Hamilton

Our last full day in Alabama was a great one as we woke up at 4:30 AM to get ready for an early arrival. We biked a total of 96 miles from Birmingham out to Hamilton with the first 65 consisting of state highways that ended up not having too much traffic. All of the lunch locations rocked as they re-energized my body at the perfect times.

The first main highway consisted of many trucks but since we were well protected as we stayed in large packs of 5 or more. We passed by piles of iron ore that had been sitting there longer than usual due to a slow economy and the lay offs by the US Steel Company. Locals told us that it typically is a busy place but since the past year in a half things have changed for the industry.

Our second highway paralleled a major highway and as a result not often traveled by cars. So we were able to spread out, talk to each other and we made a pit stop in a small town to buy an item from a garage sale. As we talked, I got to see my train of the day as the hourly train passed transporting retail cars.

The last 25 miles of the route were through County Highways that offered great sites and interactions with locals. We took a bunch of pictures along the way, pet some animals on the side of the road and got poured by a ten minute rain storm. Our favorite part was the hill that put us down in the valley towards Hamilton; I was able to pick up 47 miles per hour. What a great hill!

The United Methodist Church has taken us in for the night, and our Dinner Crew is cooking up jambalaya. All of the ingredients were donated by a mother one of our riders who is from Louisiana, should be a good one! I look forward to a short day tomorrow!