some working businesses.

I’ve heard a lot of claims by Jeep owners that their vehicles can go where no others can. This one didn’t get very far.

On to Aliceville tomorrow. Thanks for reading!