Rain and traffic

Tuesday, May 12
Miles Traveled: 70 miles
Average speed: 12.2 mph
Altitude Gain: 3,200 feet
Maximum Speed: 41 mph

Tuesday, May 12, Mike was on the road by 8:20 a.m. riding from Little River to Jackson, Ala.



Two days in and Mike is continuing to rely on the kindness of strangers to find a place to bed down for the night. He contacted the Jackson Church of Christ and asked an elder of the church if he could sleep in the auditorium or fellowship hall. That didn't go down too well, but the elder did offer to put him up in an "economy" motel. So Mike succeeded in finding an actual free bed for the second night in a row. Much as the escaped slaves probably did, he shared his bedroom with several bugs, he said.



Mike took with him just three sets of clothes: two for riding and one for "walking around" at night. So whenever he gets a chance he will wash or rinse out his clothes. He also has an emergency food pack for when he can't find a place to eat. In that case he'll munch on tuna, crackers and granola bars. He's hoping he can avoid having to resort to that as long as possible. On Tuesday he found a nice cafe across the street from his motel.



Mike got ahead of his schedule on Monday, but lost ground on Tuesday when it rained all morning long. He spent about an hour on a kind woman's front porch (pictured below) waiting out a lightning storm. He also ran into heavier traffic, a thorn in the side of cyclists.

In the spirit of the Underground Railroad and crossing diversity lines, Mike is working hard to meet lots of people on his trip. So far it seems to be working. If you would like to support Mike in his efforts to promote diversity, you can make a donation to Mike Smith's Underground Railroad Bike Tour Diversity Scholarship Fund at Lipscomb University, by clicking here.