Day 11 – Wednesday 6/8/22

Linden, Alabama to Aliceville, Alabama – 80.7 Miles

This morning, I was on the road at 7:30. If you look at the reflection in the window, you can see a logging truck. It must have been waiting for me all night.

I’m constantly trying to figure out the optimal path to take three days ahead of time, so I’m covering about the same distance daily. Yesterday, I had thoughts of bypassing Linden and finishing up 32 miles further down the road in Livingston. That would have meant a 90+ mile day, which was possible. What stopped me was the quoted $140 per night hotel charge. That is excessive for a small-town hotel, so I spent the night in Linden and decided on Aliceville as the next stop in the chain.

Once out of town, the scenery changed from pine forest to cattle ranch.

I’m always on the lookout for places to stop for drinks and snacks, and the Jefferson Country Store looked like a winner. In business since 1957, just like me, it was closed when I went by. Disappointing. Maybe I’ll be back and maybe I won’t.

It wasn’t too far into the ride when I met my nemesis, logging trucks. All trucks are potentially dangerous, but logging trucks are more numerous on the roads I’m on. You get a whiff of fresh pine scent as they go by, as well as bump over pieces of loose bark that are thrown off behind them. When I see them coming, I pull over.

After missing a snack stop in Jefferson, this one appeared miraculously. I took advantage of it to the tune of $9.80.

When I made a turn onto a county road, the trucks disappeared. Hallelujah! Suddenly, I was on quiet back roads, and not truck infested ones. It changed the whole mood of the day. Instead of having to watch out for what was behind me, I could focus on what was ahead.

It’s not all beauty on the back roads. I saw several places where discarded things had piled up. Some people are just lazy.

Interesting things reappeared, and minimal traffic continued. It was good.

Riding in the countryside alone makes me forget that others are traveling by different means. I crossed Interstate 59 and had mixed feelings. They’ll do in an hour what takes me all day but will never see the fine details I’ve seen on this trip. Flying under the tourism radar isn’t for everyone, but it suits me.

Church of the Day – St. Alban’s – Gainesville, Alabama

Gainesville was just a few businesses at the intersection of two roads. It had a general store and a Dollar General, but the only business I wanted to visit was closed: The Alabama Rib Shack.

The state dammed up a river, which created a lake used for water and recreation. When I reached this place, birds were swarming around me like a Hitchcock film. They didn’t follow me to Aliceville, so I think it’s safe to ride tomorrow.

Sometimes Alabama looks like a Western state, with cattle and horses. The “Tombigbee” on the sign is the name of a river.

I was wondering how hard it would be to find my hotel, but it was directly on the route.

After cleaning up and relaxing, I headed for dinner. An excellent Mexican restaurant was across the street, with huge glasses of water and Pepsi to drink. Let me give you a tour of Aliceville.

I hope to be in Tennessee within the next four days, which will require 70-mile efforts each day. There may be some route adjustment as well, since any direction but north or west is taking me the wrong way. So far, I haven’t had any issues while riding or navigating, so I’m grateful for that. If I do take a rest day at some point, it will be because of weather or something interesting to see. Thanks for checking in!