Seven States Down

Aberdeen to Tuscaloosa AL. 110 miles and 5300' of climbing. Mid 50's at load. We had breakfast at the motel and nobody was impressed with it. The day will be spent going up and down. The navigation will be intense as there are 3 1/2 columns of instructions. We never go more than 10.8 miles without a turn. For the most part the segments are much shorter. As an added bonus there are a few mistakes on the cue sheet at the end. At the AL state line Mike has made his own welcome sign. We have a rather large group rolling down the road today. The pace is fairly easy and for me that is a welcome change. The rural roads are just beautiful. Lots of trees and everything is green. There are a lot of loose dogs about and all want to play chase the new thing. After the first SAG the group is down to 7 and we will ride together till Northport just before the river into Tuscaloosa. A few need to go to the bike shop and some are looking for a milk shake. When we determine that there are no milk shakes in Northport we cross the river and go by the campus of U of AL. Others will stop later and determine that the football stadium is the most interesting building on campus. Back out on the road Will has broken his chain. Sandra comes in with grease up to her elbows and Will is clean as a whistle. With all that Mike still had to replace Will's chain on the road. Sandra's dad and aunt have come to meet her. The dinner situation is better tonight there is a Chiles in walking distance. Tomorrow is going to be a lot like today except we end in Mike and Barbara's home town.