April 6 & 7: Rain and a Day Off in Talladega

Sunday April 6.  Larry’s Note. 

 Rainy day ride.  It was a rainy day, thunderstorms were rolling through Alabama today. We were soaked to the bone. Started the day at MacDonalds in Opelika, Don found a road that looked good but when I scouted it out, it turned into a dirt road. He had to backtrack a few miles. I parked the van in a dead town of Wadley. I rode back to meet him on route 77, 14 miles then it started raining hard. We made it to the van and drove to Talladega. Nice room at the Super 8. Walmart is next door. Fried chicken and cookies for dinner. Fell asleep early.

I (DC) spoke with my son, Tom, to catch up and wish him a happy birthday. He is a wonderful guy and the reason I'm raising $ for the Wounded Warrior Project.

Monday April 7. Don’s Note. 

We decided to take today off and stay in a hotel In Talladega, where we can be dry and warm. The last 90 minutes of the ride yesterday was brutal: Very cold with intermittent rain and downpour. There is a huge storm moving right through the southern states causing a lot of flooding in many areas along our route

We will use the day to do more detailed planning for the route and go to the Talladega Motor Speedway. Maybe they’ll let us ride a lap.

After our tour of the speedway, Larry and I met with Chris Norwood the Editor of the local newspaper. Susan connected with them to arrange an interview and we talked about the ride and why we are raising money for Wounded Warrior Project and the American Cancer Society. The article is here.

Chris Norwood, the Editor of The Daily Home in Talladega

Tomorrow the rain should stop, and it will be a cold clear day.  The ride from Talladega to Oneonta will be a relatively hard day with a lot of rolling hills.