I had the wonderful experience of bicycling across Alabama with GCC members Mary Lou and Jim Merkner. The Alabama state ride was held June 7th through June 14th. As are most rides across states it was a 6 day event. This was Alabama's 3rd year in hosting this ride. It started in Dothan (SE) and headed in a Northerly direction reaching Lafayette, Georgia on the sixth day. The average day ride was about 60 miles with only one day with a 72 mile distance.
Alabama's beauty is a well kept secret. The roads are well paved with little traffic. On one portion of the Southern part of the state,I noted two motor vehicles in a 30 mile stretch of rolling hills and gorgeous country side. Farms and homesteads are scat-tered here and there. With only 200 riders there were many miles of not seeing one other rider. Very different from larger state rides. On BRAG (we) spent most of the time trying to get away from other riders. Touring on BAMA, seeing a cyclist in the distance was a welcome sight. ("We were on the right road after all!") Actually the roads were well marked and the Maps were more than adequate. BAMA did a fine job of keeping this small group of riders together. The people of Alabama were friendly and motor vehicle drivers were courteous for an area that encountered few cyclist?
Although Piedmont Alabama had a rails to trails park just completed the week were there (10 miles!) They hoped it would eventually expand to Gadson (30 mile rails to trail in the next year or two). The Mayor of this small town greeted us proudly.
We noted many times throughout our ride that no matter how small the homes were they were always well kept, lawns mowed and most with a beautiful flower garden. No trash could be seen...and we didn't think they were as fortunate as Gainesville with our weekly trash pickup either!
Accommodations were sometimes good and sometimes ...but if you have ever attended across state rides before, you know the logistics,...it ain't easy! On one memorable stop we shared the shower shack (placed smack dab in a field) with the pastured horse which insisted on showering with us. Luckily it was friendly. The riders finally figured out how to keep the horse distracted while we took turns showering. Another memory was a dinner outing that found us piling 12 hungry riders into the Merkner Van in search of a most outstanding Mexican restaurant. Along the way we were entertained with authentic Indian stories; Indian history and artifacts; a terrific H.S. jazz band; a talented professional DoWop Quintet; and last but not least, a tour of the Sequoia Caverns. Some hearty souls slept in the caves overnight... We met them on the road in the morning.
BAMA was an enjoyable week of riding and exploring. They will grow rapidly in the next few years, and I am sure many of us will look forward to riding BAMA again!