3.11.2011 Ride: Conway to Little Rock

First.  A big thanks to ab, a blog follower who supplied me with great information to help me navigate around the Conway-LR area.
Lots of pictures today, but I am going to try and keep the copy short as it's already getting to be on the late side for me.   I hit the road in Conway about 1:00, nice sunshine but a good headwind almost the entire way.  Still, I was in good spirits and enjoyed feeling as if I was on a road trip.

Being on strange back roads reminded me of my road trip from Arkansas to Georgia where I hope the turn in the road that is supposed to come up, actually does.  It's a very cool feeling when the road does what the cue sheet says it will and always brings a small smile to my face.

I took this for my neighbor, Patrick, the egg man.

At the front edge of a cemetery next to the road.

I encountered this type of road marker several times today and in north central Arkansas during my AR-GA ride.  I like their primitive feel.

This scenic road view is actually deceiving.  Most of my ride was flat and passed through mostly nondescript parts.  In fact, I was saddened to see so much litter along many parts of the road.  Still, I'm out there riding and I have no complaints.

Tommy, Cody & Kody

Coming into Mayflower, I got to experience one of the things I enjoy so much about taking bike trips and that's encountering people.  Not finding a good bathroom rest stop, I approached the Mayflower volunteer fire department building and they were obliging.  Thank you guys and thank you for being part of my trip today.

This hill that is part of the Little Rock landscape always fascinates me.  It certainly seems as if it is an extinct volcano (or the beginning of a newly forming one!).  It just seems so out of place with the rest of the terrain.

On the map, I saw that I could avoid a large chunk of a busy road by taking a small road that dead-ended at a railroad crossing.  However, it was passable by pedestrians.  But what is so fascinating about the crossing is how dramatically the neighborhood changed after I crossed the tracks.  I felt as if I was Dorothy leaving Kansas and entering the wonderful world of Oz.

The Big Dam Bridge

 

The Big Dam Bridge is a very cool part of the Little Rock/North Little Rock River Trail.  I crossed the bridge on my way to meet Carol at a busy interstate and road intersection at the height of rush hour traffic. It turned out to be an exciting part of my trip as I raced along with the traffic.  At one time, I ended up in the middle lane, with a bus cruising along on my right side and car traffic on the left.  At another time, I was actually beating a truck up a hill.  It's not something I would want to do every day because the odds seemed as if eventually I would get hit.  But, I must say, it was quite the rush today.

Today's ride:  3hrs 18 mins. 34.57 miles. 63 degrees.  12-15mph winds.  Miles YTD: 1,278.00