8/2 - Getting Close!

Shreveport to Monroe

The ride from Shreveport to Monroe began with an unorthodox breakfast at McDonalds. But, the change of pace was refreshing and the meal actually provided a great amount of calories for the start of the day. The actual riding was lengthy, humid, and slightly hilly but was made more interesting by the myriad of ride-alongs from local bike clubs and Pi Kapp Alums. In Monroe, we arrived at the local recreation center where we would be sleeping on the basketball courts that night. We had dinner with an organization called Arco and finished the night with about 2 hours of volleyball. It was a rather uneventful day, but still a good one.

Monroe to Vicksburg, MS

Today was a great day of riding; according to our Crew Chief who rode in 2007, this is the only “flat day” of the trip. The biggest hill we climbed was a short incline to get over a highway. We had lunch on the Mississippi side of the Mississippi river with some parents of former riders. They had homemade ice cream for us in a variety of flavors which was one of the absolutely best things we’ve had so far. After lunch, we compensated for the lack of hills before lunch by climbing out of the river basin and heading across hilly Vicksburg to our lodging at the YMCA. The YMCA quickly turned out to be one of the best places we have lodged so far because of all the space, a pool, and no supervision. The “all-call” on the intercom got a lot of usage that night. We had a sponsored southern dinner – Catfish, biscuits, and hush puppies. This was a great day and we are definitely excited to be passing through states now in no longer than 4 days for the rest of the trip.

Vicksburg to Jackson, MS

Vicksburg to Jackson was one of our shorter rides (about 40 miles) but had a considerable amount of hills. The entire day went in the pattern: ½ mile uphill then about ½ mile downhill (repeat). The road surface was pretty bad so we couldn’t keep up enough on the down hills to put a dent into the uphill portion. In Jackson, the state capital, we had an amazing arrival that consisted of 4 motorcycle cops, 3 police cars + our 5 vans. It made for an awesome experience that drew plenty of people out of the buildings along the route to watch. Upon arrival at the capitol building, we were greeted by the mayor of Jackson (who is also currently under indictment, but that’s another story…) who delivered a fantastic speech for us. We had a lot of press coverage at the event, both TV and newspaper. After the arrival, we headed to LIFE (living independence for everyone) and had lunch and spent time with some of the individuals we had seen at the arrival. This facility catered primarily to those with physical disabilities (blindness, inability to walk, etc.) and we learned a lot in our time there. We then traveled to lodging at a religious college/school in the area. This facility was in one of the poorer sections of town and was surrounded by an 8 foot fence complete with barbed wire and a full-time guard. We were notified that we would be locked into the compound at 9 PM. Good thing we had plenty of movies and internet access to pass the night faster.

Jackson to Meridian

Jackson to Meridian was one of our remaining longer days. We rode until about 2 PM when we arrived at the community college there. We then showered up and departed for a sponsored sonic drink which I made the biggest meal I could find there (Extra long Chili Cheese Coney with large fries and a large coke. This was very filling, but I still believe I could have eaten much much more. We headed back to lodging and had some free time to nap or use the internet before leaving for dinner. That night we had dinner with the Civitans in the cafeteria which was a very short walk away from our dorms (a definite plus). The highlight of the dinner was a local police officer who came and told us some captivating stories about the week’s 3 bank robberies. He also pulled out his taser and offered to let people feel what it is like to get tased (no one obliged…). After dinner, most of the team watched Saw and headed off to bed.

Meridian to Livingston, AL

We began today’s ride with a breakfast at McDonalds, which contrary to common thought, is a fantastic breakfast before biking. After this meal, I didn’t need additional food for about 35 miles (compared to the normal 15). We pace lined out of the city with a police escort and had a very short day of riding to Livingston. We had an arrival at the front of the University of West Alabama where we met a few Pi Kapps from the local chapter. We had a sponsored meal at the cafeteria for lunch and at a local restaurant for dinner. This restaurant has provided food for us every year since the Journey of Hope began, and they did everything right! That night was the night we had heard about for a while: the trailer trash party thrown at the actual doublewide trailer that our fraternity has at UWA. I decided against going and I was glad I made that decision when most of the under-21 crowd returned within 30 minutes of leaving. There will be plenty of opportunities to celebrate once we arrive, no need to ruin all the progress made with one bad decision.

Small Sample of Pictures from the Trip:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2015306&l=39b9e&id=1088280919
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2015604&l=2bdef&id=1088280919