Crossing the mighty Mississippi

A harvested cotton field

Earthen levee to the left of the road

Ferry Service on the Mississippi; apparently we arrive on Christmas Day!

"Stick" standing at the edge of the mighty Mississippi!

Barge traffic on the river

Kentucky welcomed us at the rivers edge; Tennessee could care less!

Three states in one day!

What started as a nice up tempo ride turned into a grind; Once we got out of the streets of Poplar Bluff, the roads flattened out much like Florida. After nearly two hours of crusing along, the winds picked up and I thought I was back in Oklahoma. We had steady winds of at least 15 mph all the way to the river. since we were headed SE, the winds were generally in our face of coming at us at 2 o'clock.

The plains of the river valley were filled with Wheat, hay, soybean and cotton fields. The Cotton fields were huge. The crop was being harvested into giant bales the size of a box trailer with a specialized piece of equipment. As we moved closer to the river, the cotton fields became predominant.

The last 12-15 miles we rode along a road that was either along side a earthen levee or on top of the levee. Elevation here was under 300' above sea level. Seeing the width of the Mississippi in autumn only makes me wonder what this area looks like in the spring when it is swollen from the winter thaw.

We rode right up to the edge of the river where a ferry service normally runs. When we called for service, a recorded message told us the "politicians shut us down.!" After a short wait for the last rider to join us at the river, Frank aka "Bones" we loaded our bikes on the top of the van and climbed in for the long ride to the Kentucky side of the river. The ride took us North to cross the Mississippi at Cairo, IL then we went over the Ohio River as we turned south to Kentucky. After nearly 90 minutes in the van we reached the town of Hickman, where the ferry service is based.

We unloaded the bikes, stretched a little and mounted our steeds for the last 17 miles to Union City, TN.

On the Kentucky side, corn appears to be the dominant crop. The area next to the ferry launch was populated with corn storage tanks; working on Sunday, several tractor trailer loads we running out of the town of Hickman. Corn kernels were all over the streets.

Barge traffic on the Mississippi was non stop. I saw tugs pushing barges that were lined up six across and eight rows deep.

There was no "welcome to Tennessee" sign to greet us; just like New Mexico.

I finally reached the Hampton Inn at 6:00 pm; 10:20 minutes after departing Poplar Bluff. 6:20 of riding time. Since we reached the hotel so late, we had a Pizza session to carbo load for tomorrow. After a quick shower, I got a load of clothes in the washer then off to my massage. These massages do wonders to tired muscles! One busy day. It's time for bed.

Key stats
103.7 miles
1 flat (Grateful Dave)
3,333 kcals burned
16.4 mph avg speed
1,965' of climbing