Day 6 - West Memphis to Weiner, Arkansas

Last night, I stealth camped off of Dacus Lake Road. I was near Dacus Lake and the Mississippi River, which, of course, meant I was near a lot of water; therefore, a lot of mosquitoes.  They ate me up pretty good last night while I was setting up camp.  I must have tasted pretty good because a lot them stayed around for breakfast this morning.  They must have hung around my tent all night thinking, "We know he has to come out of there at some point."  As soon as I got out of the tent this morning, they began gnawing on me again.  The routine was pack a little, swat, swat, swat, swat, pack a little more, swat, swat, swat, swat, and on and on.

My campsite was fairly close to an Interstate so there was extensive traffic noise all night.  The good thing about it was that it was continuous and like white noise, which I think helped me sleep pretty well.  There was also an occasional train and airplane that would wake me up, but I quickly went back to sleep.

I woke up at 5 a.m. hungry.  I had not eaten a meal since about 2 p.m. the day before, when I had 2 fried chicken breasts, some collard greens and mashed potatos.  McDonalds was only about 7 miles from my campsite so I set out to have my big breakfast with hot cakes.  I left my campsite in the dark following the directions I had printed off Google Maps.  Dacus Lake Road was a gravel road that intersected with Robinson Road.  When I turned left on Robinson Road, the road became 2 dirt tire tracks with some fairly tall weeds in the middle.  I became concerned that I might not be on the right road so I checked the map on my smart phone and, yep, that was the road.  I'm going along on the dirt tire track and it veers to the left.  At that point, the road becomes a looser dirt, rutted tire tracks with piles of dirt on each side of the tire tracks. It appeared to be just a tractor path.  I was having to push a lot with one foot just to keep the bike going.  I was concerned I may get stuck (if that's even possible) because my front bags kept rubbing on the mud piles on each side of the tire track I was on.  At this point, I am traveling in the middle of a field of crops, so I figure I had better check the smart phone again.  Yep, I'm definitely no longer on a road.  I backtrack to where I veered off Robinson Road and checked my smart phone again which verified I was back at Robinson Road and I should have continued straight instead of veering left.  Well that was all said and good, but when I looked to where I should have continued straight, it was just weeds taller that me.  No tracks at all.

Okay, time to explore options, turn around and go back by my campsite to the Big River Crossing, or bushwhack my way through the weeds hoping the "road" picks back up.  Unfortunately, bushwhacking was not a viable option because I left my machete at home.  (What was I thinking?)

So I took the turn back option.  Also, please remember this riding was all being done in the dark with a cheap bicycle light that is used more to be seen rather than see.  There was nothing out there to see me, and I certainly could not see much.  However, I got to enjoy the lights of Memphis, Tennessee, across the river while doing this night riding.  I tried to take a photo of the lights, but it did not show up well.  

I made it back to the Big River Crossing, and studied all the possible routes to continue west to hit a legitimate road.  The only possible way to do that was to get on I-55 for about 1.5 miles.  Option time again, turn back and go into Memphis and forget about the Ozark Mountain part of this trip, or get on the Interstate illegally and ride that 1.5 miles.  I refuse to tell you what option I chose because I could possibly incriminate myself, but I will tell you I am still heading toward the Ozarks.

All my excitement over the Big River Crossing has been dashed.  What good is a pedestrian\bicycle bridge that gets you across a river to go nowhere?  It still remains that if you want to bike from the east of the Mississippi River to the west of the river, and go beyond Dacus Lake Road legally, you either have to go to Cairo, Illinois, or Helena, Arkansas, or press your luck and continue on a tractor path through the middle of a field of crops and hope you end up where you want to be.

I went through Mound City, Arkansas, and learned this tidbit about it.

I then made it to Marion, Arkansas, and this dusty old cowboy was glad to be there.  I got to relax a bit while enjoying my big breakfast with hot cakes and decaf coffee.  I am now back on my route as originally planned.

After I left Marion, I came across Lindsay, who has walked, yes walked, across the United States. It took her 9 months to complete that trip, and a dog (Cynthiana) started following during the trip and followed her to the end of the trip. She adopted Cynthiana and she is now pulling her in a trailer behind her bike. She is currently biking from Sapulpa, Oklahoma to Richmond, Virginia, and she was headed east on U.S. Highway 64 and I was headed west. I could tell her bike was fully loaded with gear and I wanted to get her story. I turned around to try to catch up to her and I was not making any progress, and I was wearing myself out doing so. Thank goodness she saw me in her mirror and stopped. She is riding an electric bike. I was huffing and puffing and she was not breathing hard at all. To read more about her adventures you can go to www.inspirla.com/lindsaypedegos and www.lindsaywalks.com. 

Right as we were saying our farewells, the rain came. It rained steady on me for several miles. This is the first day I have ridden in the rain this trip.  It seems I usually start my bicycle tours in the rain, but the rain held off several days on this trip. I needed a shower today anyway. 

Between Marion and Harrisburg, Google Maps had me take several County Roads, but when I came to the first one, it was gravel. I stopped and asked a farmer if all of the County Roads I had listed were gravel, and he said they are. He recommended I take Arkansas Highway 163 to Harrisburg, and that is what I did.  It had signs indicating it was a Civil War trail. It was called Crowley's Ridge Parkway because it ran along the foot of Crowley's Ridge. That's Crowley's Ridge in the distance. 

There is a very nice Arkansas Veterans Cemetery in Birdeye. 

I noticed today that I had a cut in the sidewall of my almost new tire. I recall hitting a piece of metal this morning while riding on I-55 and I guess that is what cut my tire. I was lucky it did not puncture the tube also or I would have been fixing a flat tire beside the interstate. Notice the tube sticking partially out of the tire. 

Well, I would really like to get more miles out of the tire than I currently have, so I decided to try a $1 bill and some duct tape to hopefully try to cover the hole and strengthen the sidewall. First the $1 bill.

Then the duct tape. 

The final result. 

Do y'all think it will fly, or die?

I was on Arkansas Highway 14 for several miles today. It was straight, flat, had a cross wind, and no shade at all. It wore me out. 

I was getting kind of desperate to find a place to camp tonight, so I went to the front door of a house, knocked, and asked if they would let me pitch a tent in their backyard for the night. They told me that would be fine. Their names are Todd and Mindy.  Todd even brought me some outdoor mosquito repellent in case the mosquitos got bad. My tent is next to a rice field that has been burned. 

Todd also just brought me this. 

Yummy!!!!

Sunset from the backyard. 

Totals for the day - 90 miles; 7 hours and 23 minutes

Last but not least, I want to wish Mama Ruth a Happy, Happy Birthday. Hope you had a very special day.