I finally made it to the Key West Inn in North Central Alabama. 92 miles today. Great ride, low humidity compared to previous days so temps of 90 actually felt like 90. I decided to ride early on one of the freeways out of Birmingham until I reached a secondary road about 10 miles into the trip. Well, not a good idea...two State of Alabama State Patrol officers stopped me and informed me that riding a bike on the freeway in Alabama is against the law. They were very nice, one even followed me with his lights on for 2 miles so I could safely exit the freeway. Won't be doing that again. Still some climbs but not near as many. Beautiful scenery with lots of trees, a few pastures and the occasional corn field. Crossed the Alabama River and watched people boating and jet skiing on the river. You know you have reached the South when you are riding through swamps....wonder if there are any gators?
Went through Prattville Alabama this afternoon, home of the Daniel Pratt Gin Factory, a cotton gin factory created by Pratt in the 1830s. The factory helped Pratt become the leading producer of cotton gins in the world and was one of the South's most important cotton mills. It became the largest gin factory in the world and supplied gins to Russia, Great Britain, and France.
Lastly, It is football season in Alabama. Everyone was talking about yesterday's high school games and the debate is if the Alabama Crimson Tide is better than the Clemson Tigers.