Day 7 - Weiner to Sage, Arkansas

Early riser again this morning. Woke up a little before 5 a.m., broke camp, and hit the road. Made it to Newport, Arkansas, where I did laundry for the first time during this trip. The laundromat also had a one-hole restroom with hot water. Bet you know what that means. It was not only the clothes that got clean.

As I was leaving the laundromat, Bryson came out and wanted to learn a little about my cycling adventures. 

He is a lifelong resident of Newport, and began telling me about interesting sites around town. He pointed out that the highway in front of the laundromat, Arkansas Highway 67, is called the Rock 'n' Roll Highway. 

He indicated Elvis and Johnny Cash both performed at the Silver Moon on Highway 67, just down the street from the laundromat. He stated the Silver Moon is still in business today.  He further indicated some sites on the Internet may say Elvis played at the Silver Moon in Newport News, but that is not right, it was Newport, Arkansas. 

Bryson also told me to check out the clock on the courthouse in Newport. He stated it stopped working, and that a local fortune teller, Caroline Dye, accurately predicted the exact time the clock would stop working. She was already deceased when the clock stopped working.  You can't tell it in the photo, but I promise the clock is not working. 

Another view of the courthouse.

On my way out of Newport, Thompson stopped me after seeing me riding my fully loaded bicycle.  He has also done some bicycle touring so we talked a bit about our various adventures. Information about his adventures can be found at www.twmurray.wordpress.com. 

Could those be mountains and hills I see in the distance?

I'm about ready for some mountain and hill climbing. All of this flat land riding is starting to rub me the wrong way, if you know what I mean. Most all of the saddle time hours for the last 3 days has literally been saddle time with continuous pedaling since it was flat terrain.  That's going to create friction, and a lot of it. I don't normally remain in the saddle for hours on end (no pun intended).  Since most of my riding is in East Tennessee and North Alabama, I am used to hills. Around almost every corner is a hill to be climbed.  For me, that means stand up time and no friction. If you climb it, eventually you can coast down it, and guess what, no pedaling and not a lot of friction.   Even on hills I can climb seated, if it's a long hill, I will shift to a little higher gear at times and stand up and pedal to give myself what I call a "butt break," which is what I had for the last few hours today.

Here is a scenic view of the White River in Oil Trough.  This was a great place to have peanut butter on a banana, peanut butter on a granola bar, and just plain peanut butter. I chased those down with some pistachios. Peanut butter is a staple on all my trips.

A little information about Oil Trough.

Now that's what I'm talking about, a grade similar to those back home (see pic below). This descent takes you into Batesville, Arkansas, and was a blast. 

A little gristmill alongside Arkansas Highway 69 after leaving Batesville, and some information about it. 

Interesting sight I saw beside Highway 69. Have I been gone that long, or is the man dressed in red on the porch a little early?

Tonight, I will be camping behind New Bethel Free Will Baptist Church near Melbourne, Arkansas.  They were starting to congregate for their evening service when I rode by the church. I stopped and asked permission to pitch my tent behind the church tonight, and they graciously allowed me to do so and invited me to join them, which I did. 

Totals for the day - 80.2 miles; 6 hours 54 minutes saddle time