5.11.2011: Fayetteville - Little Rock: Day 1

A dilemma for the start of this three day trip to Little Rock.  A month ago, we had purchased tickets for the Dalai Lama's visit which turned out to be the same day as my departure date to Little Rock.  I have great respect and admiration for the Dalai Lama on the same level as I have for Gandhi and Martin Luther King.  Though, from the beginning, I had reservations about going to hear him speak in such a large setting.  We had tickets for a panel discussion in the morning as well as for his sole appearance in the afternoon.  About a week ago, when I realized the conflict, I quickly made the decision to keep the bike riding date.  The dilemma for Wednesday morning thus became whether to stay for at least the panel discussion so that I would at least have the opportunity to have a "live" experience.  This seemed as if it would be a good option as there would be plenty of daylight to reach my destination of the day, Ozark, 60 miles away.  However, strong storms were forecast for the late afternoon.  There was rain in the forecast everyday of the trip and it seemed inevitable that I would get wet on this ride.  Carol also offered to drive me however much I wanted down the road.  It seemed like a good option, so I went to the morning session.
While I was definitely glad I attended, it was as I expected; the distance of our seats (even though they were "good" seats) and the difficulty of hearing clearly made for a very frustrating experience.  I could only understand a handful of words as the Dalai Lama spoke.  But, he said one word that got my attention, "fear."  The night before I was looking for a notebook to take along on the bike trip to write in.  I found an old hardbound cloth journal that I have had for almost 30 years.  It only had a couple of entries in it dating back to 1984/85.  The first entry struck me because the issues I spoke about still resonated and in the first line of the entry I referred to fear.
So, as I continued to strain and listen to Dalai Lama, I tried to reconstruct what he was saying about fear.  I just knew it was somehow connected to nonviolence and peace since that was the subject matter.  He finished speaking and the next speaker began.  Even though I could understand her, her words and presence did not hold me and it seemed as if it was my time to go, that the sole purpose of me being there was to hear the Dalai Lama speak the word "fear."
I kissed Carol goodbye and headed for the van to unload my bike.  Leaving an hour earlier than I had planned would give me plenty of time to reach Ozark before the storms came in, unless they decided to arrive early.

I left, not feeling any ill-will or regret but at peace.  I set off on the ride trying to keep a good pace up.  The first few hours of the ride, my mind was be pre-occupied with how what I heard that morning connected with what I read in the journal from 30 years ago and how that affected my life today. 

Hwy 16 west of Elkins, AR

Hwy 16 east of Elkins.

 

 View from Hwy 23 (The Pig Trail), looking east.

Hwy 23.

This is definitely a sign a bicyclist wants to see going down a hill rather than up.  Still, the almost constant steep grade made for some very sore hands and arms by the time I reached the bottom. 

Six years ago when our family stayed at a cabin at Turner's Bend, we packed up a lunch for our canoe float down the Mulberry and placed a can opener from the cabin in our picnic gear.  Much to my chagrin, when we arrived home, I saw that we accidentally brought home the can opener.  I meant to mail it back but never did and every once  in awhile, I would remember about the can opener thinking that some day I would return it.  This was the day.  I packed the can opener in my pannier knowing that I would be riding right by the store and cabins.  I"m not quite sure what Mary thought of this bicyclist stopping by to drop off a utensil after so many years.  Thanks, Mary!

Mary, at Turner's Bend on Hwy 23 and the Mulberry River.

http://www.turnerbend.com/index.html

Just after passing this hooded-roof that reminded me of an executioner, I came across another "Crooked and Steep Next 3 Miles" sign.  This time I was going uphill.  Fortunately, the sign lied and it was only about 2 miles and not nearly as steep as the hill I came down on the other side of the valley.

I reached Ozark with not even a threatening cloud in sight.  Word had it that the storm wasn't moving in until much later in the night.  I unpacked at the motel and rode a mile to the Rivertowne BBQ,  I thought of lingering and writing a bit more in my journal after dinner but decided to head back making one more stop at the grocery store for some fresh fruit.  Pretty good timing as about twenty minutes after I got back there was a sudden rain burst accompanied with thunder and lightening.  That lasted about 30 minutes and the rest of the night was quiet.  I wrote a bit more in my journal, hoping to make some sense of this fear puzzle.

Today's Ride:  Fayetteville - Ozark.  5hrs 36mins.  60.06 miles.  81 degrees.  Miles YTD:  2,711.82