It was an early wake up as we got up for a 6:30 AM departure out of Clarksdale. As I placed my bag next to the trailer, I already knew that it would be a hot day out on the road. The heat index got all the way up to 104 today, and boy did we feel it!
As we biked out of Clarksdale, we enjoyed the support of the wind as we coasted at speeds between 18-22 MPH. This was our coast speed meaning that we were pedaling at a normal rate on flat terrain with no decline helping us. As we reached the Mississippi River, this wind stopped doing its trick as we realized this would be a longer day than we had thought. The Bridge across the great Mississippi was manageable and we were given some space to at least enjoy the view of this muddy river. We hit up the Welcome Center for Arkansas right away and got hooked up with free post cards, woo hoo!
After our first lunch, I biked in a pack of six as we made our way through a 40 mile stretch until we hit the next lunch stop. We endured the heavy heat by playing 20 Questions and Two Truths & A Lie which took our minds off the conditions. We saw a pool as we were biking down the state highway and felt like taking our chances to see if we could cool down by jumping in. Unfortunately, the pool was not actually set up for the season yet but we were given ice cold water to refill our bottles.
As we hit the 2nd lunch in Clarendon, we realized just how dangerous it would be to cross the White River on a bridge that spanned for three miles into a Wildlife Refuge Area. We called the police and they offered to escort our group across this stretch so our group hung out for an hour until the whole group arrived. We found a great ice cream store and we went town as I had an Ice Cream Cone and a Strawberry Sundae all for under 2 dollars. We also went to the Visitor Center where we received more information about how the town of Clarendon emerged and what it has become today.
As we got escorted across the bridge, I realized just how easy it could have been for a big trucker to hit one of our bikers. Our group enjoyed this freedom of controlling the road by practicing our singing skills! It was a party for the bikers but I am sure the traffic behind us was not the happiest campers! The last 20 miles to Stuttgart were challenging as we came to the hottest part of the day. A lot of people took rest in shade when ever they could find it.
But we realized that the town could not be too far away as we started to see the gigantic structures built for the Rice Plant. We saw rice plants all day along the road, and finally realized where exactly it was going as we reached our destination. The structures were gigantic, I have never seen something like that before! Fortunately, we were able to go to the local pool when we arrived at our church location. We all cooled off and I even almost fell asleep when I just wading through it.
Dinner was an amazing Taco Bar with Peach Cobbler and I spent the rest of the night getting ready for future Bike & Build work as I took advantage of the available Internet. It was a great host there as they offered great meals and forms of entertainment. I get to rest up tomorrow as I will be driving the group van, I will use this time to recover from the past three days!
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